Chris Dovas, Testament

Before Copenhell 2023, I was really excited that Pantera and Testament would play on the same day and that Dave Lombardo was back in Testament. I must admit that I was a little disappointed when the news that Mr. Lombardo left the band for his own commitments. A few weeks before the festival summer would start Testament announced that they had a “new kid in town”, the unknown to me Chris Dovas. Wow what an impression he made on me that concert and what an injection he was and it spilled over to the others in the band. It was a great show even though they played in the middle of the day on the Helveti stage.

Testament was back in Europe on tour this summer and did the first show of the “Europe summer festival tour” at a packed Slagthuset in Malmö and yours truly had a chat with Mr. Dovas just before the band was to go to soundcheck.

To get a little update, I asked Chris how Testament is doing in 2024?
– We’re going really strong at the moment and we’re working on new material for a new album that people will like, hopefully. We get on well and like to hang out with each other and have fun. The band sounds very tight and I’m very happy to be a part of it.

Chris’s interest in the drums began as a child and he started ’banging’ on the drums at a very early age, as young as three. Chris explains:
– My dad played the drums and was even going to sell his drum kit because he wasn’t playing much anymore. I found a snare drum and started banging on it and never stopped playing it. I started learning to play for real when I was 6-7 years old from my dad and took lessons when I was 9-10 years old.

In his early teens, Chris began to be influenced by bands like Green Day and Ozzy Ozbourne, and he began to realize that you could actually make a living playing the drums. With that goal in mind, he began practicing several hours a day and eventually applied to Berklee Music of College in Boston.
– Some of my favorite drummers have gone to Berklee so I wanted to go there too. It was the only option, that school or no college at all. I got my Bachelor’s degree in music performance and after that it has gone very quickly to where I am today.

Chris played for many years in Seven Spires, a symphonic metal band from Boston and he plays on their first three albums.

As you said, you listened to a lot of Green Day and Ozzy Ozbourne in your younger days, but when did you discover hard rock for real?
– I was around 10-11 years old, I was a big Ozzy fan, listening to Black Sabbath and AC/DC, you know old school. Then when I started high school my friends showed me more heavier and faster stuff like Slayer Metallica and also Testament. I also went even further and listened to some death and black metal. Chris continues:

But I also listened to a lot of jazz when I was at school. I studied a lot of theory and stuff. It got to a point in my drumming where I wasn’t playing much metal, it was just jazz. But then when I went to Berklee, I just focused on metal, because that’s what I love.

Chris says he uses his jazz skills when he plays metal and even in Testament he throws in some jazz sometimes.
– The new record is going to be very fast, extreme and it’s going to be cool and we’ve all mixed in our different influences. Alex is also a “jazz guy” and Eric likes a lot of what I like like like black and death metal.

When asked which album meant the most to him, there was no doubt which one it was and why.
– Ozzy Ozbourne “Randy Rhoads Tribute” because Tommy Aldridge is my favorite drummer. I would say that to this day I use that expression in my playing style and it started with that record. I listen to that record very often, just the other day. It’s a record that changed my life in some way without being dramatic, so that record is very important to me.

Chris was a little hesitant to name a couple of records that meant something to him, but once he came up with one, it was easy to name more. Chris continues:
– I would say the, hmm it’s difficult, well another record that meant a lot is “Omnivium” with Obscura. I think it’s one of the best death metal records ever made and it’s the record that got me into death metal and another one, now I remember, is “Epitaph” by Necrophagist.

Chris mentioned earlier that he listened to a lot of jazz when he was younger and there is one record in particular that has been a favorite.
– The “Clifford Brown and Max Roach” record and it’s a record I put on at home sometimes.

Chris says he has Greek roots and listened to a lot of Greek music growing up.
– I don’t remember the name of the record but the group is called Trio Belcanto and I would say it’s a very important record for me.

Chris’ first contact with Testament came about by chance. He was friends with then Testament drummer Gene Hoglan on Facebook and he made a post on social media before the band announced that he was leaving the band. – I contacted Testament management, they already had Dave Lombardo as a replacement for Gene but they told me to send in videos of me playing three Testament songs including D.N.R. I met Eric (Peterson) in Boston when they had a gig there and we became friends and kept in touch. Dave (Lombardo) got held up on a couple of dates and they thought it was a good idea for me to fill in. Eventually Dave got booked up with other things and I was asked to become a full time member.

It’s always interesting how “new” drummers take on the band’s older material and how they create a new sound in the songs without changing too much. I asked Chris if he had to change his playing style for Testament?
– I don’t change anything, I stick to reality but at the same time I add some tweaks here and there. There’s a difference in the new songs we’ve recorded where I add my influences. Eric helps a lot, he writes most of the songs and he pushes my limits and that’s good.

For Chris, it’s been a very quick journey from submitting audition videos to becoming a full-time member of the band and now co-writing new material. I saw a post where he and Eric were jamming and I got curious and asked what his creative process looks like, especially now in Testament?
– It was fun. I hung out at his house for a few weeks and just jammed and recorded ideas and then picked the best parts and jammed them again until we found a format that we thought sounded good. To get inspiration for new riffs, we watched the horror movie Evil Dead Rise, Chris laughs.

The other band members are called in when Chris and Eric have something to present and they can add their touch to the songs. Chris says:
– Oh yeah, so once we had something that was presentable, then we would send it to the other guys and then we all got in the studio together. Alex wanted to change up some of the keys for his solos and Chuck sometimes maybe he wants to sing over that riff instead of that riff and so we change things around. So everyone threw their two cents in, which was cool.

How do you deal with traveling and being away from home on a longer period on tour?
– I have a good support at home, which is good. My wife also supports me and my family has always known since I was little that I would like to do this. I can FaceTime my wife every day and stuff like that. And then the people that I tour with are really cool. So it’s important to be on the road with cool people. Chris continues:

Because if you’re not on the road with cool people, which I’ve done it can get kind of like, I don’t want to be here. But with Testament and Seven Spires, that was always really cool. Everyone’s very nice and welcoming. I mean, even the other day, we all go out for dinner. We all hang out, have some drinks together. It’s very family-vibed. So that makes it really easy. And then the music, on top of that.

Are you nervous or have stage fright before showtime?
– For years, actually, my nerves before shows were very high. Like, really high. I couldn’t talk before a show and I’d have to be in my own zone. Kind of meditating. But lately, I would say the last six months or so, my nerves have been a lot better. Just trying to be nice and calm and relaxed and be excited to go out.

Do you follow any process or ritual before you go on stage?
– So now I shifted my mindset a little bit, you know? And so now I warm up a little bit, lightly. I don’t go through a crazy workout routine, but I get the blood flowing, you know, and I stretch a lot. I’ll get my legs moving a little bit. Then we go on and having fun.

My twenty minutes with Chris were coming to an end and I only had one question left. Tell me a little bit about the equipment you use?
– I used D-Drum, Meinl cymbals, Evans drum heads, Scorpion Percussion drumsticks, Kaptor Triggers and Czarcie Kopyto drum pedal.

With a tour manager keeping a close eye on the clock and a schedule to keep, we split up and Chris headed off to soundcheck for tonight’s concert. I had hoped for awesome pictures from the stage but I did my best from the “floor” this time and hope to get the chance to get really close to Chris next time we meet.

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Peter Reimer

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