The Formation of Damnation is the 2008 release-- the first Testament studio album of all new material in nine years. This is the first Testament album to feature Alex Skolnick on guitar since 1992's The Ritual, also the first to feature bassist Greg Christian since 1994's Low. Testament are an US  thrash metal band from California. Some of their records entered the charts in major markets such as the UK and Germany. Testament has two Top 40 albums and one Top 50 album to its credit in the UK. Their 1999 album The Gathering also entered the Top 50 in Germany. They had minor top 100 album success in the United States.