Martin Mendez

[Herrick]

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.

Ha ha thanks for the warning but I'm not one of the "hardcore" fans who were upset when the band changed their sound. I heard Heritage once and thought it was all right. Wasn't Damnation the acoustic album? Anyway, thanks for the recommendations. I'll give those songs a listen.

 

[dabaumtravis]

Ha ha thanks for the warning but I'm not one of the "hardcore" fans who were upset when the band changed their sound. I heard Heritage once and thought it was all right. Wasn't Damnation the acoustic album? Anyway, thanks for the recommendations. I'll give those songs a listen.

For some of their heavier stuff, give "Harlequin Forest" and "Ghost of Perdition" from Ghost Reveries and "Bleak," "The Leper Affinity," and "The Drapery Falls" off Blackwater Park a listen. Mendez's style is pretty similar to the work on Damnation, but he's not quite as audible sadly.

 

[Herrick]

Blackwater Park is a good album. I haven't listened to it in a long time. Ghost of Perdition's a good song. I don't remember any interesting bass parts though. Not to be an argumentative douche, but is this really just a case of people loving Mendez because he's the bass player in one of their favorite bands?

 

[dabaumtravis]

Blackwater Park is a good album. I haven't listened to it in a long time. Ghost of Perdition's a good song. I don't remember any interesting bass parts though. Not to be an argumentative douche, but is this really just a case of people loving Mendez because he's the bass player in one of their favorite bands?

The bass in Ghost of Perdition is mixed pretty low, but there's an isolated track from Guitar Hero floating around somewhere. WRT your question, I suppose that could play a part in his popularity, since there are so many metal bassists that can play circles around him, but I happen to like him because I think it's cool to see a pocket player in a subgenre where most bassists are either shredders or transplanted rhythm guitar players.

Edit: Aha! Found it!

 

[Herrick]

The bass in Ghost of Perdition is mixed pretty low, but there's an isolated track from Guitar Hero floating around somewhere. WRT your question, I suppose that could play a part in his popularity, since there are so many metal bassists that can play circles around him, but I happen to like him because I think it's cool to see a pocket player in a subgenre where most bassists are either shredders or transplanted rhythm guitar players.

That's cool. I don't mean to belittle his talents. If he wasn't good then he wouldn't be in Opeth. I say a good bassist is a bassist who can do what needs to be done in whatever band they play in.

 

[Captain Chaos]

His tone in the new album is pretty sick. Anybody got an update on his gear?

 

[baddarryl]

I think it's cool to see a pocket player in a subgenre where most bassists are either shredders or transplanted rhythm guitar players.

This ^^^^!