What seems, on the surface, a surprising admission, makes perfect sense. As one of the standout talents on the '80s thrash metal scene, Alex Skolnick has since earned a reputation as one of the most diverse guitarists on the scene, winning fans from both his peers and musical elder statesmen alike. Starting out with Testament, he's developed his own jazz trio, as well as guested with many other musicians. Next up though, he joins all-star jam band Metal Allegiance for a date in Anaheim. Discussing this and more, including how he made an unlikely return to Testament almost two decades ago, Alex joined us for a chat. The legacy; Eamon O'Neill.
Photo: Darren McLoughlin.
Hi Alex, I last caught up with you at the Leslie West Tribute in Agoura Hills a year ago and Steve Lukather from Toto, was singing your praises; how does that make you feel?
Yeah. I've occasionally heard things like that. I went to go see Peter Frampton, and afterwards he was saying he's glad he didn't know I was in the audience, because he knows my playing. Yeah, it's a pleasant surprise, and yeah, it's exciting. I've gotten a lot of appreciation that I'm grateful for, but I don't usually show up in polls or have never gotten an award for anything, so to me stuff like that just means so much more.
You came out of the gates as a teen with Testament playing ferocious thrash metal, and then you get these guys coming from completely different musical schools praising you; that must be very fulfilling.
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I had an unusual path in that I was early bloomer with with metal and I was really unique with this type of metal because there wasn't a lot of technical guitar playing in the music at that time. Like, the type of stuff we're talking about really happened since then, and I think it also has to do with just branching out, and having a reputation as somebody that does that, but also works with musicians that guys like that are familiar with; like Stu Hamm or Percy Jones, and then doing music which is really from a place of jazz guitar, blues guitar, like, there's a lot of flavour there! So guys like that, they're aware of all the different sides and everything. But yeah, it certainly is fun to think back to those early days, and imagining guys like that, just even knowing who I am, let alone being a fan of my playing.
Metal Allegiance, are back again for your annual bash around NAMM Show; it's got to be a lot of fun for you.
Oh, absolutely, it's a great time. It's really like a fringe reunion. You make new friends, and there's no music business politics, there's no competition; this band versus that band - everybody's part of the same band. It shows that it's nice to just leave all the other stuff behind. Everyone is chosen that way too; it's not just their musical skills. There's no shortage of stories of musicians who tend to make concerts or events all about themselves and cause drama. There's websites that exist on the drama in the music business, and everybody involved with Metal Allegiance is proudly drama free, and it's wonderful!
You're one of what they call the 'core four' along with Mike Portnoy and David Ellefson and Mark Menghi; does that make you a boss? Are you directly involved in the choosing of these guys that get to play?
Yeah, absolutely it has. As far as the live shows, I would definitely defer to Mark. Mark is the main guy, but he will ask us, you know; "what about this person?" The final say, we all agree on it. I's something I fell into. It was really Mark's baby, so to speak. Mike Portnoy was the first partner with him on it, and then Ellefson, I guess, around the same time, and then they needed a guitar, and it wouldn't have made sense to have like a John Petrucci or a Chris Broderick or somebody who's in a band with any of those guys because then you've got a portion of that band, so it had to be somebody from a different band, so I kind of lucked into it.
How did you come into Metal Allegiance?
We got together on one of the cruises. It was the Motörboat cruise, and it was a big jam session, and we were actually filling in for Megadeth. Megadeth couldn't make the boat, but Ellefson was there, and the other guys in the band, and this all-star jam filled in for Megadeth, and they called it Metal Allegiance. And within 48 hours we were on the phone discussing the idea of doing an album of original music. Do these shows, but it doesn't have to be all covers, and we'll have originals that hopefully stand up to the covers. And we've since done two albums and had very memorable shows, with the next one being in Anaheim.
Some of the covers have been eclectic. Last year, for example, you covered the Iron Maiden's 'Iron Maiden'. Oobviously Paul Di'Anno is gone now, so that's a beautiful thing that you did it before that.
Yeah, it didn't have to be because he's no longer here - he was still here, but yeah, the Di'Anno era is epic. I mean, obviously so is the Bruce era, but the Di'Anno stuff is very special, and that was a pleasure to do that music.
Yeah. I've occasionally heard things like that. I went to go see Peter Frampton, and afterwards he was saying he's glad he didn't know I was in the audience, because he knows my playing. Yeah, it's a pleasant surprise, and yeah, it's exciting. I've gotten a lot of appreciation that I'm grateful for, but I don't usually show up in polls or have never gotten an award for anything, so to me stuff like that just means so much more.
