SAVING Savalage

In 1994, following the death of Criss Oliva, their brilliant young guitarist, reeling Tampa metallers Savatage enlisted then-ex-Testament man ALEX SKOLNICK for an album and tour. Although his time with the band was brief, it would have a lasting impact...

- Clay Marshall

IN THE SPRING of 1990, Bay Area thrashers Testament — considered by many metal fans to be the leading contender if the “Big 4” were to ever expand by one — spent seven weeks touring across America in support of their recently released third studio album, Practice What You Preach. The trek also featured another band who were on the rise at the time — the Tampa, Florida-based Savatage, whose lead guitarist, Criss Oliva, turned 27 on the tour’s 12th stop.

Oliva’s counterpart in Testament was former Joe Satriani student Alex Skolnick, who joined the group — then called Legacy — in 1984 at the tender age of 16. Despite his youth, Skolnick had achieved international recognition in the metal guitar community for his blistering solos on his band’s first three albums, records for which he co-wrote the majority of the music and even a handful of lyrics.

In 1992, however, Skolnick decided to leave Testament. “I felt like I wanted new experiences, musically and personally, and I just felt limited at the time,” he says, noting that he was only 23 when he gave notice. (He would rejoin in 2005.) “I wasn’t able to be in the band without feeling those limitations.”

Approximately one year later, Skolnick — who remained active in the Bay Area music scene after separating from Testament — was in the crowd at a local concert, where he struck up a conversation with an industry acquaintance. Oliva, he was told, had been killed by a drunk driver. “It was much like when I heard about the passing of [Metallica bassist] Cliff Burton — just word of mouth, and musicians were talking about it,” Skolnick says. “I was kind of in shock — like, ‘Wow, oh my God.’ It was just unthinkable.”

Prior to touring together, Skolnick had admired Savatage from afar, even trading tapes of the band’s early recordings as a high schooler before joining Testament. He cites the title track of the group’s 1983 debut,