Jerry Cantrell Inspired Testament’s Chuck Billy to Cut His Hair

Testament’s Chuck Billy has a startling new look and he credits a fellow rocker for pushing him to do it.

The 64-year-old vocalist debuted his transformation in a social media video on Tuesday.

Chuck Billy Says ‘It Was Time for a Change’

In the post shared to both his personal Instagram and the Testament account, Billy wrote, “Decades later, it was time for a change. Chuck Billy 2027. Do we love it?!”

The video, which appears to have been recorded in someone’s kitchen, shows Billy sitting down before he is covered with a barber’s smock.

“Here I am getting a haircut. I’ve had long hair my whole life except when I was ill with cancer. But today I think is the day. It’s going to be a new look.”

READ MORE: Metallica’s James Hetfield Goes Public With Bold New Hairstyle Ahead for Sphere Residency

Billy had previously been diagnosed with germ cell seminoma, a type of cancer, in the early 2000s when he was 38 years old. He later announced the cancer was in remission following chemotherapy.

There is no indication the time-lapse video shows Billy getting several inches of his hair lopped off

“Starting fresh and new,” Billy told fans as he showed off his dramatically short hair. “I don’t know; do I look more grown-up now? I feel pretty good. I feel a little lighter”

The Rock Musician Who Inspired Chuck Billy’s Haircut

In a follow-up video, Billy confirmed his surprising haircut had nothing to do with a medical condition. Instead, he was inspired by another musician to change up his look.

“I’d seen Jerry Cantrell post two days ago, I believe, with his haircut, and it gave me the strength and the energy and the nerve to cut it all off. So, thank you, Jerry.”

Photos of the Cantrell backstage at Aerosmith‘s recent California Dream On concerts in Los Angeles showed the Alice in Chains member had once again reverted to short hair. He last did something similar in 2013, around the time Alice in Chains released The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here.

Billy’s haircut also comes just before the Nov. 10 release of his memoir, Holding My Breath: The Two Testaments of Chuck Billy. The book, which contains a foreword by Judas Priest‘s Rob Halford and an afterword by Lamb of God‘s Randy Blythe, covers Billy’s career in thrash metal and his battle with cancer.

A release day event is being hosted by comedian and renowned headbanger Brian Posehn, with a special appearance by SiriusXM’s Jose Mangin (more details in the post below).

Keep reading to learn the stories of 26 other rock and metal musicians who conquered cancer.