Away Team

TESTAMENT frontman Chuck Billy has confirmed to Terrorizer that drummer Paul Bostaph (SLAYER, EXODUS, FORBIDDEN) has left the band.

Bostaph was absent from the recording sessions for TESTAMENT‘s new album, “The Dark Roots Of Earth“, which will be released on April 27, 2012 via Nuclear Blast Records. The Dark Roots Of Earth features Gene Hoglan on drums because Paul has been out of action due to a “serious injury” and unable to record or tour.

Chuck explains that Paul has decided to step down permanently, leaving the band with the task of finding a new member.

“We just found out last week Paul Bostaph is not coming back to the band, he’s starting his own new project and doing some things on his own. So we’re actually going to be holding a couple of auditions with probably small group of drummers that we chose – we don’t want to have a revolving drum stool, we have a new record, we want a permanent drummer.”









For more TESTAMENT click here.

Craig Locicero, Russ Anderson, Matt Camacho, and Steve Smyth of the Bay Area thrash band FORBIDDEN are proud to make the following announcement:

“After a couple of grueling months of sifting through video auditions, we’ve finally got our man. Let it be known that on Halloween 2011, Sasha Horn from Chicago is FORBIDDEN’s new drummer!

“There were so many great players throwing themselves out there and we were always encouraged by the prospects. We had 9 different drummers out of the dozens of submissions make the trek to Oakland to give it their best shot. Those drummers included Eli Lucas (Petaluma, CA), Duane Timlin (Houston, TX), Jimmy Schultz (Los Angeles), Pat Magrath (Los Angeles), Gee Anzalone (Italy), Todd Hansen (Australia), Henry Moreno (Florida), and Burton Ortega (San Francisco). We can’t say enough about these guys and how much heart and guts it took to take the chance for the gig. Much love and respect to them! At the very least, we have some new friends and we know where some great new talent is.

“All of these guys kicked ass or they would have never made it through the door, but at the end of the day, it was a two-horse race between Eli Lucas and Sasha. We can say with certainty that if Sasha didn’t slay the way he did, Eli would have gotten the gig. Both are incredible drummers with HUGE upsides. Eli will go far in this business!

“Sasha, however, lifted us to another level. When he started playing ‘Infinite,’ everyone in the band immediately looked at each other and our eyes got bigger. It was something that Russ and I have not felt since Paul Bostaph first played with us back in 1986, when we were kids. Simply put, great chemistry! A sense of invincibility was in the room. Then we played ‘Forsaken At The Gates’ and it was over. No need to keep playing – we were stunned. In fact, some of our hands were shaking! That’s saying something. It was like gasoline thrown on an inferno!

“Now that we have our band back intact, we can start writing the next FORBIDDEN record with the confidence that we have something special once again. Like Bostaph, Jacobs, Hernandez and Hoglan, Sasha Horn will earn his praise and respect from our fans. He’s FORBIDDEN’s next great drummer and we are very proud to tell the world! We are truly inspired to out-do ourselves.”

New FORBIDDEN drummer Sasha Horn (ex-November’s Doom, Ava Inferi) comments:

“This was an amazing opportunity from the get-go, to be able to throw my name in on auditions for a band that I’ve been an avid fan of since I was 12 years-old. How does it feel to now get the chance to slay alongside them? Otherworldly. Truly out of this world. To just be considered along with the other amazing drummers from across the globe was a humbling experience in itself. And it’s because FORBIDDEN is a band that wants to constantly take leaps and bounds up to that next level that I know this is the perfect union. When we got into that room and played together for the first time, the chemistry just went right off of the charts. That’s a good feeling to start off with.”









For more FORBIDDEN click here.

Guitarist / founding member / songwriter Craig Locicero of the Bay Area thrash band FORBIDDEN has issued the following update:

“This has been the week of all weeks for FORBIDDEN highs and lows. It started with losing a drummer and cancelling an entire tour. Really low. But there has been a few silver linings as well.

