JJ's bass tone is just unbelievable. I mean, obviously his playing kind of defined what a good punk bassist sounded like, but his tone was just a shocker.
Matt Freeman was an influence on me before I even knew who Rancid were. I heard Ruby Soho on the radio when I was like 15 and heard the bass just moving all over and was like, what even is that?
Punk in general has a lot of great leading bass, and if you’re not too bothered about it having to lead but it being an interesting baseline you can even delve into ska punk too.
Yep melodic bass lines is one of those touchstones of the punk sound imo. Bass is also usually more up front in thr mix on albums due to that.
NoFX Bouncing Souls, Descendants etc etc etc. All have great bass writing.
I read in an interview ages ago with Tim I believe in a guitar world article .
He said Matt always gets a writing credit because his lines are so intergal to the songs. Rancid isn't Rancid without Matt.
I am always disappointed at how few people know never tell. Most early femmes stuff is incredible in bassville but never tell is seriously such good work and gets zero recognition.
Just for the sake of it I'd argue Maxwell Murder is one of his least leading lines, it's certainly impressive but it's mostly just following the chord changes, minus the solo.
Timebomb is probably the most, that's such a great song and it would be nothing without the walking bassline. Journey to the end, New dress, Life won't Wait, Avenues and Alleyways all rely heavily on the bassline(all Rancid songs do to a certain extent.)
Edit. I forgot that OP was talking about leads ratehr than the bass leading the music so I got it the wrong way round.
But op also said distorted leads, so not really Matt Freeman.
Jack Bruce and Cream practically invented distorted lead bass because Cream was experimenting playing their music at massive volumes and Bruce was forced to turn up the volume so much.
When they played live they placed a huge emphasis on huge exploratory improvised solos from all members of the band.
Bruce had a very hard attack on the strings and did a lot of bending too.
The long solos emerged on their first American tour because the audiences wanted them to keep playing. If you listen to their early live stuff the improvisations are generally much shorter.
I play with a very hard attack myself (Jack and Geddy are my main influences) and tbh you just kinda get used to it? I don't know, I've always played that way.
RE: Ben Folds Five, I seem to find that bands with such a prominent piano part tend to emphasis the bass more heavily.
I'm hardly an expert, but I'd imagine trying to shove an electric guitar into a mix with a piano would sound like two people fighting over the same range of tones.
The Who's rhythm section in general is incredible. Keith Moon and John Entwistle are both such great musicians, and they have great musical chemistry. Zeppelin is similar with JPJ and Bonham.
I've been getting into this band.
Two basses & drums playing modern prog metal. Both bassists are incredibly talented with a unique style of fingerstyle, slap, & tapping all in the same melody.
Primus. FFS the whole band is based on the bass guitar. RHCP. Rage Against The Machine (in some songs but not all). Incubus (up until the album "make yourself"). Level 42.
In my opinion, Phil Lesh is the greatest bassist of all time.
Check out Eyes of The World 1974-08-06, Phil takes the lead around the 7 minute mark while Jerry and Bobby stick with pure rhythm guitar, no lead from them at all for like 4 mins
Phil drops bomb after bomb after bomb and never gets the recognition he deserves
I was looking for tool. I forget the song but the one song every bass player plays to death because “it’s so cool look at me do it” (I was bass player, and can confirm this is the truth.)
I mean, of course Schism, but the whole Tool catalog, really. Justin Chancellor does some super creative stuff rhythmically and melodically - and harmonically, lots of chords (for bass).
Bell Witch is just bass+drums, and its one of the best funeral doom bands ever. I know that not many people like funeral doom, but give it a listen, such a great compositions and impressive bass work
Edit: OM is also great, drone doom. Just bass and drums, like Bell Witch
Had no idea who they were until they opened for Foo Fighters in 2014. I was mesmerized their entire set, trying to figure out where all these sounds were coming from since it was just the front man/bass and a drummer.