You came out of the gates as a teen with Testament playing ferocious thrash metal, and then you get these guys coming from completely different musical schools praising you; that must be very fulfilling.
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I had an unusual path in that I was early bloomer with with metal and I was really unique with this type of metal because there wasn't a lot of technical guitar playing in the music at that time. Like, the type of stuff we're talking about really happened since then, and I think it also has to do with just branching out, and having a reputation as somebody that does that, but also works with musicians that guys like that are familiar with; like Stu Hamm or Percy Jones, and then doing music which is really from a place of jazz guitar, blues guitar, like, there's a lot of flavour there! So guys like that, they're aware of all the different sides and everything. But yeah, it certainly is fun to think back to those early days, and imagining guys like that, just even knowing who I am, let alone being a fan of my playing.
Metal Allegiance, are back again for your annual bash around NAMM Show; it's got to be a lot of fun for you.
Oh, absolutely, it's a great time. It's really like a fringe reunion. You make new friends, and there's no music business politics, there's no competition; this band versus that band - everybody's part of the same band. It shows that it's nice to just leave all the other stuff behind. Everyone is chosen that way too; it's not just their musical skills. There's no shortage of stories of musicians who tend to make concerts or events all about themselves and cause drama. There's websites that exist on the drama in the music business, and everybody involved with Metal Allegiance is proudly drama free, and it's wonderful!
You're one of what they call the 'core four' along with Mike Portnoy and David Ellefson and Mark Menghi; does that make you a boss? Are you directly involved in the choosing of these guys that get to play?
Yeah, absolutely it has. As far as the live shows, I would definitely defer to Mark. Mark is the main guy, but he will ask us, you know; "what about this person?" The final say, we all agree on it. I's something I fell into. It was really Mark's baby, so to speak. Mike Portnoy was the first partner with him on it, and then Ellefson, I guess, around the same time, and then they needed a guitar, and it wouldn't have made sense to have like a John Petrucci or a Chris Broderick or somebody who's in a band with any of those guys because then you've got a portion of that band, so it had to be somebody from a different band, so I kind of lucked into it.
How did you come into Metal Allegiance?
We got together on one of the cruises. It was the Motörboat cruise, and it was a big jam session, and we were actually filling in for Megadeth. Megadeth couldn't make the boat, but Ellefson was there, and the other guys in the band, and this all-star jam filled in for Megadeth, and they called it Metal Allegiance. And within 48 hours we were on the phone discussing the idea of doing an album of original music. Do these shows, but it doesn't have to be all covers, and we'll have originals that hopefully stand up to the covers. And we've since done two albums and had very memorable shows, with the next one being in Anaheim.
Some of the covers have been eclectic. Last year, for example, you covered the Iron Maiden's 'Iron Maiden'. Oobviously Paul Di'Anno is gone now, so that's a beautiful thing that you did it before that.
Yeah, it didn't have to be because he's no longer here - he was still here, but yeah, the Di'Anno era is epic. I mean, obviously so is the Bruce era, but the Di'Anno stuff is very special, and that was a pleasure to do that music.
One of the names that you're playing with this year, is Marty Friedman; is that the first time Marty's played with Metal Allegiance?
He actually has played with us before. There was one show - I forget where exactly - and it actually marked the first time he and Ellefson had been on the stage since their Megadeath days. So he is returning. He's not able to play with us that often, obviously, for logistical reasons; he's based in Japan, but when he can come, it's always a real treat. I wish there was a way for us to play together, but we just have so much material to get to, and we have a special large number of guest guitarists this year, so everything's got to be pretty spread out.
We're talking about Megadeth, I have to ask you, has Dave Mustaine ever approached you to join Megadeath? It seems to me, from a technical point of view at least, you would have been perfect over the years.
Yeah, it's funny, I heard through the grapevine, many, many years ago [that they were interested]. I don't know, if I'd made a call secretly, and reached out to management, or whatever, and said; "hey, I really want to give this a shot", I'm sure maybe it could have happened, but it was, pre-Marty [1989], and it was during the time Testament was just up and running, and I knew; "okay, if I were to join this other thing..." At that time with Testament, we were really finding our footing, and establishing a sound with albums like 'The New Order' and 'Practice What You Preach', like, now essential albums, and it just seemed like; "okay. I'm a part of this thing". And I think at that point Megadeth had already had three guitar players, and there'd been so many members, so it was just clear; "okay, if you're in Megadeth, you don't know how long it's going to last". Obviously, Marty ended up having this great run with them, and it was terrific for him.
