Eric Stanley Peterson (born May 14, 1964) is an American musician, best known as the rhythm guitarist of the American

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

band Testament and is the only remaining original member left in the band, which first started in 1983 under the name Legacy. He and lead vocalist

Chuck Billy Charles Billy (born June 23, 1962) is an American singer who is best known as the lead vocalist for thrash metal band Testament. Career Testament Billy joined Legacy in 1986, replacing vocalist Steve "Zetro" Souza who would later join Exod ...

are the only members to appear on all of the band's studio albums. Peterson also has a side project

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with t ...

band called Dragonlord, in which he plays guitar and also sings. In Testament, Peterson was originally a rhythm guitarist while

Alex Skolnick Alex Skolnick (born September 29, 1968) is an American musician. He is best known as the lead guitarist and one of the songwriters of the thrash metal band Testament and has played with several other bands, including The Alex Skolnick Trio, Tra ...

handled all lead work. More recently though, Peterson plays leads along with Skolnick.

Musical influences

Peterson has cited

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whi ...

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in th ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Scorpions Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always end ...

UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...

, Montrose,

Pat Travers Patrick Henry Travers (born April 12, 1954) is a Canadian rock guitarist, keyboardist and singer who began his recording career in the mid-1970s. Early life Travers was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. Soon after picking up the guitar at ag ...

and

Mahogany Rush Mahogany Rush was a Canadian rock band led by guitarist Frank Marino. Formed in Montreal, Quebec in 1969, the band had its peak of popularity in the 1970s, playing venues as large as California Jam II. The band is perhaps best known for Marino ...

(with

Frank Marino Francesco Antonio Marino (born November 20, 1954) is a Canadian guitarist and singer, best known as the leader of Canadian hard rock band Mahogany Rush. Often compared to Jimi Hendrix, he is described as one of the most underrated guitarists of ...

) as influences and inspirations to him. When forming the sound of Legacy/Testament, he had been influenced by the band's

Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...

peers

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

and

Exodus Exodus or the Exodus may refer to: Religion * Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible * The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan Historical events * Ex ...

, in addition to

NWOBHM The new wave of British heavy metal (commonly abbreviated as NWOBHM) was a nationwide musical movement that started in England in the mid-1970s and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. Journalist Geoff Barton coined the term ...

bands such as Judas Priest,

Venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

and

Angel Witch Angel Witch are a British heavy metal band which formed in London in 1976 as part of the new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) movement. Biography Formation The band formed, originally under the name of Lucifer, of guitarist and vocalist ...

, and European heavy metal bands like

Mercyful Fate Mercyful Fate is a Danish heavy metal band from Copenhagen, formed in 1981 by vocalist King Diamond and guitarist Hank Shermann. Influenced by progressive rock and hard rock, and with lyrics dealing with Satan and the occult, Mercyful Fat ...

Personal life

His father was of Swedish descent and his mother was of Mexican descent. Peterson was married to

Kirk Hammett Kirk Lee Hammett (born November 18, 1962) is an American musician who has been the lead guitarist and a contributing songwriter for heavy metal band Metallica since 1983. Before joining Metallica, he formed and named the band Exodus. In 2003, ...

's ex-wife Rebecca, with whom he has one child. They are now divorced.

Equipment

Peterson's main guitars have been Gibson models for most of his career in Testament, primarily a black Explorer model and a Les Paul. Recently, however, he is endorsing

Dean Guitars Dean Guitars, commonly referred to simply as Dean, is an American importer and maker of stringed instruments and musical products with its headquarters in Tampa, Florida. Its products include solid-body electric guitars, bass guitars, and acous ...

and has been using his own signature Dean V guitar.

Discography

With ''Legacy''

* ''Demo 1'' (1984) * ''Demo 2'' (1985)

With Testament

*''

The Legacy The Legacy may refer to: * '' Le Legs'' or ''The Legacy'', a play by Pierre de Marivaux * The Legacy (professional wrestling), a former professional wrestling faction in World Wrestling Entertainment * ''The Legacy'' (album), an album by Testament ...

'' (1987) *'' The New Order'' (1988) *''

Practice What You Preach ''Practice What You Preach'' is the third studio album by American thrash metal band Testament, released in August 1989 via Atlantic/ Megaforce. Propelled by the singles "Greenhouse Effect", "The Ballad" and the title track " Practice What You ...

