Alex Skolnick

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alex Skolnick (2007)

Alex Skolnick (* 29. September 1968 in Berkeley , California ) is an American jazz - and Metal - guitarist .

Act

Skolnick, who grew up on the Bay of San Francisco and started playing guitar at the age of nine, became a student of guitarist Joe Satriani , who was living in San Francisco at the time , for about two years when he was 14 . At the age of 16 he became a member of a band called Legacy , from which the thrash metal band Testament developed. Skolnick left the band in 1992, but later worked on a re-recording of old testament classics for the album First Strike Still Deadly and at reunion concerts, such as B. the Thrash-of-The-Titans -Concert 2001, with.

After he left Testament , he played for the American heavy metal band Savatage , replacing the tragically accidental guitarist Criss Oliva , whose studio album Handful of Rain , and was also represented on the following tour. It was there that the live album and video Japan Live '94 was created . He also made recordings with the Stu Hamm Band and later performed with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra .

In the 1990s he pursued various projects such as Exhibit-A and Skol-Patrol and recorded albums with Attention Deficit . Shortly afterwards he went back to New York City and dealt exclusively with jazz music. There he founded the Alex Skolnick Trio, which is known for playing hard rock and heavy metal pieces as bebop versions. He is still pursuing this project today.

In spring 2005 Skolnick went on a reunion tour through Europe and the USA with the rest of the classic Testament lineup. This tour was documented on the Live CD / DVD Live in London .

Since 2008 Skolnick has been a permanent member of Testament again. He also played the last two albums, The Formation of Damnation and Dark Roots of Earth .

Style and equipment

Skolnick's solo play is characterized by strong melodies. This set Testament very apart from the other Thrash Metal bands in the San Francisco Bay Area , because the melody stands in stark contrast to the mostly chromatic and fast riffs. He likes to use arpeggios .

Skolnick plays electric guitars and hollow-bodied models from Heritage . In the first few years with his band Testament, he was an endorser of the Ibanez company . Since 2014 ESP has developed a signature solid body guitar together with Skolnick.

Discography

  • 1987 Testament - The Legacy
  • 1987 Testament - Live at Eindhoven
  • 1988 Testament - The New Order
  • 1989 Testament - Practice What You Preach
  • 1990 Testament - Souls of Black
  • 1991 Sampler - Guitars That Rule the World
  • 1992 Testament - The Ritual
  • 1994 Michael Manring - Thonk
  • 1994 Savatage - Handful of Rain
  • 1994 Sampler - Guitar's Practicing Musicians Vol. 3
  • 1995 Savatage - Japan Live '94
  • 1997 Skol Patrol - Skol Patrol
  • 1998 Attention Deficit - Attention Deficit
  • 2001 Attention Deficit - The Idiot King
  • 2001 Testament - First Strike Still Deadly
  • 2003 Alex Skolnick Trio - Transformation
  • 2003 Debbie Friedman - Light These Lights
  • 2004 Alex Skolnick Trio - Goodbye to Romance
  • 2004 Trans-Siberian Orchestra - The Lost Christmas Eve
  • 2004 Sampler - Metallic Attack - A Tribute to Metallica
  • 2005 Sampler - Numbers From the Beast - Tribute to Iron Maiden
  • 2005 Ofri Eliaz - Yo Salio De La Mar
  • 2005 Sampler - Subdivisions - A Tribute to Rush
  • 2005 Dave Morrish - I Forget Beautiful You Are
  • 2005 Dina Fanai - Vision
  • 2005 Testament - Live in London
  • 2006 OST - Jekyll & Hyde Resurrection
  • 2006 sampler - Flying High Again - Tribute to Ozzy Osbourne
  • 2006 Jeri Seger - Swing It Like Sammy
  • 2007 Alex Skolnick Trio - Last Day in Paradise
  • 2008 Testament - The Formation of Damnation
  • 2011 Alex Skolnick Trio - Veritas
  • 2012 Testament - Dark Roots of Earth
  • 2015 Metal Allegiance - Metal Allegiance
  • 2018 Metal Allegiance - Volume II Power Drunk Majesty
  • 2018 Alex Skolnick Trio - Conundrum (Palmetto / MRI)

Web links

Commons : Alex Skolnick  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Interview
  2. ↑ He also studied jazz at the New School University with Richie Beirach , George Garzone , Hal Galper and Cecil McBee .
  3. ^ ESP Unveils 2014 Models — Including James Hetfield and Alex Skolnick Signature Axes. Retrieved August 29, 2016 .
testament
John Allen • Glen Alvelais • Nick Barker • Paul Bostaph  • Mike Chlasciak • Greg Christian • Louie Clemente • Jon Dette  • Dave Lombardo  • James Murphy  • Derrick Ramirez • Steve Souza  • Steve Smyth • John Tempesta


Studio albums

The Legacy  (1987) • The New Order  (1988) • Practice What You Preach  (1989) • Souls of Black  (1990) • The Ritual  (1992) • Low  (1994) • Demonic  (1997) • The Gathering  (1999) • The Formation of Damnation  (2008) • Dark Roots of Earth  (2012) • Brotherhood of the Snake  (2016) • Titans of Creation  (2020)

Live albums

Live at Eindhoven (1987) • Return to the Apocalyptic City (1993) • Live at the Fillmore (1995) • Live in London  (2005) • Dark Roots of Thrash (2013)

Compilation albums

The Best of Testament (1996) • Signs of Chaos (1997) • The Very Best of Testament (2001) • First Strike Still Deadly (2001) • Days of Darkness (2004) • The Spitfire Collection (2007)

personal data
SURNAME Skolnick, Alex
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz and metal guitarist
DATE OF BIRTH 29th September 1968
PLACE OF BIRTH Berkeley , California