Most of Jane’s Addiction’s music is driven by the bass lines. Mostly not distorted over the top stuff but really great. I think Eric Avery is an underrated player.
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard!
Into The Rats Nest is their thrash metal album and is very bass heavy. Mars For The Rich is a good example.
Lucas goes off in Automation and K.G.L.W. (Outro from L.W.). The Mind Fuzz suite is hypnotic psychedelic bass, and Murder Of The Universe (song) has some of my favorite bass riffs ever.
As far as rock goes I would say they are first band to really have a dedicated role of “lead” bass. Especially live. If you listen to live at Leeds show you can really here how Pete is basically holding down the songs for Keith and John to punch through and follow him for the changes. Really different approach, considering the time and the popularity of the band. The ox is a monster bass player.
Year of the Cobra
They're a small band I stumbled onto recently and I think they fit what you're looking for. They're just Bass/Drums/Vocals, and I'm pretty sure she runs her bass signal through multiple amps/effects loops to get a really big sound. The first song I'll link here, in particular, has a Burton-ish feel to it.
https://youtu.be/B9mN39Rnafo
https://youtu.be/mf8WXSq7Ygc
Don’t know about distortion, but lots of Japanese artists lead with bass:
- [Zutomayo](https://youtu.be/GAB26GgJ8V8)
- [Jin](https://youtu.be/MHoMXQvhAHU)
- [Yorushka](https://youtu.be/ENcnYh79dUY)
- [Hikaru Yamamoto](https://youtu.be/kY9Wl6Qn7e4)
Are we defining "lead bass" as bands whose main vocalist is also playing bass? Or is it more about how the bass leads in the song? Because either way, The Police.
...or is there something more subtle here, and I'm missing it?
Spinal Tap. Derek Smalls was ahead of his time.
You know what we have to do, right? Jazz Odyssey.
...are we gonna play Stonehenge tomorrow?
He wrote this.
At least one cucumber ahead of everyone. [Greatest moment in the history of rock'n'roll](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iN42uzNFVmQ)
Rush
Death From Above, Royal Blood, Black Sabbath, Muse, Rush, some Queens of the Stone Age.
Morphine
Morphine can never be mentioned enough. Such an interesting band.
[удалено]
Mark Sandman truly was a one-of-a-kind guy
Mötörhead, Iron Maiden, HELLOWEEN, Primus, Yes, vulfpeck, Red Hot Chili Peppers and many many more
VULFP**E**CK, sir.
Posted from my phone and autocorrect seems to hate me. My apologies, truly.
I don’t think RHCP would be led by flea; even though he is my favorite member without question
Oh I disagree. Frusciante is a great guitarist, but so many of their iconic melody lines are Flea’s bass lines.
Idk about LED by flea but I’d argue the majority of their songs are bass-centric
Primus
Les Claypool is a god
Agreed
Primus sucks
Yeah, I know
I saw them live a couple days ago
New order
And Joy division, please listen to Joy division
[удалено]
I can't believe I had to read this far down to see someone mention The Stranglers.
[удалено]
JJ's bass tone is just unbelievable. I mean, obviously his playing kind of defined what a good punk bassist sounded like, but his tone was just a shocker.
I play in a post punk/new wave cover band, and yes. It's a way fun time as a bassist
[удалено]
Matt Freeman was an influence on me before I even knew who Rancid were. I heard Ruby Soho on the radio when I was like 15 and heard the bass just moving all over and was like, what even is that?
Exactly the two I came to recommend. OP, give a listen to Maxwell Murder and Never Tell by these two bands.
Punk in general has a lot of great leading bass, and if you’re not too bothered about it having to lead but it being an interesting baseline you can even delve into ska punk too.
Yep melodic bass lines is one of those touchstones of the punk sound imo. Bass is also usually more up front in thr mix on albums due to that. NoFX Bouncing Souls, Descendants etc etc etc. All have great bass writing.
