Alex Skolnick Names Which Metal Stars Are on Metal Allegiance’s Wishlist

Some of metal’s biggest names have played with Metal Allegiance over the last decade plus, which begs the question of who remains on the all-star metal jam band’s wishlist. Testament guitarist Alex Skolnick, one of Metal Allegiance’s core members, discussed some of those he’d still like to see join in at a Metal Allegiance show during his appearance on Full Metal Jackie’s weekend radio show.

While thinking about the entirety of metal, he was first able to break it down by thrash’s “Big 4,” noting that there’s been representation from three of the four bands. Metallica would be the lone band yet to place a band member at a Metal Allegiance performance.

“We’ve never had anybody from that band. So that would be one,” said Skolnick. He also added, “Anybody from one of the more classic bands – Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden. So we have a wish list that remains to be fulfilled.”

Within the chat, Skolnick and Jackie discussed the origins of the band, their upcoming Jan. 23 performance at the House of Blues in Anaheim and Alex answers whether or not the band has considered more new music.

He also offers some insight into work on Testament’s next studio album and the changes in their process, how touring in support of their early reissues has inspired them and what in general has been inspiring him artistically of late.

Check out more of the chat below.

It’s Full Metal Jackie and this week we welcome one of metal’s all time guitar greats, Testament’s Alex Skolnick. It’s that time of year again with Alex getting ready to join his mates in Metal Allegiance for their annual performance at the House of Blues in Anaheim on January 23.

Alex, Medal Allegiance was born out of some great musical friendships established over the years and is now going on over 10 years strong. Did you ever imagine it would amount to this? And what were those initial jams like deciding to put on that first Metal Allegiance performance all those years ago?

I don’t think any of us imagined it lasting 10 years. At the time it was really a side project. All of us were and are busy with other projects, but it came together rather organically. We were filling in for a group on Motorhead’s Motorboat last hurrah. Mark Menghi, the bass player, had been doing this as sort an all star jam, mostly around music products. The first time it was done as Metal Allegiance and as a formal concert was on that ship.

I was brought in last minute. They were just rounding up as many people as they can and within a day or so I got calls from him and Mike Portnoy that  they’d like to take this and do original music and do a recording. So at the time it seemed like a fun thing to do, like one all star album and an occasional show. But you’re 10 years later and the Anaheim House of Blues show has become an annual extravaganza that is going strong after all this time.

Metal Allegiance, “We Rock”

Alex. scheduling will always be an issue for something like Metal Allegiance, but at over 10 years in, my guess is you’ve gotten many of the guests you’ve wanted at one point or another. But is there like a dream collaborator you’d love to share the stage with for Metal Allegiance that you haven’t had the chance to yet?

Oh, absolutely. There are a number of them. We’ve been very fortunate to have a lot of our peers and good friends of ours and even people that are hard to pin down, like this year, my buddy Gary Holt, who’s obviously founder of Exodus, but also in recent years a member of Slayer.

But as far as somebody, we haven’t had, If you talk about this so called big four of thrash metal, well, we’ve had three of the big four. We’ve had members of Anthax, you have John Bush who was there in the 90s. Charlie [Benante] has joined us at times. Obviously. we’ve had members of Megadeth. One of them is one of the core four.

Slayer, we’ve had Gary [Hot]. Original drummer Dave Lombardo has played with us as well. The other big four band, Metallica, we’ve never had anybody from that band. So that would be one, Anybody from one of the more classic bands – Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden. So we have a wish list that remains to be fulfilled.

Alex, It’s a miracle that it’s happened once. But is there ever talk of trying to find some time to record another album of original material with Metal Allegiance?

Indeed there is. There is talk. As of now, it has, to quote King Crimson, a song called ‘Elephant Talk.’ It’s only talk, but it is sincere talk. So I know the intention is there. It’s just a matter of scheduling. But I think that the talks have gotten more serious. I think we’re going to be more realistic about it this time around.

