Testament: The New Foundation
Bay Area thrashers, TESTAMENT have proudly stood aloft the upper echelons of metal royalty since the 1980’s. Possessing a catalogue which would colour most bands green with envy and have no intention of stopping any time soon. It’s been a long five years since the release of 13th full length effort Titans Of Creation but longstanding guitarist Alex Skolnick is assuredly confident that upcoming effort Para Bellum will make the wait worthwhile.
“We’re not the kind of band who writes on tour or anything as we like to focus on one album cycle at a time and set aside windows of time between touring. We finished most of the writing around 2023 and recorded in 2024 but there is a lot of work that goes into the process rather than just the writing itself so it took a little bit longer. Eric [Peterson, guitars] and myself did several sessions where we sat down together, which is why I think this album took a bit longer. I went out to the West Coast to work with Eric and then he came to New York and I think that definitely helped shape the sound of this record. Something special happens when you’re in the same room together. It’s inspiring to be with your fellow bandmates and bounce ideas off each other. The technology available to us now is also great as not only can you work remotely but you can set up a computer with plugins and amp models and get a really good sound that’s fun to work with. You can record two guitars at the same time and just have a little jam session. We spent a lot of time listening back to those and focusing on parts we liked and trying different arrangements.”
Over the years, TESTAMENT has been spoiled by a wealth of contributions by some of the greatest drummers to ever sit behind the kit. After the legendary Gene Hoglan departed in 2022 the band briefly acquired the services of iconic sticksman Dave Lombardo before opting to inject some new blood into the fold. “Our new drummer Chris Dovas is young but very tuned into a heavier style of playing and does a mean blastbeat!” Declares Alex. “It was great to have him feature his talents on this album and build the music on top of that. We’ve had the heavier elements in our catalogue for a while but wanted to revisit the older styles from albums like The Gathering and Chris‘ playing determined where the songs ended up and how the vocals turned out. He’s very mature for his age even though he’s less than half of most of our ages!”
“He brought that kind of youthful energy to the project and it was nice to bring something different. We’ve loved working with Dave Lombardo, he’s a great friend and we’ve done a few tours with him but it wouldn’t necessarily feel new with Dave. I’m sure we could’ve come up with some great stuff working with him but having someone who is kind of new and somewhat unknown to the scene makes it more exciting. Chris is really dialled in now after doing playing a good number of shows with us now and seeing him play songs that were played by all these great drummers has been amazing. It was part of what excited me when I came back and started revisiting TESTAMENT. We’ve had the likes of Paul Bostaph, John Tempesta, Nick Barker, Gene Hoglan. The standard of drumming has been so high, and now Chris is setting the new foundation of the band.”
Having such a long and storied career can be a blessing and a curse, particularly in metal where genres have experienced polarising peaks and troughs in popularity. Thrash metal suffered a huge blow in the 90s during the grunge uprising and some bands were unable to recover. The landscape of the music looks considerably different in present day to when TESTAMENT first burst onto the scene but Alex and company refused to wave the white flag.
“All you can do is roll with it! There is nothing any of us can do about it. It’s a lot more difficult for artists to make a living, even the popular artists in the mainstream scenes. The older you get the more you learn and as you mature you all get along better and it’s a more positive environment. You just have to have an honest outlook on the changes in the business and it’s been a blessing as the band feels like it’s doing better than it ever has. We’re selling out bigger venues, we’re getting a lot more respect and more press. It has helped that bands like LAMB OF GOD, for example, have appreciation for us and have taken us out on tour and opened us up to their crowds, which has had a great impact. We have always been one of those bands that has flown slightly under the radar compared with some of our friends of the same generation but if anything that gives us the hunger that comes along with it.”
In addition to his impressive output in TESTAMENT, Alex has plied his trade in a plethora of other projects such as TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA, supergroup METAL ALLEGIANCE, jazz outfit PAKT as well as his continued efforts with ALEX SKOLNICK TRIO. A rich, illustrious career which he will be forever thankful for. “I like to keep busy, and at times I didn’t know just how busy I would be. I’ve been fortunate enough to have all these opportunities present themselves and I’ve had the chance to pick and choose what I’d like to do. Some of my projects have been more jazz or virtuoso type projects which have definitely been for a selective audience but it’s been such an honour to play with legends of music that aren’t even connected to metal at all. It’s never been about the money for me. I love being a musician that has many sides and is very diverse.”
Para Bellum is out now via Nuclear Blast Records. View this interview, alongside dozens of other killer bands, in glorious print magazine fashion in DS125 here:
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