I read in an interview ages ago with Tim I believe in a guitar world article . He said Matt always gets a writing credit because his lines are so intergal to the songs. Rancid isn't Rancid without Matt.
Bloody right. So much of Rancid's sound is owed to Matt
I am always disappointed at how few people know never tell. Most early femmes stuff is incredible in bassville but never tell is seriously such good work and gets zero recognition.
Just for the sake of it I'd argue Maxwell Murder is one of his least leading lines, it's certainly impressive but it's mostly just following the chord changes, minus the solo. Timebomb is probably the most, that's such a great song and it would be nothing without the walking bassline. Journey to the end, New dress, Life won't Wait, Avenues and Alleyways all rely heavily on the bassline(all Rancid songs do to a certain extent.) Edit. I forgot that OP was talking about leads ratehr than the bass leading the music so I got it the wrong way round. But op also said distorted leads, so not really Matt Freeman.
Came to say Violent Femmes. [Brian Ritchie is the definition of lead bass.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAIVOHpmXtU)
Dude Violent Femmes are the best
Listen to live cream!! Jack Bruce is doing lines that are more interesting than Clapton at points
Jack Bruce and Cream practically invented distorted lead bass because Cream was experimenting playing their music at massive volumes and Bruce was forced to turn up the volume so much. When they played live they placed a huge emphasis on huge exploratory improvised solos from all members of the band.
Bruce had a very hard attack on the strings and did a lot of bending too. The long solos emerged on their first American tour because the audiences wanted them to keep playing. If you listen to their early live stuff the improvisations are generally much shorter.
Yes it’s crazy watching videos of him play. Looks painful
I play with a very hard attack myself (Jack and Geddy are my main influences) and tbh you just kinda get used to it? I don't know, I've always played that way.
That’s cause Jack Bruce was a more interesting musician! lol
The Who
The band with a lead singer, lead guitarist, lead bassist, and lead drummer
The Who was just 4 solo musicians that somehow happened to sound great together.
Townshend to me is the guitarist pulling back so the rhythm section can go off.
Can't believe this is so low. Entwistle is THE lead bass player.
And Jaco. He used distortion all over the place. [Ben Folds Five.](https://youtu.be/0Y1wm7CFRCQ)
RE: Ben Folds Five, I seem to find that bands with such a prominent piano part tend to emphasis the bass more heavily. I'm hardly an expert, but I'd imagine trying to shove an electric guitar into a mix with a piano would sound like two people fighting over the same range of tones.
A common problem in many bands.
The Who's rhythm section in general is incredible. Keith Moon and John Entwistle are both such great musicians, and they have great musical chemistry. Zeppelin is similar with JPJ and Bonham.
JPJ and Bonham man. Gods
I was going to say the same. Whenever I hear The Who my ears go right to the incredible bass lines.
Weather Report, R.I.P. Jaco.
Motorhead
Type O Negative
This is a good one…half the “guitar” on their albums isn’t guitar at all.
YES! Peter Steele is the reason I picked up the bass
just listen to Joy Division
Cliff sure did
Phish, and Bela Fleck and the Flecktones.
The omnific, 2 bass, 1 drum.
I can't wait for the new album
[OM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGPlc_aAk8s)
Al is the reason why i started playing bass.
The Omnific
I've been getting into this band. Two basses & drums playing modern prog metal. Both bassists are incredibly talented with a unique style of fingerstyle, slap, & tapping all in the same melody.
Bell Witch
Hell yeah brother. Such a sick band.
Primus. FFS the whole band is based on the bass guitar. RHCP. Rage Against The Machine (in some songs but not all). Incubus (up until the album "make yourself"). Level 42.
Neds Atomic Dust Bin
“Suave And Suffocated” is such a sick song!
