In a recent interview with Laughing Monkey Music, Testament guitarist Alex Skolnick talked about how important bass is in rock music, and pointed out that it seemed like it was overlooked on Metallica’s ‘…And Justice for All.’
He mentioned the bass parts in the Metallica album didn’t get enough attention. He explained:
“At the time we did our first record, I think it was within a year [that]’…And Justice for All’ [was released], which is a monumental metal album. I also felt like the bass — it was there, but it was sort of an afterthought. All of the classic records that I listened to, the bass was an important part of it.”
He then mentioned another band and how the bass parts in some particular songs helped to ‘make’ the songs:
“I mean, people don’t talk about it much, but John Paul Jones is just such an essential part of Zeppelin. Picture a song like, ‘Ramble On’ without the bass. The bass really helped make that song.”
Skolnick’s Bass Contributions
Skolnick joined the band back in 1984 to replace original guitarist Derrick Ramirez. Six years after joining, the band released their fourth album, ‘Souls of Black.’ Even though he joined as the lead guitarist of the band, Skolnick also contributed to the bass parts on the album. In the same interview, he explained:
“[When] we did the song ‘Souls of Black’, I was keeping the bass around, and actually played jam sessions on the bass, just because it takes you out of this comfort zone. ‘Souls of Black’ came from that. When I write, normally it would just be presented as a guitar riff, but I liked it so much as a bass riff. And I suggested to the guys, ‘Why don’t we keep [it that way]?’ You hardly ever heard the bass by itself.”
You can watch the interview below.