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DARK SECRETS: Alex skolnick | Vintage Vibes

"His guitar was his life’s breath”: Tributes pour in as The Dictators and Manowar guitarist Ross “The Boss” Friedman dies aged 72

His passing comes just weeks after a fundraiser was set up to aid his battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)

Guitar World

“I’m watching this sort of genius develop right in front of me, and he seems he has no physical barriers”: Joe Satriani on what it was like to teach a teenage Steve Vai

Here's this "goofy" Ace Frehley fan with big hands and he keeps coming back for more... Satch says it wasn't long before he recognised Vai's potential

MusicRadar

“That whole thing of doing the trades with other players is a really nice thing”: Vernon Reid says he hopes he and Jack White have started a trend for pro guitarists swapping signature models

It all started with a chance meeting at the airport but now the Living Colour guitarist says he's already lined up more high-profile trades

MusicRadar

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“If you just want to capture an idea, you should just be able to press one button and get great tone doing it”: How your phone became an essential part of your guitar rig

Smartphones and tablets have changed the game. With apps for keeping time, tuning up, practicing, recording and learning, can the 21st-century guitarist afford to leave their phone at home?

Guitar World

“People would say, ‘OMG, if this guy is in the back of a guitar store, teaching, what does it say about the music business?’ But, of course, within a few years, everybody would know his name”: Testament’s Alex Skolnick on what he learned from Joe Satriani

When a teenage Skolnick studied under Satch, he found a man who was “like the equivalent of studying with a classical piano or classical violin teacher” – except this guy could rock

MusicRadar

“I certainly got a new appreciation for the Megadeth stuff… it was amazing to see how far guitar quality had come in our genre of music”: Alex Skolnick on the time he was on standby for Megadeth – and what to do when you can’t match a player lick for lick

With Kiko Loureiro's wife pregnant, Megadeth needed an understudy for emergency cover. The Testament guitarist answered the call but admits Loureiro's solos were impossible

MusicRadar

“Ace reminded us all that rock should never apologize for being fun and that a little chaos can sound downright heavenly”: The guitar world pays tribute to the late Ace Frehley – the Spaceman who took Kiss into orbit

Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons lead tributes to the Kiss co-founder and larger-than-life former lead guitarist, who has died, aged 74

Guitar World

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‘Chuck was breaking beer bottles over his own head’: thrash metal legends Testament on 40 years of mayhem

After their lead singer shed his glam rock spandex, the band became rivals to thrash’s Big Four. Still releasing potent high-octane riffage, they retread their path through cancer scares and jazz detours

The Guardian - UK

Hear Quicksand/Rival Schools frontman Walter Schreifels cover Pink Floyd for forthcoming animal welfare benefit album featuring exclusive tracks from Killswitch Engage, Snapcase, Orange 9mm, Testament's Alex Skolnick and more

Quicksand's Walter Schreifels has covered two songs from Pink Floyd's Animals album

Metal Hammer

Ozzy Osbourne’s solo band has long been a proving ground for metal’s most outstanding players. From Randy Rhoads to Zakk Wylde, via Brad Gillis and Gus G, here are all the players – and nearly players – in the Osbourne saga

Among the ranks of Ozzy's six-string sidekicks are some of the most admired and imitated rock guitarists of all time. Some have lasted for years, others a single gig, and some on both ends are part of the elite group of musicians to have been fired over the phone by…

Guitar World

“I actually got to the point of doing a show and Ozzy hired me – he said he wanted me to do the gig”: Alex Skolnick looks back on his brief tenure as Ozzy Osbourne’s guitarist – and why it only lasted one show

The Testament guitarist blames a “management decision” on his short-lived spell, but looks back at the experience positively

Guitar World

"My parents were academics and not thrilled about me joining a thrash metal band." Testament's Alex Skolnick talks thrash, Clash Of The Titans and what it was like joining Ozzy Osbourne's band

Testament’s six-string superstar reflects on the chaos of the Bay Area, guesting with Lamb Of God and studying with jazz legends

Metal Hammer

“He sometimes gets overshadowed by his own brilliant lead playing”: What was underrated about Eddie Van Halen, according to Testament guitarist Alex Skolnick

Eddie Van Halen was the master of shredding, but he was capable of so much more as well, says Testament’s longtime guitarist

Metal Hammer

“Darrell’s solo in Cowboys from Hell hitme like lightning”: Kerry King, Alex Skolnick, Zakk Wylde and more of Dimebag Darrell’s friends and fans pick their favorite solos from the late Pantera guitarist

An all-star panel names the leads that cemented Dimebag’s name in the guitar history books

Guitar World

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Metal Hammer

“A great motivation at a time when I didn’t really know what to do next”: Testament guitarist Alex Skolnick remembers playing sole gig with Ozzy Osbourne

Skolnick played one concert with The Prince Of Darkness in June 1995 before being ushered out the door by management

Metal Hammer

“I could spend hours going through the mistakes we made and were made on our behalf. We all truly felt we could be big”: The tumultuous history of Testament, thrash metal’s greatest nearly-men

If there’s a thrash metal Big Five, Bay Area bangers Testament ares strong contenders

Metal Hammer

Every Testament album ranked from worst to best

Rearranging Testament's back catalogue into order of greatness

Guitar World

“They really should replicate that, because it just has some magic”: Alex Skolnick on Criss Oliva's favorite guitar, “the Gargoyle” – the ESP Superstrat he likens to Billy Gibbons’ Pearly Gates Les Paul Standard

Skolnick got up close and personal with this one-of-one Mirage when he stepped up to replace the late Oliva in Savatage. Like the ZZ Top man's Burst, it has a tone that's all its own

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Guitar World

“I heard some criticism that I didn’t play the parts enough like Criss, but I didn’t want to just go in there and try to be a clone of him”: When Alex Skolnick quit Testament – and was recruited to replace the late Criss Oliva in Tampa metallers Savatage

In 1994, following the death of the brilliant Criss Oliva, reeling Tampa metallers Savatage enlisted then-ex-Testament man Alex Skolnick. The experience left a lasting impression on both

Metal Hammer

"There’s a sadness to that album." How addiction, thrash royalty and the long tail of 9/11 oversaw Lamb Of God's career-defining Ashes Of The Wake

Twenty years old this year, Ashes Of The Wake remains a classic of 21st century metal

Guitar World

“Alex’s note choices, use of scales and arpeggios, and classy vibrato was a perfect recipe for his metal guitar legend status”: What makes Testament’s Alex Skolnick one of thrash’s most cerebral players

Mixing alternate picking with smooth legato runs, book smart theory with the instincts of a berserker, Skolnick took Testament to a new level

Metal Hammer

“If it was up to me, I’d make it the Big Five”: why Testament deserve to be at thrash’s top table

Testament’s 2012 album Dark Roots Of Earth was another classic from thrash’s most dependable band

Louder

“This album is about letting the song dictate when it needs something and when it doesn’t”: With her perfect new line-up, Jane Getter takes her jazz-prog back to basics

With Steven Wilson as an influence, Division World features tracks that might not change the world – but may help you feel better about the way it is

Guitar World

“There was suddenly no sound. I was on stage all on my own. And this was a heavy metal concert, so the crowd was starting to chant and boo”: Alex Skolnick reveals his most embarrassing onstage moment

The genre-hopping Testament guitarist on his first gigs, favorite guitar, and why solidbodies feel more replaceable than hollowbodies

MusicRadar

“It is with a heavy heart that we announce that all store locations will begin store closing sales today”: End of an era for US gear retail as Sam Ash Music to close

The largest family owned gear retailer in the US is to shut all of its stores after 100 years of service

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