“First good thing is Gene Hoglan (Dark Angel, Death, Strapping Young Lad) had an opening in his schedule and is playing a one-off with us at this weekend’s Alcatraz Festival in Belgium. Gene is our Bro! Because of him, we salvaged the European tour’s biggest date.

“Then, the ProgPower Festival in Atlanta, Georgia inquired about August 27th. Gene once again has an opening… so here we come Atlanta! We’ll bring our Thrash to both of these amazing festivals thanks to the Mighty Atomic Clock coming through!

“As for our long-term drummer solution, well… some other fantastic drummers with respected names have offered their sticks from all over the world. Many of our awesome friends and peers alike have made it clear they would lend us a hand or flat out want the gig! That is an honor beyond words and we thank all of you. But there is simply no way to get everyone into a room to jam and have it be practical. That would take weeks we don’t have.

“We want the right player so we’ve decided to set up a YouTube channel specifically for the truest contenders. A place just for those serious enough to show the band and the world your skills playing FORBIDDEN songs. Send a video of yourself bashing out ‘Forsaken At The Gates,’ ‘Infinite,’ and another FORBIDDEN song of your choice. We will look at all of the videos objectively and decide who goes to the next level. At that next point, chemistry becomes everything. First we need to get past 1st base before sliding home.

“If you deserve to sit on the same throne as Paul Bostaph, Steve Jacobs, Mark Hernandez, and Gene Hoglan, you’d better get ready to bring it out in the open! As far as we’re concerned, those are 4 of the greatest drummers in Thrash Metal so give it your best shot! What are you drummers waiting for? Let’s see what you’ve got!”

Send a Dropbox, Fileblaze, or Mediablaze download link to: forbiddendrummer2011@gmail.com.

By sending in your submission, you are granting your consent to having your video file uploaded onto the FORBIDDEN Drummer 2011 YouTube channel and other social media sites for comments.

Make sure to include your name and contact information in your e-mail.

Visit FORBIDDEN’s YouTube Drummer Auditions channel here.

Y&T will be holding a special New Year’s Eve Benefit Concert for original bassist Phil Kennemore who was recently been diagnosed with metastatic cancer. The event will be held on December 31st at The Avalon in Santa, Clara, CA. Doors are at 8PM and tickets are $75. 100% of the proceeds will go to Phil Kennemore.

Special guests who have volunteered to perform include:
Geoff Tate (QUEENSRŸCHE)
Don Dokken (DOKKEN)
Bobby Blotzer (RATT)
Vinny Appice (DIO, BLACK SABBATH, HEAVEN & HELL)
Sean McNabb (Dokken, MONTROSE)
Loren Gold (ROGER DALTREY)
Paul Bostaph (TESTAMENT)

Friends who have donated items/services to help include:
Frankie Banali (QUIET RIOT), Joey Allen, Erik Turner from WARRANT, Jeff Scott Soto (ex-TALISMAN, JOURNEY, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN), TIGERTAILZ, Timothy Drury (ex-WHITESNAKE).

Very special guest performances and unique auction items available at the event. Other auction items available at the Y&T web site.














For more info visit Meniketti.com.

On August 17th, 2010, SLAYER‘s 2003′s War At The Warfield and 2004′s Still Reigning will be reissued, and, for the first time ever, 1995′s Live Intrusion, having been digitally remastered, will also be available on DVD. All three will be sold separately at retail and online ($13.98 each), and the Limited Edition Slayer Live DVD 3-Pak ($29.98), will be available exclusively on Slayer‘s website.

“I remember around God Hates Us All,” said Slayer‘s Kerry King, “asking when we were going to make a DVD of Live Intrusion. So, here we are, ten years later, and it’s about time.”

