Testament frontman Chuck Billy has explained how attending his first KISS concert as a young teenager shaped his approach to performing, speaking on Loudwire.
Billy was asked about KISS’ best work and his favorite piece of memorabilia from the band during the conversation. He recalled his first experience seeing KISS and what it meant to him at that formative moment in his life.
Question: “In this book, you discuss the impact of KISS during your formative years. I’d be remiss if we didn’t get into the KISS fandom a bit. What, in your opinion, was KISS’ best work, and as a fan, do you have a favorite piece of KISS memorabilia or something that you collected from the band?”
“My first show, being so young and that experience, I don’t think I still have it. I gave it to one of my best friends, ’cause he saves everything. But my first show, I got Gene Simmons to spit blood on me, so I had a shirt with blood from Gene Simmons. So that was the thing that I held as the collectible. And it was disgusting looking after years of just being dried up. But I saved it. That was the one thing,” Billy said.
“But for me, that was my first big live show to see Gene Simmons. And to me, I related to him because he was a big guy. And I was, ‘Whoa, there’s another big guy that’s just dominating the stage and his presence.’ So I related to it. And then I just loved the KISS collection of all the songs.”
Billy continued, “The show was unlike anything I’d never seen before at that time with the fireworks and the fire and the blood and just all of it, you know? So that’s what got me. And right away, I think shortly after that, ’cause I think it was only like 1976, so was 12 years old when I saw them. We’re still going home at that point and I opened up the garage door with the tennis rackets pretending we’re KISS, mimicking to their records, you know? That’s what we did then. That’s what started it.”
Billy attended the KISS concert when he was 12 years old and was immediately inspired by what he witnessed on stage. The experience led him to begin performing and imitating the band with friends shortly after.
Billy’s reflections on his early influences appear in his upcoming memoir “Holding My Breath: The Two Testaments Of Chuck Billy,” which is scheduled for release on November 10, 2026 through Permuted Press. The book features a foreword by Rob Halford of Judas Priest and an afterword by Randy Blythe of Lamb of God.
The memoir is divided into two parts. The first section covers the explosive birth of Bay Area thrash metal, the formation of Testament, and the rivalries and brotherhood that helped make the band one of the genre’s most powerful voices. The second part addresses Billy’s cancer diagnosis at age 38 and his recovery, reflecting on his Native American and Mexican-American heritage, spiritual healers, and visions.
The second half of the book also centers on the legendary Thrash Of The Titans benefit concert, described as one of the most galvanizing moments in heavy metal history. At that event, old rivals became brothers and helped ignite a genre revival while supporting Billy in his health struggle. Testament continues to remain active, having released the album “Para Bellum” in October 2025 and performing on the 2026 “Thrash of the Titans” tour with Overkill and Destruction, which runs through April 2026.
