That Metal Show | Alex Skolnick From Testament Shreds: That Metal Gear | VH1 Classic

In this edition of That Metal Gear, Testament lead guitarist Alex Skolnick goes through his gear and set up. Watch That Metal Show on VH1 Classic Saturdays at 9/8C.
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[@IdiocyShow]

Skolnick,Holt & Mustaine have always been my 3 favorite thrash guitarists

[@mondola]

I saw Alex live with his Alex Skolnick Trio a couple of weeks ago in a place that held about 50 people. Absolute unreal guitarist, great gig!

[@jakholly2]

4:10 was totally an Herbal Essences commercial.

[@ondysahatpardamean7073]

+Jak Angelescu hahahahaaaa

[@magsuns7648]

lord of thrash metal lead guitarist

[@Pirustae]

Well put. Lots of hard competition by his colleagues but he tops it.

[@James-hh1lq]

Guitar god

[@lifegoeson2422]

Mag Suns Marty Friedman 😉

[@xaviergostanian6398]

Fantastique !!!

[@silverblack5475]

Gary Holt

[@irena7777777]

Love the way he introduces himself at the start. Looks cheesier than cheddar guitar shredder

[@Rhunyen]

Alex shreds live. I've seen Testament live and watched fans in awe when he solo'd or shredded -- Trial by Fire is just one example.Judge him by his brilliant playing and not his interviewing. Damn, I wish I could afford one of those ESP A.S. guitars; I'll have to settle for my venerable Ibanez RG-550 (pretty banged up) and newer Dean Tyrant.

[@OpnDoarPlcy]

7:00 Thinking Dave Murray.

[@lancifers5.047]

Loving the color on the guitar.

[@BoyAditya]

everybody love Alex skolnick

[@bencheshire]

A simple list of questions on cue-cards could have done this presenter's job.

[@seanobrien6516]

1 of my favorite bands/ guitarists

[@kennyken7278]

I really admire players who don't rely on the whammy bar too much (Marty Friedman is the other one)......They're the more soulful players IMO...Skolnick started out as an Yngwie clone, but as he got older, he developed his own sound

[@mdragoonx]

metalheart80s That is purely wrong, backwards. The bar simply adds vibrato, or more drastically can be used for dive bombs and pull-ups. It has nothing to do with "heavy, distorted" sounds. If anything the bar takes away from those sounds because it distributes the vibration from the body into the springs in the back, adds a springy quality. Which is heavier sounding regardless of wood, a les paul or a strat? Also consider how much wood is now missing, and replaced with bright metal parts. It can also add high end as most quality trems used hard metals, like steel, which adds high end and makes what would be a heavy sound more bright. The bar is for vibrato, nothing else. So if you want super heavy, ditch the trem. I only use trems, because I use every possibility to be as expressive as I can. Think Friedman with a bar, essentially Becker, who made Friedman who he is.

[@mdragoonx]

metalheart80s No prob. There is a lot of snake oil out in the guitar industry, mainly cus guitar players will try anything that promises to make things easier. But it really is in the hands and head, and the gear just enables the voice to come out. Sall good. Sorry if i seemed rude. Just accustomed to dealing with jerks on here. My approach is do everything with yours hands, and then try additional tools.

[@kennyken7278]

metalheart80s To most people (me included) floating trems are a pain in the ass, CONS outweigh the PROS (tuning instabilities, string change takes forever to complete, you cannot tune down on the fly etc etc) ..This is why you rarely see Les Paul elitists play a Floyded one.... So I would not really consider it as a more versatile system compare to hard tails...it has its drawbacks....Being versatile lies in the hands of the musician, not the instrument, having said all of that, it all boils down to preference

[@krisross8818]

+mdragoonx I agree with you some, I too use a bar for another option to create different expressive sounds. Thats just the kind of player I am, I like to have as many options as I can get. The bar itself is a tricky thing to use if you want to use it in ways someone like Vai might. It took me awhile to become good with it. If you just wanna dive bomb thats fine and takes little effort but there is much more you can do with a floating trem. I disagree about Becker making Friedman who he is. Thats untrue. Yes, they both certainly influenced each other but Friedman was already an amazing player with much of his style established when he met Becker. The two have always had different styles. Friedman was already on his way up when Jason got involved. I love em both. I prefer Jason's Perpetual Burn to Marty's Dragon Kiss though.