Every one of the Slayer live-in-concert DVDs represents a different era of the band:

Live Intrusion was recorded on March 12th, 1995 at the Mesa Amphitheatre in Mesa, AZ, and features guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, bassist/vocalist Tom Araya, and drummer Paul Bostaph. The disc, which is certified Gold, includes some of the most classic Slayer songs such as ‘Raining Blood‘ and ‘War Ensemble‘, but also some early special tracks like ‘At Dawn They Sleep‘ and ‘Captor Of Sin‘. As a bonus, MACHINE HEAD‘s Robb Flynn and Chris Kontos join the band on-stage for a cover of VENOM‘s ‘Witching Hour‘. The opening of Live Intrusion features a look at some of the band’s very unique fans, in particular, with special emphasis placed upon the fan from the mid-90s who had “Slayer” carved onto his forearm. In addition, the quality of Live Intrusion is high-end, as the original VHS master was located and used to create the DVD.

War At The Warfield was filmed at the Warfield Theatre in San Francisco, CA on December 7th, 2001, and like Live Intrusion, features drummer Paul Bostaph, marking his last release with Slayer before original drummer, Dave Lombardo, rejoined the band. ‘Seasons In The Abyss‘, ‘Mandatory Suicide‘, and ‘Disciple‘ are some of the jewels on this live collection that debuted at #3 on Billboard’s DVD chart, and has since been certified Gold.

Filmed at the Civic Center in Augusta, ME on July 11th, 2004, Still Reigning – also Gold certified and voted Best Live DVD by the readers of Revolver magazine – was directed by Dean Karr and recreates Slayer‘s thrash/punk, 28-minute classic 1986 album Reign In Blood performed in its entirety. The end of the video features the “Wall of Blood“, with the band, their instruments, and the stage completely drenched by a downpour of 150 liters of “blood“.

For more SLAYER click here.

This interview was conducted on May 29th, 2009 in Raleigh, NC.

When you think of Bay Area Thrash, you think of four bands; Metallica, Exodus, Testament, and Death Angel. Sure there were others of that time, and many that came later. But those four bands defined Thrash Metal and the ‘Bay Area’ sound. Naturally there were none bigger than Metallica, but close on their heels has to be Testament. After 24 years, numerous lineup changes, a throat cancer scare, and a nine year period of inactivity, Testament is back with a new album Formation of Damnation featuring Chuck Billy on vocals, Eric Peterson on guitar, Alex Skolnick on guitar, Greg Christian on bass, and Paul Bostaph on drums. A new tour that is taking the bands to markets they haven’t played in 15 years or more (I caught the show in Raleigh, NC, and there was much debate as to whether Testament had actually ever played Raleigh before). And a new focus and determination to take the band higher and farther than it has ever been before. I met with Alex Skolnick right before their set at the Lincoln Theatre in Raleigh, and talked about Testament, Trans Siberian Orchestra, the Alex Skolnick Trio and life before and after Testament. Here we go….

Away-Team: This is Jim Keller with Alex Skolnick from Testament. Once again I want to thank you for sitting down and doing this interview with us, much appreciated.

Alex: Absolutely!

Away-Team: What I’d like to do basically is start at the beginning of the band.

Alex: Okay.

Away-Team: Testament was originally started as The Legacy..

Alex: Right…

Away-Team: By Eric (Peterson) and his cousin. They had Steve Souza in the band as a vocalist who left to join Exodus before you recorded your first album. It was reported that he actually suggested Chuck (Billy) as his replacement. Why did Steve leave?

Alex: Well it was funny ‘cause he was the guy that gave us all serious talking toos about how everybody in this band has to be serious. You know when I joined the band he’s like you’re either serious, you either take this seriously or you take it somewhere else. We don’t want guys that are just in here that are just gonna leave and join some other band. Sure enough *laughs* he’s the guy that ends up leaving. But you know he left because I think he felt Exodus was going farther, faster.

Away-Team: At that time when you joined, you were a student of Joe Satriani’s Correct?

Alex: Correct.

Away-Team: And after you joined the band did you continue practicing with him, learning from him?

Alex: I studied with him for about two years. I was with him, basically for the first six months I was in the band and then he started getting really busy. He did his first solo recordings. He definitely uh got me to learn a lot more on my own than I would have otherwise.

Away-Team: So, is it kind of a prerequisite that if you’re going to be in one of the better thrash bands out of San Francisco a la Testament, Metallica; you had to learn from Joe?