I can't really speak for him [Mustaine], but I remember I did hear through the grapevine there was some interest. There were a couple shows, actually, as recently as the Kiko Loureiro era, where I was on standby to fill in. Kiko's wife was giving birth, so there was a possibility of that, and they didn't know exactly when it was going to be, and there was a possibility it was going to conflict with a show or event. So it was on standby. I learned the songs. I was ready, but as it turned out, he didn't need to miss any shows. I've always been friends with the Megadeath camp, you know, mad respect for the band, but I like my role as... occasional possible understudy is as far as it's gone.
Moving onto Testament, and the subject of guitars. I was watching some of the old Testament videos last night, and I have to ask, what the hell were you playing in the 'Over the Wall' video?
It was a custom-made guitar by a local builder. My guitar teacher at the time his name is Danny Gill. He's an American guy now based in Sweden, and he'd actually been in a band with Chuck Billy before Testament, so there's all kinds of common threads there. Danny was one of the top guitarists in the Bay Area hard rock scene at the time, and he had been a Satriani student, and he found this luthier and had these custom guitars built. And a friend of mine and I were students of Danny, and we just thought; "oh, if that's what Danny's doing, we should order guitars from the same guy!" In retrospect, it wasn't the best guitar, but it was hard to find good guitars for this type of music at that time. But yeah, it's really like an unnamed. I guess you could call it an 'all parts guitar'.
Kind of Frankenstein, like Eddie Van Halen.
Yeah. And, you know, I no longer have it. I just sold it because after it sat in a storage unit for over ten years, I just realised, you know, somebody else should own this.
One that I hope you do still have is from the video for 'The Ballad' that had the artwork for 'Practice What you Preach' on it; was that, like one of those kind of clear Perspex type things, or was that painted on to it?
Yeah, that was painted on. That was an Ibanez 540, painted on. Teah, I do still have that. You know, if somebody wants to trade me a '59 Gibson or something, maybe we'll talk.
He actually has played with us before. There was one show - I forget where exactly - and it actually marked the first time he and Ellefson had been on the stage since their Megadeath days. So he is returning. He's not able to play with us that often, obviously, for logistical reasons; he's based in Japan, but when he can come, it's always a real treat. I wish there was a way for us to play together, but we just have so much material to get to, and we have a special large number of guest guitarists this year, so everything's got to be pretty spread out.
We're talking about Megadeth, I have to ask you, has Dave Mustaine ever approached you to join Megadeath? It seems to me, from a technical point of view at least, you would have been perfect over the years.
Yeah, it's funny, I heard through the grapevine, many, many years ago [that they were interested]. I don't know, if I'd made a call secretly, and reached out to management, or whatever, and said; "hey, I really want to give this a shot", I'm sure maybe it could have happened, but it was, pre-Marty [1989], and it was during the time Testament was just up and running, and I knew; "okay, if I were to join this other thing..." At that time with Testament, we were really finding our footing, and establishing a sound with albums like 'The New Order' and 'Practice What You Preach', like, now essential albums, and it just seemed like; "okay. I'm a part of this thing". And I think at that point Megadeth had already had three guitar players, and there'd been so many members, so it was just clear; "okay, if you're in Megadeth, you don't know how long it's going to last". Obviously, Marty ended up having this great run with them, and it was terrific for him.
I can't really speak for him [Mustaine], but I remember I did hear through the grapevine there was some interest. There were a couple shows, actually, as recently as the Kiko Loureiro era, where I was on standby to fill in. Kiko's wife was giving birth, so there was a possibility of that, and they didn't know exactly when it was going to be, and there was a possibility it was going to conflict with a show or event. So it was on standby. I learned the songs. I was ready, but as it turned out, he didn't need to miss any shows. I've always been friends with the Megadeath camp, you know, mad respect for the band, but I like my role as... occasional possible understudy is as far as it's gone.
Moving onto Testament, and the subject of guitars. I was watching some of the old Testament videos last night, and I have to ask, what the hell were you playing in the 'Over the Wall' video?
It was a custom-made guitar by a local builder. My guitar teacher at the time his name is Danny Gill. He's an American guy now based in Sweden, and he'd actually been in a band with Chuck Billy before Testament, so there's all kinds of common threads there. Danny was one of the top guitarists in the Bay Area hard rock scene at the time, and he had been a Satriani student, and he found this luthier and had these custom guitars built. And a friend of mine and I were students of Danny, and we just thought; "oh, if that's what Danny's doing, we should order guitars from the same guy!" In retrospect, it wasn't the best guitar, but it was hard to find good guitars for this type of music at that time. But yeah, it's really like an unnamed. I guess you could call it an 'all parts guitar'.
