Curious to know the thoughts of the community on him. Bass player for the band Opeth. One of my favorite bands of any genre so obviously I like his playing especially on their mellower more prog leaning tracks
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Martin Mendez
- Thread starter ryanms3030
- Start date
Martin's a great player. I always wondered why he used the Marcus Miller Jazzes specifically, as opposed to a regular Jazz. But he's great. More rock-oriented than Johan DeFarfalla, but that's not a bad thing.
The way he headbangs is also an influence on me
The way he headbangs is also an influence on me
The way he headbangs is also an influence on me
The guy can pull off some amazing helicopter heabanging even on the mellowest song
Great player, Opeth has some great bass lines. I especially love "the drapery falls".
I've seen them live for their 20th anniversary tour in Essen, Germany. He was mixed good there, I could definitely hear him and feel the groove.
I've seen them live for their 20th anniversary tour in Essen, Germany. He was mixed good there, I could definitely hear him and feel the groove.
Agree that he's mixed way too low most of the time. Akerfeldt's own bass playing on MA,YH (possibly the best Opeth album for me) is quite underrated imo.
Totally agree with this. No matter who is playing, Opeth albums have good bass playing, especially considering that the genre doesn't always give the instrument a chance to shine. But I really wonder what Akerfeldt might have done if he had another album to be the bass player on. It wasn't just filling in, he let the bass really get noticed at points during that album.
Agreed, I love what he does at the end of The Amen Corner, the slow clean part in When, and the clean breaks in Karma. More creative than given credit for. More interesting than the majority of Mendez' playing imo, though Mendez really must be praised for his playing on Damnation, and what can be heard on Deliverance.
Thanks to this, I'm getting back into Opeth, particularly Heritage. I never noticed that Mendez, in addition to his usual bass guitar duties, is also playing upright on at least the title track. Pretty cool if you ask me.
I'm a huge Opeth fan and I didn't even know that Akerfeltd played bass on MAYH. Also probably my favorite album but I think the run of MYYH, Still LIfe and BWP were all perfection. I really am getting into Heritage too.
That's pretty cool. I haven't heard that album yet, but I always thought that based on the way Mendez crafts his lines that he must have some background on the upright.
Do give it a listen. It's much more progressive-feeling than their other albums, but lacks the death growling.
anybody know how to get that fat distorted tone in "lines in my hand"? I've been playing for 20 years but am a total n00b fx-wise.
Mendez is a phenomenal player, they way he handles songs that Johan played on live is awesome. I believe Martin is VERY underrated.
I didn't want to make a new thread on Mendez so I'll just post in this one as it seems to be the most current thread.
So I hear a lot of great things about Mendez. Opeth is a band I've listened to very sporadically for 15 years or so. The bass has never stood out for me and I usually listen for bass especially in the Metal genre where it's usually not very prevalent. Which Opeth album(s) do you guys recommend that has good bass playing by Mendez or his predecessor?
So I hear a lot of great things about Mendez. Opeth is a band I've listened to very sporadically for 15 years or so. The bass has never stood out for me and I usually listen for bass especially in the Metal genre where it's usually not very prevalent. Which Opeth album(s) do you guys recommend that has good bass playing by Mendez or his predecessor?
Give a listen to Damnation, especially the songs "Ending Credits," "To Rid the Disease," and "In My Time of Need." Nothing too complex, but he's up in the mix and has some nice grooves and subtle melodies.
Edit: Fair warning: Damnation's not really a "metal" album, it's more moody prog.