Alex: Apparently!! Everybody studied with him, yeah!

Away-Team: Before the first album or during the recording of the first album you had to change your name from The Legacy because there was some jazz band apparently that had the name…

Alex: It was a hotel band…

Away-Team: A hotel band had copyrighted the name The Legacy?

Alex: Yeah. A hotel R&B band in New Orleans.

Away-Team: So the story I had heard was that the reason you changed it to Testament was because the CD artwork – everything was already done and the label didn’t want to re-do everything, so you had named the album originally Testament…

Alex: That’s not true

Away-Team: That’s not true, okay, so how did you come up with Testament, then?

Alex: Billy Milano, the singer for SOD came up with the name. Ya know he was on Megaforce Records. So basically an all points bulletin went out, to find a name for the band that Megaforce had just signed. So yeah, I think the guys from Anthrax were suggesting names. Everybody at the record label suggested. We were trying to come up with names and it was Billy Milano that came up with the name Testament.

Away-Team: Did he know you guys or was it just kind of, this is a cool name they should use something like this?

Alex: We had met him, once. But I think he had come up… I feel like I had met him, like maybe when we were recording the first album, and we just, we knew we had to have a name, before the album was released, obviously and it was just one of many suggestions and it was the one, we kind of lived with it for a while and it felt the best.

Away-Team: Your current album, Formation of Damnation, to me is far and away the strongest album you guys have recorded since Practice What You Preach. It’s probably a more straightforward thrash sounding album than some of the last few albums. Was this a culmination of various writing from the last nine years or did you all sit down and write the album together as a whole band?

Alex: No, it was a combination. I think the previous album the guys did when I wasn’t with the band, The Gathering, that was the first one I felt, a lot of people felt, where Chuck and Eric sort of found a formula that works for them. So I didn’t want to really, get in the way of that formula and try to make it 1989 again. But I made a lot of suggestions with the music they were doing and I did bring in some music of my own. Some of that got used; the song F.E.A.R. is something I wrote. But it was more a combination of ideas that Chuck and Eric had had, playing around with some new stuff.

Away-Team: And Eric being the predominant songwriter, music writer for the band, now with this you’re current lineup which is the semi-reunited lineup or the original lineup with addition of Paul Bostaph is it a more of a collaborative thing now or at least going forward to looking at the next album is going to be more collaborative?

Alex: We’ll see, just kind of going to let it happen as it happens.

Away-Team: And will there be a new album?

Alex: There will eventually be, yes.

Away-Team: We mentioned the many lineup changes you guys have done over the years. You being one of them. You guys all got together in 2001 as The Legacy for the Chuck Billy cancer benefit. That show saw the best of the Bay Area thrash scene reuniting for a great cause. Bands like Exodus, Death Angel, Sadus, Vio-lence and of course you. In the last eight years or so, Exodus, Death Angel, you guys now with the Formation of Damnation, have released what many consider to be the best music of your individual and collective careers. Some amazing stuff has come out of the original Bay Area thrash scene in the last couple years. It seems that it’s alive and well again. What do you attribute the current popularity or resurrection of the Bay Area trash scene to?

Alex: Well I think part of it is it’s not as isolated as it used to be. It used to be this very isolated area of music. Pretty much limited to the Bay Area with the exception of ya know Megadeth from LA and Anthrax form New York. I think it’s now like one of many genres of very heavy metal. Ya know you have black metal, you have death metal from Florida and it all relates to thrash metal. There are all these relatives in metal. And now you’ve got some newer bands that have formed in the last ten, fifteen years that in some cases are seeing a lot of success and that’s brought a lot more awareness to the original Bay Area thrash scene. So when we first did the reunion shows it was unclear what kind of type of fan we would have. Was it just going to be Old School fans? But there are actually a lot of young fans that are keeping it alive and well.

Away-Team: Well, if you go in the venue right now; I was very surprised. ‘Cause that was one of the things I looked at as they were lining up out here. Is that they are all going to be my age or our age like a bunch of older guys standing out here but the entire crowd in there tonight has gotta be 25 or younger!

