Testament guitarist Alex Skolnick has reflected on the one night he played guitar for Ozzy Osbourne.
Skolnick, 56, briefly replaced Zakk Wylde as the guitarist in Osbourne’s solo band in June 1995, but was dismissed from the lineup less than a month later. During his tenure he played one show with the Black Sabbath singer, which took place at Rock City in Nottingham.
Reflecting on his blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Osbourne stint in the new issue of Metal Hammer, Skolnick says, “I don’t know why their separation happened, but I guess Zakk was doing other stuff and there was this search for a new Ozzy Osbourne guitarist.”
He continues, “I was just honoured to be in the running because I’d heard about some pretty well-known players that never got past the audition phase. I actually got to the point of doing a show and Ozzy hired me – he said he wanted me to do the gig.
“It was an unannounced show at Nottingham Rock City and it was great.”
Skolnick adds that him not hanging about in Osbourne’s band was likely a “management decision”, but isn’t bitter about it.
“It was a great motivation at a time when I didn’t really know what to do next,” he says. “That was when I enrolled in the university called The New School in New York, and studied with these greats like [jazz musicians] Cecil McBee and Reggie Workman.”
In a 2016 Loudwire interview, Skolnick spoke about the Osbourne concert, revealing that it was repeatedly cancelled and rescheduled at the last minute.
“I heard that we’re doing this unannounced show,” he remembers, “then I heard, ‘We’re not doing the show now because he’s got a sore throat. Oh, we’re doing the show again!’ And it was on and it was off and it was on and it was off.”
He also elaborated about why he didn’t continue with Osbourne after that night, implying it was because of The Prince Of Darkness’ wife/manager Sharon.
“There was one person who didn’t congratulate me [after the gig],” he added. “A lot of hints had been dropped – things like, ‘Maybe you could lower the guitar,’ or, ‘Maybe you could stand like this.’ I realised, ‘Oh, I think she wants me to be Zakk Wylde.’”
Skolnick’s Ozzy membership was during his time away from Testament, whom he left in 1992 but rejoined in 2005. The thrashers are expected to release their next album at some point this year.
As well as the interview with Skolnick, the new Metal Hammer contains conversations with both Trivium and Bullet For My Valentine as the bands gear up for a co-headline world tour. It also details the 50 albums you need to hear in 2025. Order your copy online now and get it delivered directly to your door.
