Testament guitarist Alex Skolnick recently revealed how he felt when he first joined Testament in 1985.
During an interview with Metal Hammer, Skolnick shared his thoughts on the 80’s thrash metal scene, revealing how it made him feel like a ‘real freak’. The guitarist was praised for ‘injecting virtuosity into thrash music similar to how Marty Friedman of Megadeth did’. He responded with the following:
“That’s fair. I mean… I was a student of Joe Satriani when I was in high school, and I was an Eddie Van Halen fanatic. So, even though I had no interest in being in a glam metal band, I liked guitarists like George Lynch, Warren DeMartini, and guys like that. These were guys who clearlcy were listening to Eddie Van Halen, Randy Rhoads, and Joe Satriani and were applying it to being in a commercial rock band.”
Apparently, it was not very common to play in bands during that time. He elaborated:
“But it was considered crazy to play a band like Testament and play the way those guys did. Most thrash guys wanted to lean more toward Motörhead, focusing on a garage-rock playing style.”
According to Skolnick, Marty Friedman played a significant role in helping him overcome feeling alone in the thrash scene. He stated:
“So, these days, it’s not as unusual to have polished guitar players in thrash bands; back in the ’80s, it was unusual. So, when I joined Testament, I felt like an alien.
But a couple of years later, when Marty Friedman joined Megadeth, I felt like, “Okay, I’m not alone anymore.” But at the time, yeah, I felt like a real freak being in a band like Testament and playing polished shred style. I’m glad it’s not such a radical thing anymore.”
Since his joining, he has been with the band and they have been playing, recording, and performing together ever since.
The guitarist had to skip some of the European tour dates scheduled for the spring and summer of 2023 due to a family emergency. His place was filled in by the former Machine Head guitarist Phil Demmel, but Skolnick recently got back with the band and has already played a few shows since his temporary leave.
See the fan-filmed video of the band’s first show with the guitarist since his leave down below.
