brutal/slam death metal bassline traits

[paradigm_shift]

Hey all
are there any particular bassline traits for this (sub)genre?
I'm going to be auditioning for a band in the near future, but am not familiar enough with the genre to know how the bass tends to fit. Im talking bands like Devourment, cephalotripsy, Brodequin etc.

Just wanting to focus my practice into needed areas as much as possible

Thank you

[iplaybasstexas]

EQ= more gain, more bass, decent mids, okay treble (speaking of level)

make sure you have a good bass and good strings. drop tunings make strings looser and less tension on neck.

bass lines are usually crazy fast in this genre.

[Nick Kay]

Speed. Get used to 16ths at 160bpm+ straight for a 45 minute set. It's VERY tough, even with a pick, to keep it up for a whole set.

Stylistically, you're basically always doubling the guitars. Things get really muddy at the speeds you're going to be playing if you're not basically playing unison or harmonized. Depending on HOW brutal this band is, your favourite intervals are going to be the flat 5th and the minor 3rd.

EQ wise, there's two schools of thought. A lot of death metal scoops the mids out of the guitars, the kick, the bass, and sometimes even the vocals. A lot of mid content sounds VERY weird in that context. On the other hand, some new-school bands that take a lot of cues from the early Florida scene (ESPECIALLY Shuldinerites like myself) have a more traditional EQ structure. In that case, you'll be riding on top of the bass drum in the extreme nether regions, but below the guitars dominating the high-mids.

[paradigm_shift]

Im ok on the bass setup/ eq side. (tend to be really low mid focused ) currently downtuned to A (on a fiver all set up for it) More looking for how the rhythem tends to be structured, note choice, particular techniques that I should be looking at.

[Alcyon]

Originally Posted by Nick Kay

Shuldinerites like myself

Never heard that expression before... I am definitely a Schuldinerite. I'd love to hear some of your band's music if you're inspired by Death.

[Nashrakh]

Originally Posted by paradigm_shift

More looking for how the rhythem tends to be structured, note choice, particular techniques that I should be looking at.

As for rhythm, it could be anything... riffs consisting of quarter notes coupled with eights... some gallops thrown in... fast 16ths tremolo riffs.

Note choice: diminished and perfect 5ths, minor 3rds, half steps...
augmented 5ths rule, too, but I don't know if they occur in slam death that often... you can see them a lot in grind, though

And: focus on groove. be tight with your drummer buddy. if you can't shake your *** to that music, it's only half as good
forget the speed thing. if you can go that fast, nice. if you can't, don't worry... make the ppl bang their head instead

[landry.bass]

Originally Posted by Nashrakh

And: focus on groove. be tight with your drummer buddy. if you can't shake your *** to that music, it's only half as good forget the speed thing. if you can go that fast, nice. if you can't, don't worry... make the ppl bang their head instead

+1

Obviously you'll need speed, but groove in that kinnd of set up is killer. I take it from Martin Mendez when I think about bass playing in a death metal band.

[Traver]

Originally Posted by landry.bass

+1

Obviously you'll need speed, but groove in that kinnd of set up is killer. I take it from Martin Mendez when I think about bass playing in a death metal band.

Maybe, but Martin Mendez doesn't play brutal or slam death metal, which is what this guy is asking about.

Unless you have a 5-string, you'll most likely want to downtune (and you might even want to downtune on a 5-string, anyway).

I find that the chromatic scale is used a lot in these type of riffs.

[paradigm_shift]

cheers guys, Given me a few things to think about. any other suggestions?

Cheers