{"id":10721,"date":"2012-08-02T07:30:32","date_gmt":"2012-08-01T21:30:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/maytherockbewithyou.com\/mtrbwy\/?p=10721"},"modified":"2012-08-22T07:45:16","modified_gmt":"2012-08-21T21:45:16","slug":"alex-skolnick-of-testament","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maytherockbewithyou.com\/mtrbwy\/2012\/08\/alex-skolnick-of-testament\/","title":{"rendered":"Alex Skolnick of Testament"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n<\/a>\u201cSometimes Chuck gets inspired really fast, other times there can be a song that we think is really great and he\u2019s not hearing anything and we try to help the process along.\u00a0 Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes it just comes together really quick.\u00a0 Most of the time it\u2019s the same thinking process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Testament have been giving us Thrash metal for the best part of 30 years, I saw somewhere that if there was a \u2018Big 5\u2019, then Testament would surely be a part of that!\u00a0 That in essence couldn\u2019t be more true.\u00a0 Helping to keep the Thrash scene alive, it\u2019s always a testament (pun intended) to a band of this calibre that can keep pumping it out after this many years.<\/p>\n

On the eve of releasing their tenth album \u2018Dark Roots Of Earth\u2019 we had a great chat to Testament guitarist Alex Skolnick about the creation of their new album, as well as line ups, touring and he weighs in on his Randy Blythe statement he recently put out there.\u00a0 So check out what this stalwart of the Trash scene had to say\u2026<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been four years since your last release, was that a planned length of time or did it just evolve that way?<\/strong>
\nOh it evolved that way, it definitely had to happen naturally and I think everybody would\u2019ve liked for it to come out sooner but we also, we live in a day and age where the length of a record cycle is longer than it used to be and we had a lot of touring to do and we were pretty much touring off this last record right up through this year.\u00a0 And there was a line of dates, that probably added an extra year, but at least by today\u2019s standards it\u2019s not unusual to take a longer time to promote a record.
\n Well I suppose it\u2019s different now too where you have to be out on the road to make the money\u2026<\/strong>
\nThat\u2019s true, that\u2019s true, and it\u2019s harder to create awareness for a record, the cycle just has to last longer.\u00a0 At the same time, sales are a lot less, so if you\u2019re expecting to earn money of recording, you need to do more of them, which is really difficult when you\u2019re touring so, yeah, you\u2019re pretty much right, the focus has to be more on the live performance.<\/p>\n

For this album, writing and composing wise, how were the songs created for this release?<\/strong>
\nYou know, it was all a little different.\u00a0 Riffs are created, it\u2019s a bit of a tedious process, if you\u2019ve ever seen the film \u2018Some Kind Of Monster\u2019, of course we\u2019re not in the kind of luxury ha ha, but I think no matter what level the band, there\u2019s a similar process where you present ideas and it\u2019s a little intimidating because you don\u2019t know if everybody\u2019s gonna like it.\u00a0 In our case, Eric is the main riff writer and there are other times when I liked some of his ideas and Chuck wouldn\u2019t like them, or vice versa, then as far as my own parts, I used to try to bring in whole songs, but for me it\u2019s just easier to demo out a part or two and present them to Eric and Chuck and if they both like it then it\u2019s worth pursuing.\u00a0 Then usually once some riffs pass the initial test, we try jamming on them and we see, some of them come together really quick, sometimes Chuck gets inspired really fast, other times there can be a song that we think is really great and he\u2019s not hearing anything and we try to help the process along.\u00a0 Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes it just comes together really quick.\u00a0 Most of the time it\u2019s the same thinking process.<\/p>\n

How did essentially having the original band back together help to make this record what it was?<\/strong>
\nI think, well there\u2019s a certain quality there that, one great thing about the genre of metal music or at least our area of metal music is that you can really hear the personalities and you can hear a personnel change. There are some more modern groups where the recording process is so mechanical that you can\u2019t really tell, you can\u2019t really tell if they swapped somebody, it\u2019s gonna be the same sound no matter what.\u00a0 But I think our genre in particular, you know we\u2019re not the only one, but we play one of the genres where the personalities are really captured and they make a difference as far as the sound of the recording.\u00a0 So I think that helps a lot, nothing we could\u2019ve done without the original line up on the record, but it definitely gives it uniqueness.\u00a0 It\u2019s also almost the original line up, the last couple of records haven\u2019t had the original drummer, but that\u2019s also added to the personality of the albums.
\n I was going to ask about that, the drummer situation, have you managed to find a fulltime person yet?<\/strong>
\nWell, Gene Hoglan was the one who played on the album and he\u2019ll be doing most of the tour dates with us, so for all intensive purposes he\u2019s the drummer.\u00a0 Before that we had Paul Bostaph on one record, and we had a few drummers before that, it\u2019s totally unplanned, but the group seems to be following the Spinal Tap drummer saga ha ha.
\n As long as no one explodes on stage you\u2019ll be OK\u2026<\/strong>
\nThat hasn\u2019t happened yet ha ha.<\/p>\n

