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Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer
Entertainment
Paul Travers

"My parents were academics and not thrilled about me joining a thrash metal band." Testament's Alex Skolnick talks thrash, Clash Of The Titans and what it was like joining Ozzy Osbourne's band

Alex Skolnick press.

Alex Skolnick was a timid 16-year-old when he joined Testament in 1985, but his highly skilled melodic guitar playing would prove hugely influential throughout the Bay Area thrash scene and beyond. When he left Testament in the early 90s, he pursued diverse musical projects, including stints in Savatage and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. He also went back to school to study jazz and formed his own jazz outfit, The Alex Skolnick Trio.

Alex rejoined Testament in 2005, and they’ve since gone from strength to strength. He’s kept his fingers in numerous other pies, too, from teaching to ambitious world music projects. He’s the muso’s thrasher with a list of accomplishments longer than an extendedscale fretboard, but remains as humble and down-to-earth as they come.

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