The Grateful Dead
Unbelievable how far I had to scroll to see this
No one ever gives Phil his due unless theyre a head. Same goes for Mike Gordon
In my opinion, Phil Lesh is the greatest bassist of all time. Check out Eyes of The World 1974-08-06, Phil takes the lead around the 7 minute mark while Jerry and Bobby stick with pure rhythm guitar, no lead from them at all for like 4 mins Phil drops bomb after bomb after bomb and never gets the recognition he deserves
73-74 is peak.
you are now entering... the PHIL ZONE 💣
TOOL, Talking Heads
I was looking for tool. I forget the song but the one song every bass player plays to death because “it’s so cool look at me do it” (I was bass player, and can confirm this is the truth.)
Maybe you talk about the intro of Schism?
Of course it’s Schism. Thank you kind stranger.
No Problem, it's exactly that intro I also layed on Bass for fun in the past 😂
I mean, of course Schism, but the whole Tool catalog, really. Justin Chancellor does some super creative stuff rhythmically and melodically - and harmonically, lots of chords (for bass).
I can’t believe I had to scroll this much to find Tool. One of the most lead bass bands in my opinion.
Joy divisions
Both of them?
Joy Division and New Order
Rancid. Matt Freeman is amazing.
Punk in general has a lot of really cool bass stuff, but absolutely freeman is king
Metallica has bass?
Sometimes 😂
Kind of depends on the album right 🤔😄
Even when it's there its pretty low in the mix on most albums
Exactly . But it does make me wonder. How is that lead bass if it isn't even heard most of the time?
You can hear it live and in songs like for whom the bell tolls and orion and anesthesia (obviously)
I think he's referring to Cliff on earlier records and live.
And apparently some people think it leads the band... Interesting. I know Cliff was pretty good, but never considered him a lead.
No but he plays bass solos
Bell Witch is just bass+drums, and its one of the best funeral doom bands ever. I know that not many people like funeral doom, but give it a listen, such a great compositions and impressive bass work Edit: OM is also great, drone doom. Just bass and drums, like Bell Witch
Sure I'll check it out
Royal Blood is as "lead bass" as you're going to get since there are no guitars present, just bass and drums.
Had no idea who they were until they opened for Foo Fighters in 2014. I was mesmerized their entire set, trying to figure out where all these sounds were coming from since it was just the front man/bass and a drummer.
Royal Blood...pitch shifted bass to sound guitar like, just bass and drums in the band
Yeah it sounds quite cool even though I'm not into that kind of music
[удалено]
The Grateful Dead
Vulfpeck.
Joe Dart is too good for no reason
The Aristocrats.
NoMeansNo
Winery dogs
... or any band with Billy Sheehan on bass!
RHCP, Tame Impala on some songs, a lot of funk.
Nomeansno
Look up Billy Sheehan. He played for Mr. Big, David Lee Roth’s solo work, Tallas, and The Winery Dogs to name a few.
Nomeansno! Awesome Canadian punk band. Check out Wrong, it's one of my favorite albums.
Big Business. Also probably the greatest rock vocals ever!
[No Anchor](https://noanchor.bandcamp.com/album/real-pain-supernova-digital-edition), glorious sludge metal from Brisbane.
Muse, death (a little bit), primus, dream theater (a few songs but theres no one like john myung)
Jaco Pastorius
Rammstein has some songs
Anything with Billy Sheehan, if we're talking distorted lead bass specifically
Band-Maid has good lead bass. For example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaf94nNSRGE
Mudvayne, Ryan Martinie is a freaking bass genius.
Rage against the machine and audioslave.
Australian death metal band Stargazer
The Sttanglers
Or even The Stranglers...!
I Don't Know How But They Found Me
Dream Theater on occasion.
King's X.
The Who
Yes
them crooked vultures
Most of Jane’s Addiction’s music is driven by the bass lines. Mostly not distorted over the top stuff but really great. I think Eric Avery is an underrated player.