Kind of Frankenstein, like Eddie Van Halen.
Yeah. And, you know, I no longer have it. I just sold it because after it sat in a storage unit for over ten years, I just realised, you know, somebody else should own this.
One that I hope you do still have is from the video for 'The Ballad' that had the artwork for 'Practice What you Preach' on it; was that, like one of those kind of clear Perspex type things, or was that painted on to it?
Yeah, that was painted on. That was an Ibanez 540, painted on. Teah, I do still have that. You know, if somebody wants to trade me a '59 Gibson or something, maybe we'll talk.
Speaking of ballads, I wanted to touch on the song 'The Legacy'; your solos are sublime in that, It has got to be one of the most underrated Testament tracks.
Oh, thank you. I do hear from people who are big fans of that song. I'm not sure why it sort of flew under the radar. It was released at this time right before the grunge explosion. I think even at that time, the market was being saturated. There was just so much music being released, and MTV Headbanger's Ball was great, it was a wonderful platform for the bands, but they could not keep up with all the music that labels were sending them. So I think it went under the radar, but we were all appreciative of song from the beginning. It wasn't played that much live, but it was always in the back pocket. They had that as this sort of this epic in between all the fast thrash songs, and they stopped doing that before I was even in the band, and I told them; "that's really great. Someday you might have to use that", and then we ended up doing so on 'Souls of Black'.
And any chance of busting it out live again? I know you like to mix up the set lists a little bit, but it's been a long time since that one's been played.
It actually hasn't been that long, believe it or not. When we started the, I guess you could call it the 'resurrection period' of the band, which is, wow, close to twenty years ago already, but those first few years before and maybe even after we did the first reunion album, 'Formation of Damnation' [2008], we would do that song. But it's definitely been a while. At this point, it's probably been at least ten years, but as far as, like a slower song, we finally started doing 'Return to Serenity', which is long overdue. That's been probably the most requested song. It's stood the test of time, and it's caught on with new generations of fans, and anybody that took issue with us doing a slow song - you know; "this is what you're supposed to be doing? You know, 300 mile an hour. You know, speed songs all the time" they're they're long gone, or they're keeping quiet, or they've come around and they like the song too. So we finally did it on our last tour in Europe over the winter, and it just killed every night.
I actually saw the Dublin show and I think it was the best Testament set list for me, personally, that I've ever seen.
It was a good set variety, yeah! I was often misunderstood, especially around the time of that song came out, the time of 'The Ritual' [1992], and the rumour was that, you know; "oh, Skolnick wants to be more commercial". No! I wanted to be musically Interesting, and I just wanted variety. I just wanted songs that don't sound the same to people who aren't playing the music. I would sometimes explain, "something to us at a similar tempo might sound really different, because the riff is has a slightly different picking pattern, but it'll be so much more powerful if we have THIS type of rhythm in this type of song", and then you throw in a like, 'Return to Serenity', then guess what? Up with the brutally fast song, then it will be even more intense because of where it's placed in the set. So anyway, that's finally understood now, and as you're saying, it's working out really well.
You mentioned the reunion in 2006; what was it like coming back to Testament, and how did it happen?
Well, it was a pleasant surprise. In a weird way, it reminds me of, you know how The Scorpions were about to wrap things up in recent years, and then Mikkey Dee filled in for them, and recharged them, and suddenly they can't quit now? It was a little like that. I think they'd been through so many line-ups, and Eric [Peterson] had a black metal project I think he was going to pursue more, I think Chuck was slowing down; he had successfully fought cancer and come back, he was in good health, but he really valued that health, and I think they were thinking about putting a sunset on the band. And we'd been friends again. I would come through with my instrumental project, and they'd come out and check out the show, and we'd patched up any like past business disagreements and just became friends again.
So that was the start of it. What happened to get Testament back together?
