Eric Stanley Peterson is an American musician, best known as the rhythm guitarist of the thrash metal 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 are the only members to appear on all of the band's studio albums.

The Gathering is the eighth studio album by American thrash metal band Testament, released on June 8, 1999. It was the first release the band had done with Spitfire Records. Co-produced by band members, Chuck Billy and Eric Peterson, this was the first album featuring new musicians Steve DiGiorgio on bass guitar and Dave Lombardo on drums. Billy, Peterson and Lombardo, along with longtime Testament collaborator Del James, are also given composer credits on the album. It would also be the only Testament album for Lombardo, who had left the band not long after the release of The Gathering.