You worked again with Andy Sneap as producer, what is it that he brings out in the band?<\/strong>
\nI think he knows the band pretty well, he\u2019s done a few albums with the band at this point, and he\u2019s a musician himself, and he\u2019s also recorded other groups like Megadeth.\u00a0 I just think he\u2019s very in tune with this type of music at this time period.\u00a0 He was also around back in the early day, I have some friends that are great producers as well, Josh Wilbur who did the new Lamb Of God record is a good friend of mine, but young, you can\u2019t believe how young he is and how he\u2019s able to capture the music.\u00a0 There is something comforting about working with someone that was around when this music started, and I think at least for this band it helps to have somebody like that from that generation.\u00a0 When we started, there weren\u2019t a lot of producers, people really didn\u2019t know how to capture this music, you know Metallica was able to do great records, and that had a lot to do with them, themselves, you know I think Hetfield and Ulrich could\u2019ve been a great production team even though they worked with engineers or whatever, but a lot of the other bands just went from producer to producer and some of the definitive metal albums, like Slayer\u2019s \u2018Reign In Blood\u2019 was recorded by a guy who\u2019s a pop rock producer, that none of the rest of us could afford, but it\u2019s good that there\u2019s now guys like Andy who specialise in this kind of music and we don\u2019t have to wait for the Red Hot Chili Peppers to be done with their producer you know? Ha ha.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The artwork is amazing, where did the idea from this come from?<\/strong>
\nI think that was an idea of Eric\u2019s, it\u2019s sort of like a pagan god, it captures the titles and it\u2019s basically a tree come to life, that\u2019s being worshipped.\u00a0 It\u2019s been getting a great response.\u00a0 It\u2019s very distinct which is what I like about it.\u00a0 The last one was good, but the last one was definitely a metal cover.\u00a0 It could\u2019ve been one of many metal covers, but I think this one really stands out which is a great thing.<\/p>\n

You also recorded some bonus tracks for the album, including Queen, Maiden and Scorpions covers, how did you choose what to record for these?<\/strong>
\nI know a bunch of ideas were tossed around.\u00a0 I was of the mindset that we should try to do non-metal tunes and make them metal, I just thought that was more interesting, so with the other guys the first thing that comes to mind is Maiden and Scorpions, but I think the way those songs were recorded, they sound good, they sound different to the originals, so I\u2019m pleased with how they came out.\u00a0 It was actually Chuck\u2019s wife Tiffany that suggested \u2018Dragon Attack\u2019 by Queen and as soon as that was suggested I got all excited and thought \u2018That\u2019s what I\u2019m talking about\u2019 ha ha I voted massively in favour of that one.\u00a0 It\u2019s a great riff and I like the idea of taking songs completely not from this genre and giving them special treatment.<\/p>\n

Touring wise, I have to ask if we can expect to see you in Australia any time soon\u2026<\/strong>
\nI think so, I think it\u2019s very likely to happen in 2013, it sounds so far away, but it\u2019s less than half a year away.\u00a0 We\u2019re pretty booked up in Europe in August and then North America on and off for the rest of the year, so it\u2019ll have to be then so I\u2019m sure it\u2019ll happen then.<\/p>\n

Not sure if you celebrate milestones, but next year is somewhat the 30th<\/sup> anniversary of the band\u2026<\/strong>
\nIt is?\u00a0 Oh I guess it is\u2026 yeah\u2026
\n Are there any plans in the works for something special?<\/strong>
\nThat\u2019s interesting, no nothing has come up yet, and you know I guess it\u2019s the 30th<\/sup> anniversary of the bands forming, and I didn\u2019t show up until a few years later and Chuck showed up a year after I did, so I don\u2019t know if it really feels like a 30th<\/sup> anniversary, as far as this line-up being together it\u2019s really 1986, so I think we\u2019d probably wait a few more years, but I\u2019m not sure, we\u2019ll see\u2026<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve recently shot a video for \u2018Native Blood\u2019, can you tell us about the song and give us an idea of what we can expect from the video?<\/strong>
\nChuck wrote that about his Native American heritage, but it can apply to natives all over the world, even the Aborigines in Australia.\u00a0 It sort of captures the Native American experience.\u00a0 I can\u2019t really speak for him but what I get from the song is, growing up in a region that was the product of colonisation and trying to adapt but also as one gets older, turning to their actual heritage to help get by in the world.\u00a0 The video was filmed on an Indian reservation in Hopland, California, Chuck\u2019s family is on the tribal council of this reservation, so the video has us performing up there and it also has footage of the reservation and elder tribal members, native American ritual, dances, so it\u2019s very cool, not a typical metal video. There\u2019s a Spanish version of the song which Chuck sang, and I think it\u2019s going to come out at the same time.<\/p>\n

Now I did read your statement regarding Randy Blythe (read it here<\/a>), and I won\u2019t ask you about it but I do hope it works out OK for your mate\u2026<\/strong>
\nOh thanks, yeah, I hope so too.\u00a0 I\u2019m surprised that there are some with taking issue with what I had to say.\u00a0 It\u2019s funny a couple of people tried to twist it in to this pro American statement which it really wasn\u2019t at all.\u00a0 It was really just a pro human statement and just wondering why our Government hasn\u2019t taken any interest in it, our media has taken barely any interest in it and if he was from any other country I would expect the same thing for that counties Government or media.\u00a0 I can\u2019t believe how long it\u2019s been, it\u2019s really insane\u2026<\/p>\n

That\u2019s all I\u2019ve got Alex, so thanks so much for your time.<\/strong>
\nWell thank you, and hopefully we\u2019ll get there sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n

Essential Information<\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n

From:<\/strong> Bay Area, CA – USA<\/p>\n

Band members: <\/strong>Chuck Billy \u2013 Vocals, Eric Peterson \u2013 Guitar, Alex Skolnick \u2013 Guitar, Greg Christian \u2013 Bass, Gene Hoglan – Drums<\/p>\n

Website:<\/strong> \u00a0http:\/\/www.testamentlegions.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Latest release: <\/strong>Dark Roots Of Earth \u2013 (Nuclear Blast \/ Riot! Entertainment)<\/p>\n

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