Alex: And if we depended on guys our age, the audience wouldn’t be that big. Let’s face it.

Away-Team: Yeah. Absolutely.

Alex: People get to be our age and they have jobs, families; most don’t go out to shows like they did when they were in their twenties. So it’s nice to have a combination. It’s not that we have, we haven’t lost the original fans. But we do have this big young following now. I think a lot of other bands are seeing that as well, like Exodus.

Away-Team: You had mentioned what I call, like the second wave of thrash.. 10 to 15 year old bands. Today you’ve got bands like the band on stage right now, Lazarus AD. Very, very similar to the old Bay Area thrash style. Warbringer, Municipal Waste a lot of very young bands, that seeing a lot of good response, that can be harkened right back to you guys. It’s like the third generation now. Twenty years later there’s still bands coming out and they’re not Retro, they’re not recreating the sound, but they are continuing it if nothing else and that’s got to really, for you guys to be their inspiration, it’s really got to be something.

Alex: It’s great. It’s also great because for so long we were told our music’s not going to last. It’s passing. It’s in left field. It was this outcast music that nobody predicted a future for. So there’s the answer right there. Great, new young bands that are doing it today.

Away-Team: And twenty four years later, you guys are still out here kicking ass, so it’s very cool. Going back to the formation of not damnation, but of Testament. Can you name one of your favorite memories of the mid to late eighties in the Bay Area Thrash music scene? Some of the shows from The Stone or Ruthie’s Inn or Mabuhay Gardens?

Alex: Yeah, I will say I remember one time Metallica playing at Ruthie’s unannounced, just to do a warm-up. That was great. They did a lot of, they did some punk covers. It was just a fun gig. Uh, there was also this project called Spastik Children, with Cliff Burton, James Hetfield on drums and it was like comedy like sort of South Park before South Park. Completely politically incorrect, funny, bad, badly played on purpose music.

Away-Team: God, I forgot all about Spastik Children…

Alex: Yeah, some of those shows are pretty memorable.

Away-Team: With Metallica coming from L.A., basically because the L.A. scene just couldn’t handle them. The crowds didn’t get what they were trying to do, with you guys, Vio-lence, Exodus, Death Angel, were you kind of a close knit community? Was it kind of you against everybody else? Was there a lot of camaraderie there, or..?

Alex: I’d say there was camaraderie and competition simultaneously. Everybody wanted to be the best band they could and even though a lot of us we didn’t really sound alike. You always had to keep an eye out for the other bands. It’s like different football teams that are all in the same league. You want, as a whole you want to do well, but you still want to come out on top, above everybody else.

Away-Team: I understand. Your current tour, in support of the Formation of Damnation, is unique in that you guys are allowing the fans to vote, via your MySpace page, for the set list they want to hear in their given town. You have three options, The Legacy, plus hits, The New Order plus hits, or a chronicle set list, basically from start to finish of your catalogue. How did you guys come about the idea? How has it been received? And any regrets on having to keep rotating a roughly thirty song playlist on tour?

Alex: It’s worked out very easily, because overwhelmingly everybody’s voted for the Chronicle stuff, so that’s pretty much what we’ve done. And I’m not sure who came up with the idea, but it’s definitely been a very good idea and it’s just been fun to hear from the fans. And in the process they’ve not only voted on the songs, a lot of them have made suggestions a long the way. “We want to hear a chronicle, but we really want to hear this song. Why don’t you play this song?”

Away-Team: And you guys are actually listening and paying attention to what they’re…

Alex: Oh absolutely.

Away-Team: Beside the main lineup changes, you guys have several label changes over the years; mainly due to simple bad luck and the labels folding on you. Did I read though that somehow you guys ended up on a gospel label prior to signing with Nuclear Blast?

Alex: Well I think what happened was we were signed to Spitfire which got bought by another label, which was a gospel label.

Away-Team: OK. And they had no interest in releasing the new Testament CD? Laughs

Alex: Oh, Exactly. I’m sure at first they thought, oh this is perfect.

