10 Greatest Metal Bassists Ever

Metal is a genre that thrives on how heavy a band's sound is. Whenever someone listens to a metal record, the first thing they gravitate towards tends to be the guitar riffs and the spitfire vocal delivery. However, the real power behind any metal band lies just beneath the surface.

While prominently standing in the background of most music, the bass is an essential part of any metal band's sound. With the strings being much thicker, the bass guitar gives metal its heavy sound by providing an added depth to the riffs being played. Even on later metal releases, the bass is prevalent in the album's mix to give the guitars a foundation to build their solos.

That being said, bass often gets looked at as a lesser version of guitar, but it is much more than that. As both a melodic and rhythmic instrument, the bass player has to operate in conjunction with the drums while still providing fluid melodic interplay with the other instruments. Across generations, bassists have come out of the woodwork displaying impeccable metal proficiency behind their four-string. Here's to the foundational bassists who drove their respective bands and the entire metal genre forward.

When Slipknot set the world on fire in the late 90's, their brand of heavy metal wasn't like any other metal out there. By being one part nu-metal, one part death metal, and one part hard rock, the band personified some of the heaviest elements the genre had to offer.

Even though the band emphasizes the collaborative process of song construction, Slipknot would not be where they are today if not for Paul Gray. From the band's self-titled record onward, Gray was integral in coming up with some of the band's darkest material like on "Surfacing" and "Eyeless." Once the band started adopting more radio-friendly material, Gray responded in kind by delivering spectacular bass parts on songs like "Duality."

Throughout the band's tenure, Gray's talent was always in his awareness of what a song needed. While some songs saw him adding subtle embellishments to the melody, others showed him providing root notes so that a heavy groove could cut through the mix.

Though he passed away in 2010, the band has continued on and went so far as to make their next record in Gray's memory. With accolades pouring in as years go by, Paul Gray's legacy as one of metal's greats is all but secure.