Testament guitarist Alex Skolnick has once again shared his thoughts on politics and whether or not his views damaged the band.
Skolnick got into an argument on X about his rap song ‘Trump Sucks.’ Naturally, the title and the song itself caused controversy. While many people claimed that they wouldn’t listen to his songs because of politics, one user wrote: “I’m listening to your music because of your politics. I hope that’s a refreshing counterbalance.”
“For every ‘I HATE YOUR POLITICS AND AM DONE WITH YOU & YOUR MUSIC!!’ there are many more like this. THANK YOU,” the guitarist responded.
When a user asked him to check his album sales, the guitarist responded with, “Album no longer count. Ticket sales do. And they’re better than ever,” with a winking face emoji.
The guitarist has talked about politics and its effects on his band many times throughout his career. One of the things that bothered him about the fans that criticize his views was the ‘shut up and play your guitar’ attitude.
“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,” Skolnick explained in a 2021 article. “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.”
He also made it clear earlier that he would never pretend to support right-wing just to not lose fans.
Even after all the backlash and negative feedback about his views, Skolnick doesn’t seem like he will stop being vocal about politics in his songs.
For every “I HATE YOUR POLITICS AND AM DONE WITH YOU & YOUR MUSIC!! 😭” there are many more like this. THANK YOU https://t.co/Us9JUU0rYA
— Alex Skolnick (@AlexSkolnick) September 18, 2024
Album no longer count. Ticket sales do. And they’re better than ever 😉
— Alex Skolnick (@AlexSkolnick) September 18, 2024
