Hi, my name is Alex Skolnick.
I've been playing the guitar since I was ten
years old.
When I was in high school, I joined a band
of guys in their 20s called Legacy.
We recorded our first album when I was 18
and changed our name to Testament.
I spent the next five years on tour with groups
such as Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax, Judas Priest,
White Zombie, and Iron Maiden.
I got a lot of great reviews in guitar magazines
and started showing up in reader's polls often
as best thrash guitarist.
When I was 19 years old I developed an interest
in jazz guitar and world music.
This had a profound effect on my development
as a musician and a guitarist.
At 20 I got hired to write a guitar instruction
column for Guitar World Magazine.
I was the first thrash guitarist ever to do
so.
In the early 90s I left the band to pursue
other musical interests.
I recorded an album with the progressive metal
band Sabotage.
I played with Ozzy Osbourne.
I was one of only ten guitarists ever to do
so.
I moved to New York in the late 90s to really
pursue jazz full time.
I got a degree from the New School University
jazz program.
I released my first jazz album, Goodbye to
Romance, and it got great reviews in Downbeat,
JAZZIZ, and a lot of other magazines.
I've recently released my fourth jazz album,
Veritas, which reached the top of the iTunes
jazz charts, the top ten.
In 2005, I rejoined Testament and our reunion
launched the band back to the big leagues.
We did our highest charting album ever, called
the Formation of Damnation.
That received a Golden God Award.
And we've since rejoined a lot of the bands
we used to tour with.
We're about to do a second album, a reunion
album.
It's called Dark Roots of Earth.
I'm about to release a memoir.
You can follow me on Twitter or on my website,
www.alexskolnick.com.
I hope you enjoy my Howcast series on How
to Play Heavy Metal Guitar.
