Dragonlord

In the 1980s thrash scene, Eric Peterson co-founded Testament and stayed with the band throughout its 1990s output. At the same time, European black metal—particularly the Norwegian strain—caught his ear in the late 1990s, prompting him to develop new material with keyboardist Lyle Livingston and Steve DiGiorgio, the Testament bassist whose earlier work included stints in Florida death metal with Death. Jon Allen, formerly of Sadus, came aboard on drums, while Steve Smyth, then touring with Testament, was brought in on guitar; Peterson himself took on lead vocals for the first time. The resulting project, Dragonlord, fused Peterson’s thrash-rooted riffing with the ornate gothic atmosphere of bands such as Dimmu Borgir and Cradle of Filth, alongside references to earlier black metal acts like Venom and Mercyful Fate. Even so, Dragonlord remained a secondary endeavor for Peterson, subordinate to his primary commitment to Testament. Spitfire, the label also handling Testament at the time, issued the group’s debut album, Rapture, in summer 2001.