Playing metal on the bass guitar is an exercise in perfect time and pure endurance in many cases – the insane tempo of many metal songs demands energy and dedication to learn. While the bass portion of many heavy metal tunes can be somewhat simple in terms of actual construction – it would be unwise to underestimate the skill involved with playing some of the most brutal forms of music extant.
Metal Health Will Drive You Mad
A great song for aspiring bass metalheads to learn would be one of the classics – an offering from 1983 from L.A. Metal band Quiet Riot, “Metal Health”. With a neat and recognizable intro and a fairly standard tempo with only a little variation thrown into the mix during chorus, the song is very easy to learn and is a blast to play with a band. All portions of the song are fairly easy for bandmates to learn so this is a prime target to tackle with some mates.
- To see the bass tablature for Quiet Riot's “Metal Health”, please click here.
Funk metal band Rage Against the Machine exploded onto the international music scene in the 1990's with the release of their self-titled album. With lyrics espousing political subversion against fascist and authoritarian government alongside revolutionary and anti-capitalist sentiments the band quickly rose to stardom both as a protest movement as well as a new force in countercultural music.
One of their more popular songs, “Killing in the Name” is a blast to play on the bass – extremely funky with some neat slurring patterns thrown into the mix. It is also a perfect song to practice hammer-ons.
The bassline on all Rage Against the Machine albums is extremely easy to pick up in the mix and should be quite easy to play along with in times where jam sessions fall by the wayside.
- To see the bass tablature for Rage Against the Machine's “Killing in the Name”, please click here.
One of the most influential genres in the genre over the past decade has been the rise of death metal as one of the most popular forms of heavy music – particular given the popularity of Children of Bodom, Slayer, Devildriver, Lamb of God, and Slipknot. Alongside this puncturing of the mainstream, Adult Swim began televising a short animated feature known as Metalocalypse, featuring a fictional death metal band known as Dethklok.
Dethklok may be a band comprised of two members, Brendan Small and legendary drummer Gene Hoglan – however their music is extremely well produced and commercially successful. “Go Into the Water”, the song from the premiere season finale, is a deep and brutal (but relatively easy) song to learn for aspiring metal bassists.
- To see the bass tablature for Dethklok's “Go Into the Water”, please click here.
Blacker than the Blackest Black
Heavy metal is a genre that encompasses a great deal of hard and fast music – a brutal and frenetic playing style that attracts all sorts of bassists due to the great amount of raw energy present both in the playing of the music and during live performances. Metal is an extremely political genre as well, being one of the the current voices of the musical counterculture with a very lively independent and underground movement.
While it may be frustrating attempting to learn some of the more difficult metal songs, practice makes perfect – and dedication to the genre can do nothing but assist players in becoming more proficient metal bassists.
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Nicholas Morine - Nicholas Morine Bachelor of Arts, English Language & Literature Master of Philosophy, Humanities (Candidate) Memorial University ...
