1. Alex Skolnick was born on September 29,1968 and is an American musician.
20 Facts About Alex Skolnick
1. 2.
Alex Skolnick is best known as the lead guitarist and one of the songwriters of the thrash metal band Testament and has played with several other bands, including The Alex Skolnick Trio, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Savatage and the heavy metal supergroup Metal Allegiance.
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Alex Skolnick briefly reunited with Testament in 2001 for the re-recordings of their early songs on the album First Strike Still Deadly, and then returned to the band on a permanent basis in 2005, contributing to four more albums.
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Alex Skolnick was born and raised in Berkeley, California, in a non-traditional Jewish family.
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Alex Skolnick joined the San Francisco Bay Area thrash metal band Testament, then-called Legacy, in 1984 as the replacement of original guitarist Derrick Ramirez.
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Alex Skolnick was just eighteen years old when he recorded his debut album with Testament, The Legacy, which received critical acclaim from both music critics and fans alike.
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In late 1992, several months after the release of The Ritual, Alex Skolnick opted to leave the band, citing his weariness of playing thrash metal music and his desire to explore musically outside of Testament as the reasons behind his departure.
8.
Alex Skolnick returned briefly to Testament by re-recording old material for their ninth album First Strike Still Deadly, as well as the Thrash of the Titans performance in 2001.
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Alex Skolnick officially rejoined the band in 2005 for a short European tour with some American dates appended.
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Alex Skolnick has since recorded two more albums with Testament, Brotherhood of the Snake and Titans of Creation.
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Alex Skolnick recorded two albums with Attention Deficit, a trio with Manring and Tim Alexander of Primus.
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Alex Skolnick's trio has been praised by Down Beat, Jazziz, and The Village Voice.
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Alex Skolnick released a DVD Jazz tuition set with Rock House Method in May 2010.
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On June 21,2012, Summer Solstice Day, Alex Skolnick announced his world music album Planetary Coalition at the annual Make Music New York festival sponsored by Guitar World magazine.
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Alex Skolnick used a variety of guitars, including steel string, nylon string, acoustic, and electric.
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Alex Skolnick has been active in blending music with works of art and literature.
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Alex Skolnick plays electric ESP Guitars and Godin hollow-bodied models with Seymour Duncan pickups.
18.
Alex Skolnick endorsed Charvel guitars and was featured in their ads around 1995.
19.
In 2013, Budda released a signature amp for Alex Skolnick, called the Preceptor, and later in the same year it was announced that Alex Skolnick was signed to ESP guitars, with an ESP and LTD model in the works for 2014.
20.
Alex Skolnick's influences include Frank Zappa, Eddie Van Halen, Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Johnny Winter, Randy Rhoads, Michael Schenker, Yngwie Malmsteen, Kiss, and Scorpions.