Legendary Bay Area thrashers Testament have set a 2016 release date for their 11th studio album, The Brotherhood of the Snake.

Testament fans have been awaiting a new record since Dark Roots of Earth was unleashed back in 2012. Like Dark Roots of Earth, producer Andy Sneap was recruited for The Brotherhood of the Snake, which comes out Oct. 28.

Testament guitarist Eric Peterson spoke about the record with Metal Maniac at this year’s Hellfest. "It's finished — recorded — done — and it's now on its way to Andy Sneap to get mixed,” Peterson says. “It came out really, really good. I'm really happy with it. It's very diverse, but it's very epic. There's nothing on there that breeds commercial.”

Peterson continues, “I think for 30 years of recording music and trying different formulas and stuff, I think we've found a formula that is very metal. I think for the metal fan that is looking for something for the nook and crannies, not just your normal, 'Oh, it's got a thrash beat and a riff.' There's a lot going on here. And just the title: The Brotherhood Of The Snake. You're gonna expect something more in-depth.”

Peterson also described the album’s title track, which sounds like it’ll be a ripper. “It’s basically about a lot of the early secret societies that started taking over power, trying to control the society and spawned off into illuminatis and stuff like that,” the guitarist describes. “A lot of human control and religions and the similarities between religions and alien beings and stuff like that.”

Check out the full interview with Eric Peterson above and get excited for The Brotherhood of the Snake on Oct. 28!

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