Away-Team: A “New Testament” band awesome!

Alex: And then they found out what it was and then they let the band go, no problem.

Away-Team: So did Spitfire have some religious bands on their roster?

Alex: I don’t think so. I’m not sure.

Away-Team: Laughs. Alright, you are currently on Nuclear Blast and they are treating you well…

Alex: Treating us great. It’s a great partnership absolutely.

Away-Team: Good, good. When the current tour with Unearth and Lazarus AD, at least the North American leg of it is over, what are you guys’ plans? Where are you going next?

Alex: We’re off for a couple weeks, then we’re going to be in Europe for July and part of August to do a lot of festivals.

Away-Team: Do you have any plans for a follow up album and will we have to wait another nine years for it?

Alex: No, it’ll be recorded next year, most likely released, late, by late next year

Away-Team: Great! With all the side projects, from your various members, Dragonlord, you in Trans Siberian Orchestra, Chuck’s Dublin Death Patrol and your jazz trio, how do you guys find time to get together, to record and tour? And how does that affect, I mean is Testament now the priority or is it ‘we can fit in Testament around these various projects’? TSO’s a big deal, it’s a big show and you have to…

Alex: Yeah, it’s a unique situation, because I was already, I’d already been playing with TSO for several years by the time the Testament reunion happened. So it’s been pretty understood that during the months of the Winter TSO tour I’m not available. I do my best, as far as my trio and I have couple other projects I’m involved with as well, some as a producer which I can’t talk about yet. They’re…They’re gonna be

Away-Team: Then I won’t ask that question…

Alex: Pretty exciting times and projects… We’re doing an album cycle right now. So, since last year we’ve been doing an album cycle, so this, Testament has been the priority. Soon as we’re done with this album cycle I think there’s going to be a slight shift in priorities. The way this record got created was a lot of the basics were worked on while I was with TSO, I would write ideas, which I think is going to happen this next tour as well, and then I think next year, Before the album cycle, before the Testament album cycle starts, that’s going to be a good chance for me to do a lot more stuff with the Alex Skolnick Trio. But then, of course, once the Testament album cycle starts then that’s going to be the priority. It really depends on where we are in terms of the album cycle..

Away-Team: So everybody’s working together though, with all their side projects, everything kind of fits in OK and there’s no real conflict going on with it?

Alex: Yeah, I mean it’s a different thing with me, because with TSO it’s a very set tour. With Dragonlord, Eric decides, when that tours. With my Trio there are people that decide it with me, so we work to make sure that we capitalize on any available time I have to tour with them.

Away-Team: I have heard that some of your solos for Formation of Damnation were recorded while on tour with TSO and done in someone’s bathroom in New York. Is that correct?

Alex: That’s not true. I mean the part about the bathroom is not true. What basically happened was some of the solos were recorded in Albany, when TSO had some days off in 2007. The first studio that we found was a guy’s basement…

Away-Team: It was his basement, OK

Alex: Yeah. And it just, it was an awful situation. We had like 48 hours, we had two days and the goal was to do all of the solos and basically a whole day was wasted. We were getting all of this radio signal out of the amps and the guy had no idea what to do about it. So then we found a really good studio the one that we should’ve been at all along and I did half of the songs, and I did the other half as soon I was done with the TSO tour.

Away-Team: Now did you already have the solos worked out or a rough idea what you were going to do with them…

Alex: I had a couple rough ideas, but some of them I came up with on the spot….

Away-Team: ‘Cause they’re some outstanding solos.

Alex: Thank you!

Away-Team: Across the board the musicianship and the work on Formation of Damnation is actually very stellar…

Alex: I appreciate that.

Away-Team: Paul Bostaph is currently drumming for you. This his second stint in the band now. He’s played with some other great bands besides Testament. He started out with Forbidden… Slayer, Exodus and another not as well known Bay Area band, but that I’m very familiar with, Systematic. He’s kind of become known as the ‘go to’ metal drummer, almost like a journeyman. Is he now a permanent member of Testament?

