The Dark Roots of Earth is the upcoming tenth studio album

Studio album

A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...

 by American thrash metal

Thrash metal

Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...

 band Testament

Testament (band)

Testament is an American metal band from Berkeley, California, formed in 1983. They are often credited as one of the most popular bands of the 1980s thrash metal scene...

. It is currently scheduled to be released in late April/early May 2012 by the independent German record label Nuclear Blast Records

Nuclear Blast

Nuclear Blast is an independent record label and mail order record distributor with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States and Brazil. The record label was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Germany. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label moved on to releasing albums by melodic...

. This album saw a reunion with former drummer Gene Hoglan

Gene Hoglan

Eugene "Gene" Victor Hoglan II is an American drummer. He is acclaimed for his creativity in drum arrangements, including usage of odd devices for percussion effects and his trademark lengthy double-kick drum rhythms...

 (who previously appeared on the band's 1997 album Demonic

Demonic (album)

Demonic is the seventh studio album by American heavy metal band Testament. It was released in 1997. The lyrics deal with occult themes akin to their 1980s efforts, instead of the political topics covered on more recent releases....

); during the recording, he filled in for Paul Bostaph

Paul Bostaph

Paul Bostaph is a heavy metal drummer. His drumming career began in 1984, when he was 20 years old, and he had since worked with bands like Slayer, Forbidden, Exodus and Systematic. He is from Newark, California and currently drums for Testament...

 due to his "serious injury." Bostaph is expected to return to the band for the album's tour. Chris Adler of Lamb of God

Lamb of God (band)

Lamb of God is an American heavy metal band from Richmond, Virginia. Formed in 1994, the group consists of vocalist Randy Blythe, guitarists Mark Morton and Willie Adler, bassist John Campbell, and drummer Chris Adler...

 provided drum tracks as well.

Confirmed Tracks

In an interview with Metal Kaoz on October 10th, 2011, Chuck Billy revealed three track names of the new album. In an interview with Metal Undergroud, Eric Peterson revealed the title of the first single to be "Native Blood".

Personnel and credits

Band:

• Chuck Billy
  Chuck Billy (vocalist)
  Chuck Billy is an American vocalist, who is best known as the vocalist for the thrash metal band Testament.-Testament:Chuck Billy replaced Steve "Zetro" Souza, future Exodus vocalist, in the mid-1980s when the band was still called Legacy. Following his arrival, Testament released their first...
  
   – vocals
  Singing
  Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
  
  
• Alex Skolnick
  Alex Skolnick
  Alexander Nathan Skolnick is an American jazz and metal guitarist. He was a member of the San Francisco Bay Area thrash metal band Testament from 1983 until his departure in 1993...
  
   – guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  s
• Eric Peterson
  Eric Peterson (musician)
  Eric Peterson is an American guitarist. He is best known as the only constant member of the US thrash metal band Testament. Eric has also formed a side-project black metal band called Dragonlord, in which he plays guitar and also sings. In Testament, Eric was originally a rhythm guitarist while...
  
   – guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  s
• Greg Christian
  Greg Christian
  Greg Christian is the bassist for the American thrash metal band Testament. He left the band in 1996, but rejoined in 2004.-Testament:...
  
   – bass guitar
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  

Session musicians:

• Gene Hoglan
  Gene Hoglan
  Eugene "Gene" Victor Hoglan II is an American drummer. He is acclaimed for his creativity in drum arrangements, including usage of odd devices for percussion effects and his trademark lengthy double-kick drum rhythms...
  
   – drums
  Drum kit
  A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
  
  , percussion
  Percussion instrument
  A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
  
  
• Chris Adler – drums, percussion