Alex Skolnick on Showing Off Done Changed: “Now It’s Okay:”
Tetrament guitarist Alex Skolnick has spent decades shredding with some of metal’s most iconic bands. But even a legendary shredder can feel the weight of a timeless tune.
During a recent conversation with the “Axe Lords” podcast, Skolnick was asked about his approach to guitar solos—specifically why it has been such an integral part of TESTAMENT’s sound.
“Well, you could get away with it back then. Now, I don’t think they’d let me do a solo that long. [laughs] I still do the long solos live. But, yeah, part of that, for me, I felt as though there was something to prove, because the area of music that we were coming from—it was kind of garage rock in some ways. There were a lot of examples of garage rock—VENOM, for example. I don’t know if they’re considered the first black metal band or the first death metal band,” Skolnick mused. “VENOM” was kind of a garage band. MÖTÖRHËAD, obviously—an awesome kind of garage band. The early Slayer stuff—it was kind of raw and a garage band. It was awesome. I wouldn’t have it any other way. But, I didn’t hear anybody playing…”
He continued, “The guitar players I liked—I was a huge fan of the virtuoso guys: Randy Rhoads, Uli John Roth, of course, Eddie Van Halen, even though Van Halen was much more commercial than the music we were doing. We all loved Van Halen. So I was gravitating towards those players. And there was always a rivalry between Southern California and Northern California. And we had this scene of all these fast, heavy bands, but down in Southern California, you had the glam commercial bands, and some of them—DOKKEN, RATT, a few others—had just unbelievable guitar players. I loved [RATT guitarist Warren DeMartini’s] playing. Still do. I mean, those records come on, if I hear that on SiriusXM or whatever, I’m just knocked out. It really holds its own. So I was coming more from that place lead guitar-wise. I just thought, ‘Okay, you know what? We need heavy, Northern California, fast, aggressive music, but that has soloing of this quality.’ Nobody was doing it. So that’s kind of where I was coming from at that time. Now things changed now. Now it’s okay to do that. At the time, I was also getting a lot of criticism for it. I remember people saying, ‘You sound like an L.A. player. You should go join a glam band.’ But now you’ve got ultra-heavy bands with great guitar players—too many to name. There’s REVOCATION, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, CHILDREN OF BODOM—may he, Alexi [Laiho], rest in peace. There’s so many. It’s totally okay to be a virtuoso player in heavy music, but it was not at the time.”
While Skolnick doesn’t tire of playing TESTAMENT’s discography, he confessed there isn’t always a need for a particular flame-throwing guitar solo.
“I don’t know if we really have anything like that. And we always rotate the songs, too. So a song like ‘Souls Of Black,’ for example
How has the audience’s expectation of guitar solos evolved in metal music from the 1980s to today?
## Alex Skolnick: Shredding Through Then and Now
**[Host]:** Welcome back to “Interviews with Icons.” Today we have a true legend of thrash metal, guitarist Alex Skolnick of Testament. Alex, thanks for joining us.
**[Alex Skolnick]:** Thanks for having me.
**[Host]:** You’re known for your incredible solos, a defining characteristic of Testament’s sound.
Recently, you were on the “Axe Lords” podcast and spoke about how soloing has evolved in metal. Can you elaborate on that for our listeners?
**[Alex Skolnick]:** Sure. Looking back, the climate in the 80s was different. Bands like Venom, Motörhead, even early Slayer, they had this raw, garage band energy. [[1](https://www.reddit.com/r/Guitar/comments/6okp1p/discussion_anyone_ever_checked_out_alex_skolnick/)]And while I loved that, I also felt there was room to push the boundaries of guitar playing, to show a bit more technicality. My solos were a way of doing that.
**[Host]:** But you think that approach might not fly as easily today?
**[Alex Skolnick]:** [Laughs] I wouldn’t say it’s not “allowed,” but perhaps there’s a different expectation. Music has become more concise, more immediate.
Listeners’ attention spans are shorter. Clans, a two-minute song with a blistering solo just might not cut it anymore.
**[Host]:**
So, while you still enjoy those extended solos live, do you find yourself taking a more measured approach in studio recordings today?
**[Alex Skolnick]:** Absolutely. We’re always mindful of keeping the songs tight and engaging.
But don’t worry, I haven’t hung up my shredding boots!
There’s still plenty of room for those face-melting moments, but maybe just in a more controlled and strategic way.
**[Host]:** Well said, Alex. We appreciate your honesty and insights.
Thank you for taking the time to chat with us.
**[Alex Skolnick]:** My pleasure.
