I have been wondering about Glen Benton from Deicide. I have two of their cds (one of them being the live album), and I have yet to hear any bass. Why is he so low in the mix all the time?
I have two Deicide's albums: Once upon the cross Amon: feasting th beast I thing that his bass is so low 'cause in their kind of metal the bass isn't more important. Two guitar, double pedal all time and guttural/distortion vocal are all the deicie fans (I'm not a deicide's fan) want to listen.
Most engineers just don't care for bass enough. Ever wondered why every almost producer wants you to play Jazz basses? They mostly have a channel EQed for it and leave it at that. I've yet to meet engineer who spend as much time getting a good bass sound as they do for guitar...
There might be one other factor too for the bassline not standing out, besides the engineer's unwillingness to pay more attention...that is because in death metal, the bass often "doubles" the guitars. In other words, the bass is playing almost exactly what the guitars play, so you don't hear the bass adding cool fills or laying out for a few seconds or attempting other techniques that basses do in other forms of metal. This is NOT a criticism of death metal bass. It can be quite challenging to double a guitar line because you really have to have speed to cover the same territory on the neck that the guitars are covering as you have larger frets and your strings are further apart.
speaking of Alex Webster, are there any bass solos on any of the Cannibal Corpse records? I'm hoping there will be some cool bass stuff on their upcoming live album. He is amazing.
I have Tomb of the Mutilated, Gallery of Suicide, and Bloodthirst. All great albums, but he's usually pretty low in the mix, which is a shame because in my opinion he's the most talented member. I was also wondering, does he pluck with four fingers? That's what everyone has been telling me.
If you get "The Bleeding", you can hear the bass really well, it's phenomenal! He has a very warm sound on that album, probably an SVT tube amp. That album is also one of the best death metal albums ever released. It is a little commercial, but very catchy. It has Rob Barrett from Malevolent Creation on it also, he is a very good rhythm player.
I've seen everything from a BC Rich Beast or Stealth or Ironbird to a Rickenbacker to a bizarre looking red and black bass shaped to look like an inverted cross/pentagram thingy.
From what they said on the Cannibal Corpse DVD, he only uses three fingers. Regarding Glen Benton, the guy is fantastic but I appreciate him primarily as a vocalist, and I often wonder how much of a bassist he really considers himself. I don't recall any Deicide bass lines sticking out despite how much I've listened to them, maybe he doesn't fight for bass in the mix as much as someone would if they were doing -only- bass for their band.
I would guess that Glen considers himself a vocalist first and a bassist second. He does some great vocal work with Vital Remains as well. I can't say much about his bass playing, because like the OP, I've never heard it. He just doubles the guitars.
The 2nd album Legion has some of the best bass work, it's probably best to listen with headphones to get the full effect.
Saw them live about a year ago, Glen was using an SVT-CL into 2 810's and using an Ibanez Ergodyne bass. Picking right over the edge of the fingerboard and he strums with nearly his whole arm! alot like that smily
In the earlier days Glen used a BC Rich. He used a Rickenbacker as seen in their DVD When London Burns. Today I believe he uses some SR Ibanez. I don't think Glen cares too much about having his basslines heard. He probably cares a lot more about his vocals and the lyrics he singing.
The bass sounds good on Once Upon the Cross... Good clank ... Still works better with headphones. Serpents of the Light has an abysmal bass presence. Very quiet, but what you can hear is bone dry and lightweight, very DI. This thread reminds me of the days when my party piece was playing serpents of the light, note perfect. It's pretty fast! Can't do it any more... Some great parties I went to! Oh well, the ladies used to like it...
i dont understand this thread cuz i own 5 deicide cds and i hear the bass in all of it but i guess that comes with years of listening to black metal
I think the last time you really heard Benton is Once Upon the Cross. That album and Legion actually have some surprisingly good basslines, considering.
