input: Testament's second album, The New Order, was released in May 1988, and found the band continuing in a similar vein. The album was a minor success, peaking at number 136 on the Billboard 200, and managed to sell over 250,000 copies. In support of The New Order, Testament opened for Megadeth on their So Far, So Good... So What! tour in Europe, and toured the United States with the likes of Death Angel, Vio-Lence and Raven.  After touring in support of The New Order, the band headed back into the studio to record their third studio album Practice What You Preach. Released in August 1989, the album minimized the occult and gothic themes found in the lyrical content of their first two albums, instead focusing on real-life issues such as politics and corruption. Practice What You Preach performed better on the charts than The New Order, reaching at number 77 on the Billboard 200, and included the hit single, the title track, which saw extensive airplay on Headbangers Ball. Testament toured for nearly a year behind Practice What You Preach with several bands, including Annihilator, Wrathchild America, Mortal Sin, Nuclear Assault and Savatage. By 1990, the album had sold over 450,000 copies.  In October 1990, Testament released their fourth studio album Souls of Black. Although reviews were mixed, the album managed to sell respectably, in no doubt largely off the strength of the single title track, and saw the band perform on arena tours, including the European Clash of the Titans tour with Megadeth, Slayer and Suicidal Tendencies. They also opened for Judas Priest on their Painkiller tour from October to December 1990, and Slayer on their Seasons in the Abyss tour from January to March 1991.  Attempting to reconnect with an audience distracted by the growing grunge movement, Testament released The Ritual in 1992. The Ritual saw a stylistic move away from thrash to a slower, slightly more traditional heavy metal sound. The Ritual peaked at 55 on the Billboard Hot 100, the band's highest chart position at the time, and the power ballad "Return to Serenity" managed to receive radio airplay, peaking at number 22. In support of the album, Testament toured Europe and North America, headlining their own tours, as well as opening for Iron Maiden on their Fear of the Dark tour, and Black Sabbath on their Dehumanizer tour. However, the success of The Ritual did not put an end to the tensions within the band.

Answer this question "How did the band increase their popularity?"
output: In support of The New Order, Testament opened for Megadeth on their So Far, So Good...

input: Steven Van Zandt was born on November 22, 1950, in Boston, Massachusetts. He was born as Steven Lento and is of Southern Italian descent (his grandfather was from Calabria and his grandmother's parents were Neapolitans). He lived at 16 Edgecliff Road in Watertown, Massachusetts.  His mother, Mary Lento, remarried in 1957 and he took the last name of his stepfather, William Brewster Van Zandt. The family moved from Massachusetts to Middletown Township, New Jersey, when he was seven.  Van Zandt found his love for music at an early age, when he learned how to play the guitar. He watched the performances of the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show and Rolling Stones on Hollywood Palace in 1964 and referred to the former as "The Big Bang of Rock n' Roll". He said that when he was 13, George Harrison was his favorite Beatle, but he is now friends with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. Around August 1964, he formed his first band, the Whirlwinds, which was short lived. He later formed the Mates in 1965 and joined the Shadows in May 1966. Van Zandt has cited British Invasion bands such as the Dave Clark Five, as well as Ravi Shankar and the culture of India as early influences.  Van Zandt attended Middletown High School, where he got kicked out for having long hair. He went back to school to make his mother happy and graduated in 1968.  Actor/playwright/producer Billy Van Zandt is Steven Van Zandt's half-brother, making actress Adrienne Barbeau his sister-in-law. He also has a half-sister named Kathi who is a writer.

Answer this question "How was his child hood like?"
output: Van Zandt found his love for music at an early age, when he learned how to play the guitar.

input: Dallas Green informed the rest of the band of his intention to leave Alexisonfire in 2010. Green agreed not to announce his departure until the rest of the band decided on their future plans. On February 14, 2011, on their official Twitter page, Alexisonfire announced they had been writing new music for their fifth studio album, describing it as "so heavy it's going to make Dog's Blood look like a ska record". However, on August 5, 2011, Alexisonfire announced their intent to break up. In the statement, George Pettit cited Dallas Green's departure from the band to focus solely on City and Colour, Wade MacNeil's departure to join another band, later revealed to be as the new vocalist for Gallows, and other personal issues among the remaining members as reasons for breaking up. Pettit also described the break up as not being "amicable". Alexisonfire had planned on celebrating their tenth anniversary with one last headlining Canadian tour and "a series of releases", although Green had initially expressed reluctance to take part in any further shows with the band at the time.  For Record Store Day 2012, Alexisonfire and Dine Alone re-issued Math Sheet Demos, which featured demo recordings of songs prepared in the pre-production of their self-titled debut album.  In July 2012, Green stated he had been in contact with other ex-Alexisonfire members, and that he and MacNeil had been "starting to talk about doing some final [Alexisonfire] shows, because when we did play our last show nobody knew it was our last show." In December 2012-15 months after the band's breakup announcement--Alexisonfire embarked on their international, farewell tour with stops in Canada, UK, Australia and Brazil, originally announced to be a nine-date tour. Due to demand, the tour was later extended to 15 dates. In December an EP entitled Death Letter was released, featuring new interpretations of songs spanning the band's previous four albums.

Answer this question "Why did Alexisonfire cancel their album"
output:
Dallas Green informed the rest of the band of his intention to leave Alexisonfire in 2010. Green agreed not to announce his departure