Alex: It certainly feels that way. That remains to be seen. Yeah, it definitely feels that way. I know on our end there’s no thought of working with anybody else…

Away-Team: OK, so Louie’s not going to come knocking on the bus one day? Where is Louie?

Alex: Louie comes… Louie makes appearances. He’s always… He always visits us when we play. He was just on tour with us for three days…

Away-Team: Oh, really?

Alex: He doesn’t really play any more. He just likes to hang out. We like having him around. It works out well. We get him away from his job. He’s like a, a relative…

Away-Team: Is there anything you haven’t done yet, goal-wise or music-wise that you still want to? And what is it?

Alex: Yeah there’s a lot of things. Definitely, I’m close, I mean I feel like with my instrumental albums I’m able to do the music that’s in my head. Which is great! For me it’s just getting my instrumental stuff to a wider audience. And I’d like to see Testament reach a wider audience as well. The truth is, what I would really like to see is the trio playing venues like Testament’s playing; those size crowds. I’d like to see Testament playing to crowds more like TSO’s.

Away-Team: Absolutely!

Alex: I get this experience of every year playing in front of a packed arena. Sometimes twice a day! And this band has never experienced that. That kind of production, that kind of audience. We’ve had some great support slots in arenas. But I think this could be a great arena band.

Away-Team: You guys have never actually headlined arenas?

Alex: Never

Away-Team: Really. Wow, I did not realize that.

Alex: Yep!

Away-Team: There’s many bands out there today that are citing Testament as an influence, as a musician it’s got to be an ultimate compliment. How do you react to something like that? I mean, how does that make you feel?

Alex: Great! It feels great. It’s a great compliment. It’s not something you think about while you’re doing it, while you’re in the studio or playing live; about having an influence on somebody else, you just do what you do. But when you hear that, it’s amazing, ‘cause having had many influences myself, just to think that I was able to be what I saw in my favorite guitars players, other people are seeing in me, which is really, really cool.

Away-Team: Who are some of your influences?

Alex: Well, it started out with Randy Rhodes and Eddie Van Halen, Michael Shanker. I studied their influences, Jeff Beck, Clapton, Hendrix and then the classic Blues players. And then once I got into Jazz, Wes Montgomery, Pat Metheny…

Away-Team: What made you pick up a guitar to begin with?

Alex: KISS.

Away-Team: Really?

Alex: Yep. I discovered KISS and wanted to play KISS songs.

Away-Team: And it was the guitar always?

Alex: It was piano, very briefly in third grade. And then I had a bad music teacher and I, I quit piano. Now I bought a piano. I still like to play, but I have no plans to play professionally.

Away-Team: We’re not going to see you in a hotel lounge somewhere tickling the ivories…

Alex: Not anytime soon!

Away-Team: Well Alex, that pretty much wraps up my questions. I do appreciate your time… I wish you much luck with the rest of the tour…

Alex: Thank you!

Away-Team: The festivals this summer, of course TSO in the winter and then at some point next year we’ll hear a little bit from the trio again.

Alex: Yeah, yeah, going to try to squeeze out a new trio album. Or at least an EP this year.

Away-Team: Great! Alright, well I appreciate it Alex, thank you very much again for your time!

Alex: No problem Jim, good to see you again.

There you have it. We got some shout outs to Cliff Burton, James Hetfield and Spastik Children, Billy Milano of MOD and SOD, and KISS! My thanks to Brian at Adrenaline PR for setting up the interview, Mark for ensuring it actually happened, Alex for jumping in last minute and rescuing the interview, and Bam Bam as always for getting me in the interviews to begin with!
If you haven’t heard Formation Of Damnation go pick it up NOW!!!! And check out Testament on the road. The show that night was nothing short of amazing. The guys played with a furiousness that belied their age, and a sense of fun and having a good time. The music and vocals were spot on, and I did not hear one person walk away from that show with a bad word.

For more information on TESTAMENT visit their site here.
For more information on Alex, and the Alex Skolnick Trio click here.