One of the reasons it hasn’t happened yet is because it’s such an undertaking. We are fortunate to have enough breaks in our schedules to do those two existing albums. But I think next time around I think we may go the route of an EP or single and B side at a time and  just go about it that way instead of pressuring ourselves to put out a full LP right away. But we shall see. You never know.

Alex, I want to hit on some Testament stuff here. I recently had Chuck Billy on the show and he shared his excitement over the new record and bringing Chris Dovas into the equation. And he even commented that the new music was feeling more inspired by the bands that are coming up today. What’s been your take on what you’ve been putting together for this next record?

Yeah, I think it’s true. I think there’s been a lot more of us in one room and a lot more discussion of the material. I think in this day and age we’re lucky that we have this technology that we’re able to send files back and forth and record high quality sounds to share our ideas. But sometimes we don’t get enough chance to just sit and be with our guitars in the same room and discuss the material.

We had a number of sessions for the first time. Eric [Peterson] came out to the East Coast where I live. I’m a Brooklyn resident these days. And we had some really great sessions. I came out to the West Coast, and we met up with Chris a number of times there. It came together in a way that feels very exciting. I think there’s a lot of variety on this.

READ MORE: Testament’s Chuck Billy Describes New Album Sound + Who’s Influencing It

Chris stepping in, having a drummer this age, he’s in his mid 20s now, it kind of brings back some of the early excitement. It’s somebody who wasn’t around when this music happened the first time for the first few albums. But we did a tour where we were playing mostly songs from the first two albums, and it was a blast. The songs never sounded so good, and I think some of that energy has inspired the newer material. So, yeah, we are just very excited to share it with the world.

Alex is been an interesting time for Testament with the reissues of your early albums and even revisiting the first two records on tour. Has revisiting the old material sparked anything new creatively or influenced the live show moving forward?

I think so. When we paid tribute to the first two albums because they were remastered and  re-released in new packaging, it really gave us a chance to look at deep cuts that we haven’t looked at in a long time, in some cases since we were touring for those albums.

Some songs remain in the set no matter what. “Into the Pit” is an example from The New Order. The title track, “Over the Wall,” which was our first video from Trial by Fire. In my opinion, that doesn’t come back as often as it should because it is a popular video, but it does show up once in a while.

But there are other songs that you rarely hear. For example, “Do or Die,” which is a song from the Legacy, the first album, and “Day of Reckoning,” which is a song from the second record. And it was just great to play those. Those songs to me have elements that are pretty unique that you don’t really hear in any of the other songs.

And we played them, they went over great. I think it’s safe to say after more than a month straight of doing those every night, we know those songs. So now those are there. They will be in rotation. And we just have a wealth of material to choose from that just got even greater by playing all these classics.

Testament, “Into the Pit”

Alex, there’s no shortage of things to grab your attention in this world today. Whether it be day to day world events or even just trying to challenge yourself musically. Music can very much be about expression and finding the things that move you. What’s been inspiring you in your life creatively lately?

Oh, that’s a very good question. I remain inspired. I think it’s a blessing and a curse that we have this technology because we’re in tune with everything that’s going on at all times. We’re really living a different existence than we did prior to the 2000s.

Those of us who were around then, we of a certain age remember what that’s like. But now we have these devices that we check in several times a day, sometimes more than that, find out what’s going on all over the world.

Sometimes it can be overwhelming. But one of the good things is you get to discover emerging artists that you might not have heard about otherwise.There’s a backlog of great music and live performances that you might not have seen otherwise. So, you know, I’m often inspired.

I listen to a lot of improvisational music. I play in several instrumental projects. If I could plug one more Southern California show, I’ll be playing with a buddy of mine named Stuart Hamm. He’s a great bass player, best known for his work with Joe Satriani and Steve Vai.

I will be at the Baked Potato on Sept. 26. And I also played with another great bass player, Percy Jones, who was well known for his work with Brand X in the 70s.  I’m just constantly discovering great music that great virtuoso musicians like that ones I play with recommend to me.

Percy Jones used to work with the great producer Brian Eno. And I was a little young for that music when I was growing up. I was really young and, yeah, I really like Brian Eno’s music. I really like musicians that are just hard to categorize.