[@krisross8818]

+Kenny Ken I get what your saying but your not giving credit to players who use a bar tastefully or at least artfully. Someone like Kerry King who uses it to strangle his guitar is one thing (though I have no problem with that technique) but others like Steve Vai use it in a variety of ways adding more flavor to their style. Even Dimebag who used it mostly for harmonic squeals did so with a command most players don't have with a bar and it became a feature in his playing style. Dimebag certainly had soul and feel in his playing. Kerry King has no soul or feel to his style but it serves a purpose in the music he makes. The bar isn't just for hacky players many have used it to great effect.

[@DetVen]

My friend has the Alex Skolnick Heritage Signature H-150 and it's the best guitar I've ever seen, heard or played. He paid a lot of it, but worth every penny and more. I hope he gets tired of it so I can buy it off him, but I'm not holding my breath.

[@NavidKhan84]

+Det Van I so wanted to get one but near about $3000 man

[@joesalinas1990]

Man guy has good tone n vibrato!

[@alexsaucedo8032]

GUITAR GOD. . ALEX SKOLNICK 🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘

[@adamwarlock3530]

Great guitarist and cool dude.

[@charliefoxtrotthe3rd335]

Alex is so good. I honestly believe that Testament is the heaviest and most true to the Thrash sound, but they never really cracked into the mainstream like Metallica or Megadeth. But, in a way, that is great for the fan, because they were not tempted to "sell out" (i.e. Load, Reload, St. Anger, etc.) and their album Dark Roots of Earth is killer, with the cover of Iron Maiden's Powerslave is epic. Eric Peterson has really developed into a great musician in his own right. The Budda amp with an effects loop for each channel is brilliant. It is a bit salty @ $3000, but Budda is one of the premier amp builders on the planet. Cool interview!

[@MrDreamEvil007]

Or should I say MVM Most valuable musician

[@GASH_one]

He doesn't know anything about droptunings, but he is still a badass player!

[@MrDreamEvil007]

Every game every sport needs an mvp well last night ALEX took the Mvp on this episode

[@CryThunderdarealone]

I MUST know: at 6:58 what is he playing???

[@louaquiler]

+CryThunder Is it Parisienne Walkways by Gary Moore?

[@silviofonseca4597]

Master Skolnick!

[@AudiophileTubes]

ACE FREHLEY!

[@davidallen346]

There's a lot of knobs on that amp no doubt, wonder if he ever will go back to playing Ibanez again

[@michaeldellinger3377]

I would say this if that metal show did a show with with the vocalist of cradle of Filth

[@sudsysutherland359]

The current line up of Testament is the best imo & would blow the big four clean out of the Water

[@SleepFan771]

Alex is the greatest thrash metal guitarist ever, even though I prefer Anthrax just barely over Testament.

[@jlarsena]

Have you heard Jeff Waters?

[@SleepFan771]

jlarsena Yes my fellow Canadian. But Alex is on another level technically and melodically. Annihilator is so cool. Anthrax may be my personal favorite thrash metal band, but Testament is the most technically advanced.

[@jlarsena]

Ocean Sage For me, no one compares to Jeff Waters, he also plays all the guitars in studio.

[@SleepFan771]

***** He went back to college to study jazz and has the Alex Skolnick Trio which plays jazz. So I think he knows what he likes. The way Alex combines jazz chords, progressions in solos for thrash metal songs is truly masterful.

[@ThrasherDge]

***** lol, he knows it, trust me. He has been in a couple of jazz bands

[@rohantiwari7801]

7:00 Dave Murray style

[@amyfik2408]

he is Thrasher and Jazzer

[@julioocasioalbino551]

He is one of the Best guitar players in te world to think that he audition for ozzy

[@Hydrophish]

Interesting segment but the interviewer is beyond lame. Could he look more disinterested?

[@JR-qz3zt]

Pretty sure he was just thinking about the donuts off set just waiting to be eaten. Maybe a pizza or two.

[@micahearl8166]

Y'all are some bullys chill

[@robcalder1744]

practice rocks

[@Polentaccio]

Wow, don't be so excited to interview Alex or talk about his gear with so much enthusiasm........................ ...............

[@titohablateenseriodiciendo1818]

Ý wat 67! For one

[@kazaakas]

no talk about picks, strings, pickups... shame

[@Rickswars]

And his songs/band turned out heavier than Van Helen's commercialized Garbage band.

[@TheLochs]

this guy is not a very good interviewer, I'm sorry I dont mean to be a jerk, but these questions are very vanilla.

[@TrillBill]

I didn't know Obama played for Testament

[@Rickswars]

Obama can't play a guitar he's to stupid!.

[@DidacticEditions]

Shredding? seriously? palease...

[@Bricklinsv1970]

Not impressed with alex here. Hes so much better than this.