Testament guitarist Alex Skolnick has shared his thoughts on some rockers with controversial views.
“Sorry to break it to some of you but it’s true,” the rocker responded to a user’s post about metal being political and against conservatism on X. “How anyone could think for one moment that the artists behind hard music (and for that matter, most rock period) would ever be on the same side as The Federalist Society, The Heritage Foundation and the NRA is truly mind blowing.”
He also shared his thoughts on Kiss’ Gene Simmons and called him ‘anomaly’ for a reason: “Gene is an anomaly. Economically very conservative but socially liberal.”
Some users argued that there were many conservative names in the metal scene such as Dave Mustaine and Tom Araya. “Not many but very few. It’s true about them but they’re an exception,” the guitarist responded. “And having been on tours with all 3, I can HONESTLY report that A) Their views represent a tiny minority among artists, crew & fans B) Conservative groups (not liberal) were the ones protesting the Slayer gigs.”
When he mentioned in another post that there is a’permission structure’ with being metal and conservative today, a user named Stryper. “A very rare exception,” Skolnick said of the band in response. “But they paved the way for many more hard rock groups that followed in the 90s and 00s (little in common sound or look/wise – but similar beliefs).”
And when another fan mentioned that they liked Slayer no matter the politics, Skolnick agreed. “Same! And I can confirm it’s only ‘his’ politics not theirs. The rest are far from it (including the guy who looks like a he could play a Jan 6th rioter on TV).”
Skolnick openly supports left wing and earlier slammed his haters for their ‘‘shut up and play your guitar’ attitude when it comes to politics.
“Quite a few fans of Testament have threatened to stop listening to the band as a direct result of my mainstream, left-of-center views. Such threats seemed to peak in the wake of my most notorious moment: a self-produced, comedic rap video titled ‘Trump Sucks,’ released prior to the 2020 U.S. election. The track — one in which I proudly wear Zappa’s influence on my sleeve — was thankfully found to be hilarious by the other members of Testament,” Skolnick wrote to New Lines Magazine.
He also made it clear that he wouldn’t blame his bandmates for a different reaction. “Although I wouldn’t blame them if there was cause for concern, they’ve been generally supportive, and the old adage of there being ‘no such thing as bad publicity’ has held firm. Meanwhile, the band seems to have suffered no noticeable decline in user engagement as a direct result of my political moonlighting.”
The rockers are set to perform tonight in Houston Texas tomorrow night. Following their ongoing North American tour, they will have a show in Istanbul, Turkey, before kicking off their European tour with Kreator and Anthrax on November 21.
Sorry to break it to some of you but it’s true. How anyone could think for one moment that the artists behind hard music (and for that matter, most rock period) would ever be on the same side as The Federalist Society, The Heritage Foundation and the NRA is truly mind blowing.
— Alex Skolnick (@AlexSkolnick) October 16, 2024
Gene is an anomaly. Economically very conservative but socially liberal
— Alex Skolnick (@AlexSkolnick) October 17, 2024
Not many but very few. It’s true about them but they’re an exception. And having been on tours with all 3, I can HONESTLY report that A) Their views represent a tiny minority among artists, crew & fans B) Conservative groups (not liberal) were the ones protesting the Slayer gigs
— Alex Skolnick (@AlexSkolnick) October 17, 2024
A very rare exception. But they paved the way for many more hard rock groups that followed in the 90s and 00s (little in common sound or look/wise – but similar beliefs).
— Alex Skolnick (@AlexSkolnick) October 17, 2024
Same! And I can confirm it’s only “his” politics not theirs. The rest are far from it (including the guy who looks like a he could play a Jan 6th rioter on TV)
— Alex Skolnick (@AlexSkolnick) October 17, 2024