Alex Skolnick of Testament on the show with us this week, and we were talking about what music is inspiring you lately. I like how you described it as artists that are hard to categorize. Can you give us any other examples?

Well, I’ll name two more. John Zorn is a name. Not everybody knows who he is, but he actually produced the first Mr. Bungle record, which I think most of your listeners are probably familiar with. But this is a guy that has a whole catalog of music, like over a hundred albums. And he’s just this very eclectic artist that does music that some of it doesn’t even sound like the same person doing it. So he’s a big inspiration.

The late, great Frank Zappa is an inspiration and who did a lot of music. We’re constantly discovering new music that he did. I think Dweezil [Zappa] is about to tour and there’s an unreleased Zappa song, There’s new concert footage. So, yeah, I’m constantly inspired. And I’m especially inspired by eclectic, creative, prolific artists like Frank Zappa and John Zorn.

It’s unbelievable that they still find remaining Zappa tunes. Honestly, it’s like where are these tunes hidden?

Oh, exactly. Yeah.

Huge Frank Zappa fan, by the way. I’m a fan of that entire family. And I do want to mention John Zorn. I saw a show with him and Mike Patton in New York City probably 25 years years ago at Knitting Factory, and I was like, “Oh, they’re going to play stuff from Mr. Bungle.” Right? Because I just assumed because he did that record and it was literally like an hour and a half of them making animal sounds.

Yes.

He’s a very, very bizarre entertainer. 

That perfectly describes some of it. John Zorn has a record of duets with Yoko Ono and basically she screams the whole time and he answers her in the saxophone. But there’s other music that does not sound like that at all.

His Masada group are this very well crafted, elegant, ethereal music that’s wonderful to listen to. Nothing like that. But that is another side of him. He does have a lot of projects with Mike Patton, and that’s great you’re hip to him.

Oh, for sure. I was a huge Bungle fan and that’s how I discovered who he was years ago. Yeah, I did another interview yesterday, and I was giving a primer on John Zorn because the guy had never heard of him.

Well, it’s just he’s not in the forefront. It’s usually you know his name from if you’re one of those people that looks at the back of vinyl or CDs or cassettes back in the day and CD, seeing who was involved in different records. I was like that nerd that was always like that..

I happen to work with some musicians that work with him in different projects too. So I haven’t worked with him yet, but I would love to if the opportunity arises.

Alex, obviously the calendar’s starting to fill up for you. You’ve got the Metal Allegiance show, a new Testament album in the works. What else can we expect from you for 2025?

There’s going to be a show called Action Park Massacre and it’s loosely inspired by the amusement park Action Park, which is a real life place. And that is going to be definitely more movie score music. But I’ve already started it and it’s exciting.

Adam Dubin is behind it. He’s well known for music videos including the Beastie Boys, “Nothing Else Matters” by Metallica, and a lot of the home videos of Metallica. A year and a half in the life of Metallica. But this he has a passion project of his and I’m excited to be contributing to the score.

I also earlier this year found time to record music with my trio, the Alex Skolnick Trio. And we have an album that’s going to come out. It’s being mastered right now. It’s called Prove You’re Not a Robot. And I’m going to be touring that. I will be in Europe in March, hopefully the US in September, schedule permitting. And on the Cruise to the Edge, which is this cruise with um, a lot of Prog Rock, but some Jazz Rock. And it takes place every year. This year Steve Hackett is there from Genesis, Robert Fripp, Adrian Ballou is usually there. He’s busy with the Beat tour, but it’s really exciting to be a part of.

So my trio will be on Cruise to the Edge in April and um, in Europe in March. And I know there’s some other stuff too, but that’s the main thing.

Awesome. Well, good luck with all things to come and I’m looking forward to seeing you in these upcoming months.

Thanks to Alex Skolnick for the interview. Stay up to date with Metal Allegiance through their website and keep an eye out for all things Testament through their website, Facebook, X, Instagram and Spotify accounts. Find out where you can hear Full Metal Jackie’s weekend radio show here