Just right around that time they got some offers from overseas to do some shows with the original line-up, and they thought; "okay, this would be a good way to send the band off in style. We'll do a few of these shows". And of course, what happened was we played, and suddenly there was this great appreciation of the chemistry we've got. Of all the line-ups they had, there's nothing quite like the original, especially me and Eric on guitars, because we have been through different folks on the drum stool and the bass especially, since then. But it just went really well, and then more offers started coming in, and so we said we would do occasional shows, and we did a few shows a year and by 2008, it just kept picking up. The offers were increasing, and then we got this amazing offer to tour with Heaven and Hell, you know, Black Sabbath with Dio, Judas Priest and Motörhead, but we needed to have a record out, so that was really sort of a fork in the road.
So you had to make a decision to continue as a heritage act or start recording again?
What are we going to do? Are we going to sort of fade this out like we were planning to, or if we do this and we go in the studio, first of all, we have to see; can we do this? Can we go through the gruelling process of making an album? And we did. There was some time pressure, but not like in the old days where we just had to go in and it was a matter of, like, months or even weeks. I think we probably found this out about a year or so in advance, so there was time to get it together, and we didn't force it. We did a lot of the writing at Chuck Billy's house, which was very comfortable, like a living room environment, instead of a dingy rehearsal room like in the old days. And the result was 'The Formation of Damnation'. So between that album and the that tour, more offers came in, and it was like the line of The Godfather; "you try to get out, and they pull you back in!".
Oh, thank you. I do hear from people who are big fans of that song. I'm not sure why it sort of flew under the radar. It was released at this time right before the grunge explosion. I think even at that time, the market was being saturated. There was just so much music being released, and MTV Headbanger's Ball was great, it was a wonderful platform for the bands, but they could not keep up with all the music that labels were sending them. So I think it went under the radar, but we were all appreciative of song from the beginning. It wasn't played that much live, but it was always in the back pocket. They had that as this sort of this epic in between all the fast thrash songs, and they stopped doing that before I was even in the band, and I told them; "that's really great. Someday you might have to use that", and then we ended up doing so on 'Souls of Black'.
And any chance of busting it out live again? I know you like to mix up the set lists a little bit, but it's been a long time since that one's been played.
It actually hasn't been that long, believe it or not. When we started the, I guess you could call it the 'resurrection period' of the band, which is, wow, close to twenty years ago already, but those first few years before and maybe even after we did the first reunion album, 'Formation of Damnation' [2008], we would do that song. But it's definitely been a while. At this point, it's probably been at least ten years, but as far as, like a slower song, we finally started doing 'Return to Serenity', which is long overdue. That's been probably the most requested song. It's stood the test of time, and it's caught on with new generations of fans, and anybody that took issue with us doing a slow song - you know; "this is what you're supposed to be doing? You know, 300 mile an hour. You know, speed songs all the time" they're they're long gone, or they're keeping quiet, or they've come around and they like the song too. So we finally did it on our last tour in Europe over the winter, and it just killed every night.
I actually saw the Dublin show and I think it was the best Testament set list for me, personally, that I've ever seen.
It was a good set variety, yeah! I was often misunderstood, especially around the time of that song came out, the time of 'The Ritual' [1992], and the rumour was that, you know; "oh, Skolnick wants to be more commercial". No! I wanted to be musically Interesting, and I just wanted variety. I just wanted songs that don't sound the same to people who aren't playing the music. I would sometimes explain, "something to us at a similar tempo might sound really different, because the riff is has a slightly different picking pattern, but it'll be so much more powerful if we have THIS type of rhythm in this type of song", and then you throw in a like, 'Return to Serenity', then guess what? Up with the brutally fast song, then it will be even more intense because of where it's placed in the set. So anyway, that's finally understood now, and as you're saying, it's working out really well.
You mentioned the reunion in 2006; what was it like coming back to Testament, and how did it happen?
Well, it was a pleasant surprise. In a weird way, it reminds me of, you know how The Scorpions were about to wrap things up in recent years, and then Mikkey Dee filled in for them, and recharged them, and suddenly they can't quit now? It was a little like that. I think they'd been through so many line-ups, and Eric [Peterson] had a black metal project I think he was going to pursue more, I think Chuck was slowing down; he had successfully fought cancer and come back, he was in good health, but he really valued that health, and I think they were thinking about putting a sunset on the band. And we'd been friends again. I would come through with my instrumental project, and they'd come out and check out the show, and we'd patched up any like past business disagreements and just became friends again.
So that was the start of it. What happened to get Testament back together?
