Testament's Chuck Billy heard he had cancer. Then the floor fell out
Testament's Chuck Billy heard he had cancer. Then the floor fell out
Ed Masley, Arizona RepublicSun, October 25, 2026 at 12:01 PM UTC
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It could be argued that Rob Halford is as qualified as anyone to weigh in on the finer points of what it takes to make a heavy-metal singer truly stand out in a crowded scene.
Here’s what he has to say about Chuck Billy, the imposing force of nature whose lead vocals helped Testament rise to the forefront of the Bay Area thrash-metal scene of the late ’80s, in the foreword to Billy’s new memoir, “Holding My Breath.”
“Voices that rise from the furnace of life itself, forged in adversity, tempered in fire, and unleashed with a power that shakes the foundations of metal, Chuck Billy is one of those voices,” Halford writes.
“From the moment Testament roared onto the scene, Chuck stood at the front like a battle standard, unyielding, defiant and utterly authentic.”
“Holding My Breath” tells that story with unflinching candor, as utterly authentic as the man himself.
This is what he has to say about his first exposure to the genre that would go on to define his place in music history when he overheard Exodus while recording a song for the Shrapnel Records compilation “U.S. Metal Volume IV” with a band called Guilt.
“While we’re tracking, I keep hearing this insane noise coming from the next room, screaming, thrashing, pure chaos,” Billy writes. “I ask the engineer, ‘What the hell is that?’ He goes, ‘Oh, that’s Exodus. They’re recording an album.’”
'Holding My Breath' goes much deeper than thrash-metal memories
But there’s more to Billy’s story than thrash-metal memories. He also puts you right there by his side the day he blacked out standing up in response to “the word you never want to hear.”
At 38, he was diagnosed with cancer.
As Billy recalls his initial reaction to that diagnosis in an exclusive interview with The Arizona Republic via Zoom, “I was so devastated, I just got up and walked out of the doctor's office. They ended up calling my house, like, ‘Hey, have you seen Chuck? He left the doctor's office. We weren't finished.’ I came stumbling home like, ‘What's up?’ Like, ‘Oh, the doctor said I have cancer.’ Then it's like a ton of bricks when I said it. Bam, the floor fell out.’”
An MRI had discovered a tumor “about the size of a squash,” he says, between his heart and lungs.
“They don't tell you statistics or any of that kind of stuff coming out of the gate,” Billy says. “You're just told you have cancer. So you think the worst. Grim, grim, grim. I think we cried for probably the rest of that day and night. And the next day was the day I turned around and said, ‘No no no, I'm gonna hold my breath and here we go,’ just stubborn Chuck. This is what we're gonna do. And I was on that path to mentally fight.”
Memoir reflects on 'that stubborn kid holding his breath to get his way'
When Billy talks about holding his breath, it’s usually a metaphor for doing whatever it takes to bend the world to his will. But it’s a metaphor he’s based on a peculiar habit he developed as a baby of holding his breath until his lips turned blue and he passed out.
“I think that sums up everything about me if I look back, really, that stubborn kid holding his breath to get his way,” Billy says. “And it's played out that way throughout my life.”
He also writes about his heritage, having been raised by a Native American father and a Mexican mother who met in the isolation ward of a tuberculosis sanitorium in the late ’40s.
That Native American heritage played a huge role in his battle against cancer, which found him reinforcing standard chemotherapy treatments with traditional Native American healing practices.
'It’s definitely something that was very therapeutic, first and foremost'
In the introduction to his memoir, Billy writes about his long-standing reluctance to share the more intimate details of his life as an extremely private person. But it feels good to have his story out there on his own terms, written with the help of a co-writer, TV producer Dave Erickson.
“Now that it's done, I'm very proud of it,” Billy says. “It’s definitely something that was very therapeutic, first and foremost. It's never easy to talk about yourself for four months to somebody, not knowing where you wanted the story to start and end or where it's gonna go.”
The book is subtitled “The Two Testaments of Chuck Billy,” one Testament being the thrash-metal legends he’s fronted all these years, the other a testament to who he is and how he managed to battle his way through cancer and come out the other side a true survivor.
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As Billy says, “I want everybody to know the young (expletive)head kid who somehow found his way to lead sing for Testament and made his way through life, you know?”
There were some aspects of his story that felt awkward sharing.
“I never really considered myself a bully, but I always considered myself that big kid getting his way in sports,” Billy says. “So I guess my first thought was, ‘Well, I don't want people to think I'm a bully because I don't want that to be what I was.’ But maybe I was. I don't know. I didn't pick on people. I defended people. But I used my size as an advantage, I guess.”
Reflecting on his parents’ history really struck a nerve.
“How they met, both with tuberculosis, my dad down for 9 years on his back and mom there in the hospital as well and after beating tuberculosis, being able to have a family that late in life, I kind of thought about it like, ‘Holy (expletive),’” he says.
“Me and my brothers are very lucky. We're like a miracle family almost. So that was a buried thing that to me was like, ‘Wow. Right on, mom and dad.’ Once I talked it out and had my brothers in on it, I was like, ‘Wow, mom and dad were kickass, strong people, man.’”
'I've learned to ease up and maybe breathe a little easier'
He wasn’t sure how comfortable he was about sharing the details of his cancer battle.
“One of my uncles early on was ill and the medicine woman came to the house and healed him over the weeks,” he says.
“And one thing that they were told, which kind of stuck with me, was, ‘Now that you've beat this, don't look back, don't talk about it, don't mention it.’ So I always had that sense of, ‘Maybe I shouldn't be talking about that.’ I mean, I beat it. I'm here. Maybe I should just leave that alone.”
In the end, he decided to share. And he’s glad he did. The whole process of telling his story has been a cathartic experience for the notoriously private singer. And he learned a lot about himself and how he’s grown into the man he is today.
“I was bullheaded, standing my ground on things, even stupid band (expletive) — set lists and all that stuff, lyrics,” he says. “But I definitely learned over time that life's too short. I don't have the answer. I've learned to ease up and maybe breathe a little easier, not hold my breath as long to get my way.”
Billy will be joined by Metal Church bassist David Ellefson (formerly of Megadeth) at Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe on Thursday, Oct. 29, to discuss his memoir. Purchasing a pre-signed copy of the book from Changing Hands is required for admission to the event, which includes a meet-and-greet and photo line. Billy will also sign one piece of Testament memorabilia per ticketholder.
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Chuck Billy: Holding My Breath
When: 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 29.
Where: Changing Hands Bookstore, 6428 S. McClintock Dr., Tempe.
Admission: Purchase of autographed memoir from Changing Hands required ($34.59)
Details: 480-730-0205, changinghands.com.
Ed has covered pop music for The Republic since 2007, reviewing festivals and concerts, interviewing legends, covering the local scene and more. He did the same in Pittsburgh for more than a decade. Follow him on X and Instagram @edmasley and on Facebook as Ed Masley. Email him at ed.masley@arizonarepublic.com.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Testament's Chuck Billy heard he had cancer. Then the floor fell out
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