Alex Skolnick remembers Criss Oliva

Long-term Testament-axeman Alex Skolnick had a chance - but didn't make use of it. After having done a real good job as lead guitarist on ' Handful Of Rain ', he blew it with a lot of fans during the US - tour, while his playing only superficially reminded of Criss Oliva's leads in the older songs. Although he was presented the offer for another studio album after the release of ' Japan Live '94 ', Alex, who is a fan of the ' Sirens ' era, preferred to leave Savatage, in order to work on his own band project with Exhibit - A.

At the moment, Alex is involved in another band project by the name of Skol Patrol .
He's also giving guitar lessons to experienced guitarists and writing articles for guitar magazines. Even though Alex is very busy at the moment, we got a chance to ask him some questions about his memories of Criss Oliva.

" Criss Oliva was one of the first guys
I heard playing really heavy music
that was also an accomplished guitarist.
His and Jon's early music was an inspiration
when Testament was first getting off the ground.
A very underrated musician."

-Alex Skolnick-

It's really too bad. Here's the reality about recognition as a guitarist, at least during the mid '80's to early 90's: it had a lot more to do with the popularity of the band than it did with the individual guitarist. Some guys, like George Lynch and Nuno Bettencourt, deserved recognigition and got it. Others, like Criss, deserved more recognition than they got. And still others, such as Kirk Hammet, were winning guitar polls left and right, but it obviously had a lot to do with each band's place in the music business.

When was the first time you heard Criss Oliva play and what was it in his playing that impressed you?

I first heard 'Sirens' when I was in high school, around 1985. It was heavy but very musical at the same time.

Did you cop any tricks or techniques off of Criss' playing when you were learning?

I was definately influenced by his use of octaves as part of a riff. Later, I discovered Wes Montgomery, a jazz guitar legend, who used a lot of octaves. But the first metal riff I heard with octaves was probably 'Sirens'.

I didn't get to know him that well, which I'm sorry about. He was always friendly, and had a biting, sarcastic sense of humor.

I think we did jam together once, with some little amps. I remember him saying something like "I hate this guy. He's too good!"

What was it like trying to fill Criss' shoes? Were you intimidated? Did you find it difficult?

Jon was very clear about telling me to do my own thing and not worrying about trying to sound like Criss, so that made it easier. But because it was Savatage's music, and I used his guitar on some rhythm tracks, it sounded a bit like him at times.

Did you play Criss' 'Gargoyle' and use his gear? Could you describe what made that guitar such a significant integral part of the Sava sound?

I'm not sure what it is about that guitar. But when it's used with Jon's riffs, it just has that Savatage sound. It helps that it's tuned down usually, but it still has it's own unique sound.

I liked a lot of the stuff with Zach but my favorites were always the early tunes and others that had that feel. 'Sirens', 'Holocaust', 'Hall Of The Mountain King', 'Jesus Saves'.

I thought about it but decided it really wasn't fair to them or the fans. I really wanted to get into improvised music ( funk, avantgarde, world music, jazz etc...) . I also had my own rock band, Exhibit - A , which I eventually disbanded so I could work on these other things. The other Savatage guys were into it 100% and needed someone else who could give them that.