'' (1989) *''

Souls of Black ''Souls of Black'' is the fourth studio album by American thrash metal band Testament. It was released on October 9, 1990. Production and musical style While ''Souls of Black'' saw Testament staying true to their thrash sound, it saw several cha ...

'' (1990) *'' The Ritual'' (1992) *''

Return to the Apocalyptic City ''Return to the Apocalyptic City'' is a live EP by American thrash metal band Testament, released in 1993. All tracks were recorded at the Hollywood Palladium, except for the last two; "Reign of Terror" was recorded during '' The New Order'' ses ...

'' (1993) *'' Low'' (1994) *'' Demonic'' (1997) *'' The Gathering'' (1999) *''

First Strike Still Deadly ''First Strike Still Deadly'' is the ninth studio album by Testament, released in 2001. It consists of re-recorded songs released on ''The Legacy'' and '' The New Order'', as well as a re-recording of "Reign of Terror", which was originally on ...

'' (2001) *'' The Formation of Damnation'' (2008) *'' Dark Roots of Earth'' (2012) *'' Brotherhood of the Snake'' (2016) *''

Titans of Creation ''Titans of Creation'' is the thirteenth studio album by American thrash metal band Testament (band), Testament, released on April 3, 2020. This album marked the first time since ''The Ritual (Testament album), The Ritual'' (1992) that the band h ...

'' (2020)

With ''Dragonlord''

*''

Rapture The rapture is an Christian eschatology, eschatological position held by some Christians, particularly those of American evangelicalism, consisting of an Eschatology, end-time event when all Christian believers who are alive, along with resurre ...

'' (2001) *''

Black Wings of Destiny ''Black Wings of Destiny'' is the second studio album by the Black metal band Dragonlord. Almost all of the previous album's thrash roots vanished, replaced with pure black metal. Peterson also began extending creative control to the rest of th ...

'' (2005) *''

Dominion The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 1926 ...

'' (2018)

With Leah McHenry

*"Dreamland" (2013) *"Winter Sun" (2015)

As guest

Old Man's Child Old Man's Child is a Norwegian black metal band from the city of Oslo. The band is the brainchild of Galder (formerly known as Grusom; birth name: Thomas Rune Andersen) who is the only permanent member of the band. History Old Man's Child was ...

– ''

Vermin Vermin (colloquially varmint(s) or varmit(s)) are pests or nuisance animals that spread diseases or destroy crops or livestock. Since the term is defined in relation to human activities, which species are included vary by region and enterpr ...

'' (2005) *Leah McHenry - ''Otherworld'' EP (2013)

Equipment

*Amplifier: Kemper, Marshall JVM series 210 watt head, Mesa/Boogie Triple Rectifier Heads, and EVH 5150 heads *Cabinets: Cathedral Guitar Cabinets model: Bishop (4x12)(on tour in Europe since 2022), Mesa 4x12 Recto Cabinets loaded with Celestion vintage 30s & EVH III Cabinets *Effects: Dunlop Cry Baby from Hell Wah, Boss TU-2 Tuner, MXR Flanger, MXR Stereo Chorus,

TC Electronic TC Electronic (sometimes stylized as t.c. electronic) is a Danish audio equipment company that designs and imports guitar effects, bass amplification, computer audio interfaces, audio plug-in software, live sound equalisers, studio and post-pr ...

Nova Delay *Cords: Monster Cable *Guitars: Dean Cadillac, Dean Michael Schenker V, Gibson Flying V, Dean Eric Peterson Signature OldSkull V *Strings: DR Gauge 10–52(tuned one AND half step down, i.e. Db Gb B E Ab Db or C# F# B E G# c#) *Pickups: Dean Flying V: EMG 85 (neck) & EMG 81 (bridge), Dean Time Capsule: Dimarzio Super Distortion Zebras, Dean Cadillac: Seymor Duncan '59 (sh-1n neck) & jazz (sh-2 middle), jb (sh-4 bridge) *Picks: Dunlop Purple & Green sharp

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peterson, Eric 1964 births 20th-century American guitarists 21st-century American guitarists American heavy metal guitarists American male guitarists American musicians of Mexican descent American people of Mexican descent American people of Swedish descent American black metal musicians Guitarists from California Hispanic and Latino American musicians Living people People from Berkeley, California Place of birth missing (living people) Rhythm guitarists Testament (band) members nl:Eric Peterson