TESTAMENT's SKOLNICK Talks About Songwriting Process For Next Album

Joe Matera of Ultimate-Guitar.com recently conducted an interview with guitarist Alex Skolnick of veteran San Francisco Bay Area thrashers TESTAMENT. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Ultimate-Guitar.com: TESTAMENT currently working on a new album how has it been going and what can fans expect to hear?

Alex Skolnick: It's too early to say. We're in the "riff-writing" stage. We'll be meeting up to start putting ideas together soon, but right now it is hard to describe exactly.

Ultimate-Guitar.com: Has the process been easier when it comes to making a TESTAMENT record today compared to the earlier recordings?

Alex Skolnick: The technology has definitely made it easier. There used to be the issue of running out of tracks and who could go in to record their parts at what times. Now you can record as many tracks as you want and for some parts, you don't even have to rent an official studio with the clock running anymore, so there's less pressure. At the same time, the band got it together before there was this technology so no one relies on it, as some modern bands do.

Ultimate-Guitar.com: In many interviews you have stated that the last album, "The Formation of Damnation", is the best TESTAMENT record to date. Is there pressure on the group for this new record to push yourselves musically and top the previous record?

Alex Skolnick: It seems counter-intuitive to think too much about our previous recording whatever it may be. Each record is its own entity and you have to go in with a certain amount of acceptance of that.

Ultimate-Guitar.com: How does being on the road with TESTAMENT differ today to how it was back in the 1980s?

Alex Skolnick: It is much more civil. You used to not be able to fit into the dressing room before or after the show, as there were so many hangers-on. After the show, everyone would migrate to the bus and fill it with smoke, loud music and alcohol. There was nowhere to go and I think the band lost focus. Nowadays, it is much different. The dressing room and bus are kept more private and everyone is more respectful of each others space. If someone is tired and feels like going to sleep on the bus after the show, they are now able to so. That wasn't always the case.

Ultimate-Guitar.com: What has been the most embarrassing stage moment for you?

Alex Skolnick: I'll never forget this time many, many years ago with TESTAMENT — I was playing an open guitar solo and all of a sudden the electronics in my guitar went dead. By the time we figured out it was the guitar, it was too late to complete the solo. It was already a stretch to try to hold the attention of all these drunken moshers in the pit and force them to listen to my guitar solo. But all of a sudden, there's no sound and I'm standing there in a panic. I'm turning all the knobs, flicking switches, trying cables in desperation. In seconds I have descended from guitar hero to complete jackass. My tech tries checking every cable and eventually changes the amp head, but still there is no sound. The crowd starts booing and chanting. It is not directed at me personally, they're booing the silence. They're not placing blame, they're just fired up, restless and want the show to start back up. Even though I know this deep down, it is little consolation. I leave the stage, mortified, shrunken, ignominious.

Ultimate-Guitar.com: You seem to have a healthy creative balance between TESTAMENT and all your jazz outings. How important has it been to you as a musician and artist, to have these outlets for your creativity?

Alex Skolnick: The jazz outings are what make it possible to play in TESTAMENT. I know not everyone understands that, but the truth is that TESTAMENT is more about Eric's [Peterson] rhythm guitar and Chuck's [Billy] vocals. It's a huge, high volume barrage of sound and for most of a song you don't really hear me, except for the solo, which lasts for a short time. In fact sometimes, it is hard to hear me at all at the shows, unless it is mixed right, which isn't always the case. It's still a lot of fun to do, especially feeding off the great fans and their energy. But as a musician, I can't imagine just doing that. I have to do projects where I'm heard for the whole song and can explore different textures, tones rhythmic and harmonic ideas, improvisation and dynamics.

Ultimate-Guitar.com: Obviously there are times when your other projects, clash with your Testament commitments as evident by the recent tour where you sat it out due to your THE ALEX SKOLNICK TRIO dates opening for RODRIGO Y GABRIELA. Do you normally have backup plans in place for times like these so neither you and the group is at the mercy of each other's schedules?

Alex Skolnick: They [TESTAMENT] felt they needed to take the last minute MEGADETH tour that was booked in wake of the "American Carnage" tour postponement. I'd already been booked on the RODRIGO Y GABRIELA tour, which is a big tour, one of the best possible opportunities for my trio. Fortunately, Glen Drover [ex-MEGADETH, KING DIAMOND] is a great guy to come in and do the occasional tour and gig. It is difficult at times. The other guys live in the Bay Area, only play in the band, have local jobs with flexibility to work around tour dates and are nearly always available for last-minute tours. I live in New York City, play music professionally with different situations and am often booked months in advance. I realize it is asking a lot of the fans to be patient with this. We try to avoid conflicts and try to find the best solutions to them when they arise.

Read the entire interview at Ultimate-Guitar.com.