Technically exemplary metal bass performances?
September 3, 2010 6:18 PM Subscribe
Technically exemplary metal bass performances?
In other words: Ones that a working bassist in any style could respect on a professional basis.
Any style of metal eligible.
In other words: Ones that a working bassist in any style could respect on a professional basis.
Any style of metal eligible.
Gorguts - Obscura
Pavor - Furioso
Om - Conference of the Birds (I particularly like "At Giza").
Metallica - (Anesthesia) - Pulling Teeth (Cliff Burton solo, later joined by Lars on drums).
Blotted Science - The Machinations of Dementia.
Behold ... the Arctopus - anything (though they frequently use a Chapman stick in place of a traditional bass).
many things by Cynic, but start with Focus.
posted by Inspector.Gadget at 6:46 PM on September 3, 2010 [2 favorites]
Pavor - Furioso
Om - Conference of the Birds (I particularly like "At Giza").
Metallica - (Anesthesia) - Pulling Teeth (Cliff Burton solo, later joined by Lars on drums).
Blotted Science - The Machinations of Dementia.
Behold ... the Arctopus - anything (though they frequently use a Chapman stick in place of a traditional bass).
many things by Cynic, but start with Focus.
posted by Inspector.Gadget at 6:46 PM on September 3, 2010 [2 favorites]
Both Justin Chancellor and Paul D'Amour from Tool are stellar bassists. Whether or not Tool is technically 'metal', well ...
posted by komara at 7:20 PM on September 3, 2010
posted by komara at 7:20 PM on September 3, 2010
Seconding Cynic and Burton. Actually, Sean Malone (former Cynic bassist) has a side project called Gordian Knot that's full of stunning playing.
John Myung from Dream Theater gets buried in the mix, but he's a monster, and he takes some impressive solos on "Dance of Eternity" and "Metropolis Part I." His fills on "Change of Seasons" are great, too.
Les Claypool isn't pure metal, but his technique is consistently amazing. Watch him live sometime. Look at how economical his hand movements are. Weep.
"Acid Rain" by the Liquid Tension Experiment has Tony Levin somehow keeping up with John Petrucci's ridiculous riffs. Both albums are terrific, but that song's the showstopper.
Martin Mendez from Opeth has to be one of my favourite metal players. He's found a great balance between locking with the drummer and throwing in sweet fills. "The Drapery Falls" and "The Grand Conjuration" are two of my favourite Mendez lines.
posted by Schlimmbesserung at 7:30 PM on September 3, 2010 [2 favorites]
John Myung from Dream Theater gets buried in the mix, but he's a monster, and he takes some impressive solos on "Dance of Eternity" and "Metropolis Part I." His fills on "Change of Seasons" are great, too.
Les Claypool isn't pure metal, but his technique is consistently amazing. Watch him live sometime. Look at how economical his hand movements are. Weep.
"Acid Rain" by the Liquid Tension Experiment has Tony Levin somehow keeping up with John Petrucci's ridiculous riffs. Both albums are terrific, but that song's the showstopper.
Martin Mendez from Opeth has to be one of my favourite metal players. He's found a great balance between locking with the drummer and throwing in sweet fills. "The Drapery Falls" and "The Grand Conjuration" are two of my favourite Mendez lines.
posted by Schlimmbesserung at 7:30 PM on September 3, 2010 [2 favorites]
Until recently, my friend Uriah was the bass player for Whitesnake. He's got a lot of stuff on youtube... His best stuff has nothing to do with metal in my opinion, but you might want to check it out anyway.
posted by blaneyphoto at 7:57 PM on September 3, 2010
posted by blaneyphoto at 7:57 PM on September 3, 2010
Also try out tech death bands like Cryptopsy and Necrophagist for really over the top shreddy shit. Try something like Dysrythmia for Jesus Lizard-influenced metal that's on the noise rock cusp. And then, definitely do not miss Philly's art-jazz-punk-metal stalwarts Stinking Lizaveta for awesome organic upright bass craziness. They are better witnessed live than heard on disc.
posted by The Straightener at 8:21 PM on September 3, 2010
posted by The Straightener at 8:21 PM on September 3, 2010
Seconding Blotted Science. Alex Webster is pretty mindblowing, plus it's all instrumental, which I personally find to be a big plus. I believe all of Machinations of Dementia is on youtube. Here's a sample.
posted by gimli at 9:05 PM on September 3, 2010
posted by gimli at 9:05 PM on September 3, 2010
My guitar player boyfriend suggests Billy Sheehan (played with David Lee Roth, Steve Vai, Niacin and various other projects). Also Dave LaRue (from Steve Morse Band, Planet X, John Petrucci, etc). Both tend to play in bands with no lyrics and their styles may be closer to rock than metal, but you should still check them out. Since you asked for technical bass players, these are two of the best in any style, jazz, metal, rock...in his opinion. Check out Niacin's self titled first album (may be hard to find) for Sheehan and Planet X's album Live From Oz for LaRue. Enjoy!
posted by SloppyTree at 9:06 PM on September 3, 2010
posted by SloppyTree at 9:06 PM on September 3, 2010
Almost forgot Meshuggah, I would recommend the newer bass player's stuff on I and Catch 33, not their best albums overall but do have what I think are the most interesting bass work.
posted by The Straightener at 9:06 PM on September 3, 2010
posted by The Straightener at 9:06 PM on September 3, 2010
WatchTower was a hugely influential prog-metal band that not too many non-musicians are familiar with. Doug Keyser was the bassist. Title tracks for Control and Resistance and Energetic Disassembly.
Not sure if this is technically metal or not, but Linus of Hollywood (Kevin Dotson) turns in some nice performances on Paul Gilbert's Spaceship Live DVD. Scarified
posted by gimli at 6:57 AM on September 4, 2010
Not sure if this is technically metal or not, but Linus of Hollywood (Kevin Dotson) turns in some nice performances on Paul Gilbert's Spaceship Live DVD. Scarified
posted by gimli at 6:57 AM on September 4, 2010
>Behold ... the Arctopus - anything (though they frequently use a Chapman stick in place of a traditional bass).
Warr guitar, not Chapman Stick. There are people[1] who are picky about the differences.
[1] Of which I am apparently one of.
posted by alikins at 10:42 AM on September 4, 2010
Warr guitar, not Chapman Stick. There are people[1] who are picky about the differences.
[1] Of which I am apparently one of.
posted by alikins at 10:42 AM on September 4, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by deadmessenger at 6:44 PM on September 3, 2010 [1 favorite]