Just right around that time they got some offers from overseas to do some shows with the original line-up, and they thought; "okay, this would be a good way to send the band off in style. We'll do a few of these shows". And of course, what happened was we played, and suddenly there was this great appreciation of the chemistry we've got. Of all the line-ups they had, there's nothing quite like the original, especially me and Eric on guitars, because we have been through different folks on the drum stool and the bass especially, since then. But it just went really well, and then more offers started coming in, and so we said we would do occasional shows, and we did a few shows a year and by 2008, it just kept picking up. The offers were increasing, and then we got this amazing offer to tour with Heaven and Hell, you know, Black Sabbath with Dio, Judas Priest and Motörhead, but we needed to have a record out, so that was really sort of a fork in the road.
So you had to make a decision to continue as a heritage act or start recording again?
What are we going to do? Are we going to sort of fade this out like we were planning to, or if we do this and we go in the studio, first of all, we have to see; can we do this? Can we go through the gruelling process of making an album? And we did. There was some time pressure, but not like in the old days where we just had to go in and it was a matter of, like, months or even weeks. I think we probably found this out about a year or so in advance, so there was time to get it together, and we didn't force it. We did a lot of the writing at Chuck Billy's house, which was very comfortable, like a living room environment, instead of a dingy rehearsal room like in the old days. And the result was 'The Formation of Damnation'. So between that album and the that tour, more offers came in, and it was like the line of The Godfather; "you try to get out, and they pull you back in!".
Alex Skolnick on stage with Testament, Dublin, November 2024. Photo: Darren McLoughlin.
What are your top three Testament albums?
Probably my favourite one is 'Dark Roots of Earth' [2012] because I just feel like that's perfect combination of the new era and the first wave of the band. The second would probably be 'The New Order' [1988], just because that produced the most number of songs that we continue to play to this day. And third would probably be... that's really tough; do I go with a newer one, or an older one? I'll probably say 'Souls of Black' [1990]; yeah, kind of as close to the middle as possible.
Finally, what can you tell us about the New Testament album; will it be released this year?
Yeah, it's coming out in 2025, and it's gone really well. We're excited. It does have a slow tune that, I think, holds up to all the other slow tunes, and it's really different in some ways too. I think it's going to surprise a lot of people. But there's also some ridiculously fast stuff. We have this this drummer, Chris Dovas, who has recharged us the same way the Scorpions got recharged by Mikkey Dee. Not that we were at that point! You know, we've had these amazing drummers; a tour with Dave Lombardo, and Gene Hoaglan before that, and the other guys. Both those guys I consider still in their prime, but this, having somebody who, you know, he's the age now that the band was during the first wave of the band; there's nothing like having somebody like that on drums,
What's it like working with him?
He's also a trained musician, so, you know, he works fast. Working with him is like working with people on the jazz and instrumental side; it's just easy and quick. And he's a good partner. When Eric's developing his parts, he needs the drummer there to bounce ideas off, and it's a perfect partner for him. So, yeah, I'm really, really excited about it. I think it's got something for everyone; there is classic Testament, there is modern Testament, there's 'Gathering' [1999] era Testament. Whether you're a fan of any of those periods of the band, there will be something for everybody.
Probably my favourite one is 'Dark Roots of Earth' [2012] because I just feel like that's perfect combination of the new era and the first wave of the band. The second would probably be 'The New Order' [1988], just because that produced the most number of songs that we continue to play to this day. And third would probably be... that's really tough; do I go with a newer one, or an older one? I'll probably say 'Souls of Black' [1990]; yeah, kind of as close to the middle as possible.
Finally, what can you tell us about the New Testament album; will it be released this year?
Yeah, it's coming out in 2025, and it's gone really well. We're excited. It does have a slow tune that, I think, holds up to all the other slow tunes, and it's really different in some ways too. I think it's going to surprise a lot of people. But there's also some ridiculously fast stuff. We have this this drummer, Chris Dovas, who has recharged us the same way the Scorpions got recharged by Mikkey Dee. Not that we were at that point! You know, we've had these amazing drummers; a tour with Dave Lombardo, and Gene Hoaglan before that, and the other guys. Both those guys I consider still in their prime, but this, having somebody who, you know, he's the age now that the band was during the first wave of the band; there's nothing like having somebody like that on drums,
What's it like working with him?
He's also a trained musician, so, you know, he works fast. Working with him is like working with people on the jazz and instrumental side; it's just easy and quick. And he's a good partner. When Eric's developing his parts, he needs the drummer there to bounce ideas off, and it's a perfect partner for him. So, yeah, I'm really, really excited about it. I think it's got something for everyone; there is classic Testament, there is modern Testament, there's 'Gathering' [1999] era Testament. Whether you're a fan of any of those periods of the band, there will be something for everybody.
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