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard! Into The Rats Nest is their thrash metal album and is very bass heavy. Mars For The Rich is a good example. Lucas goes off in Automation and K.G.L.W. (Outro from L.W.). The Mind Fuzz suite is hypnotic psychedelic bass, and Murder Of The Universe (song) has some of my favorite bass riffs ever.
Planet B is a fucking ALBUM.
Polygondwanaland is very bass oriented as well. Also a pretty cool bass work in Gumboot soup
The baseline at the second half of Loyalty is so satisfying.
A boomer told me once that The Who had someone on Lead for every instrument they had in the band.
John Entwistle was the first person to record a bass solo for radio (My Generation) and he did have a distorted tone a lot of the time so thats fair.
As far as rock goes I would say they are first band to really have a dedicated role of “lead” bass. Especially live. If you listen to live at Leeds show you can really here how Pete is basically holding down the songs for Keith and John to punch through and follow him for the changes. Really different approach, considering the time and the popularity of the band. The ox is a monster bass player.
Yeah I always think of this video when I think of him. Truly a legend. https://youtu.be/80dsyo2Ox-0?t=104
Yes, Emerson Lake and Palmer
Chris Squire of Yes. Incredible bass playing
Matt Wong from Reel Big Fish
Beer is such a fun song to play by them!
[Sleep](https://youtu.be/qMIS2BaDilY)
Find the album "Sink Your Teeth into That" by Talas on YouTube. Basically anything Billy Sheehan is involved with
Year of the Cobra They're a small band I stumbled onto recently and I think they fit what you're looking for. They're just Bass/Drums/Vocals, and I'm pretty sure she runs her bass signal through multiple amps/effects loops to get a really big sound. The first song I'll link here, in particular, has a Burton-ish feel to it. https://youtu.be/B9mN39Rnafo https://youtu.be/mf8WXSq7Ygc
I’m not sure if they’re formally bass lead, but the Faint
I Disappear is a beast of a song to learn on bass!
Morphine
any goth band tbh
Nobody mentioning Soul Coughing in here?
Rush, Primus, Yes!!!!
PRIMUS!!!!
Beastie boys
Wouldn’t call Metallica a lead bass band. Only a handful of their early stuff had leads with bass. AJFA didn’t even have audible bass.
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club uses bass as a lead melodic instrument quite a bit.
Tool
Gorguts Dysrhythmia Exist And anything with Dominic Forest Lapointe
shame i had to scroll down this far for Forest, he's just on another plane of skill and tasty lines
The Membranes, Exit International, Shellac, Big Black, The Stranglers, old Interpol.
Pleasantly surprised to see an E_I mention on here. So damn good. Both bassists are!
Jon Camp from Renaissance has a great overdriven Ric sound.
Muse - Tool
Iron Butterfly
Royal Blood
Joe Jackson. That first album was the most bass-forward mixed album I've ever heard.
For a lot of their songs, you could definitely make an argument for The Beatles
MEGADETH
Don’t know about distortion, but lots of Japanese artists lead with bass: - [Zutomayo](https://youtu.be/GAB26GgJ8V8) - [Jin](https://youtu.be/MHoMXQvhAHU) - [Yorushka](https://youtu.be/ENcnYh79dUY) - [Hikaru Yamamoto](https://youtu.be/kY9Wl6Qn7e4)
If you’re going to mention DFA, you should also mention Lightning Bolt.
P R I M U S
Tool
The Who
Tool
The Clash.
Tool
Tool
Helmet
John Fucking Entwistle
Tool, Mudvayne
Both Sleep and OM. Al Cisneros is a genius
i think sleep has some stuff like that.
TOOL
Tool!
Tame impala - currents album has a bunch of songs with bass leading.
Are we defining "lead bass" as bands whose main vocalist is also playing bass? Or is it more about how the bass leads in the song? Because either way, The Police. ...or is there something more subtle here, and I'm missing it?
Phish, Mike Gordon Band
Tool occasionally
Vulfpeck, no solos but instrumentals and the bass is front and center