Progressive rock with a notable bass presence

^ heh... Atmosphera, surprisingly enjoyable Israeli band

pick any Magma you like and you'll find extraordinary superb bass guitar ... Jonas Hellborg, Jah Wobble, S.M.V. ...

Magma, of course; all their bass players were great and did a lot for the sound. Here an example with Jannick Top on bass:


Kraan too, of course. Helmut Hattler is a bass player with an unmistakable style. Here an example:


Guru Guru also always had prominent bass, sometimes played by Helmut Hatttler. Since Hattler really deserves more attention, here a Guru Guru example with him on bass.

Epignosis wrote: Fragile, sure- but I think Drama kicks its butt in the bass department.  That album is chock full of bass, from thick growls to fretless legato.

I believe Drama is an excellent album, but for some reason I can't remember any melodies from it, any bass/guitar/keys lines from it, etc. Dunno why is that. So I can't remember how the bass playing is on it. But anything Chris Squire did with Yes in that decade is fantastic.

weeksandgeeks wrote: Catcher10 wrote: If you turn the knob on the left to MAX...all your prog will have a noticeable bass presence.     GENIUS!!!

But does it go to 11?

there were a couple of other prog bass players that i wanted to mention, that are sort of overlooked, that made some really memorable records

Wolfgang Stocker, the first bassist for Eloy, who played on their first two albums, then quit the live music scene

Furio di Castri, who played on the obscure, but brilliant debut fusion album by the Italian group Dedalus

         both of these players were incredibly striking


Edited by presdoug - June 18 2011 at 10:46

jean-marie wrote: Soft Machine Six, listen carefully to Hopper, Great bass playing

BenevolentBehemoth wrote: zachfive wrote: Nobody mentioned Gentle Giant yet? Ray Shulman has some of the tastiest bass lines around. He Speaks the truth.

There actually isn't a whole lot of classic prog WITHOUT notable bass presence from what all I have heard.

sleeper wrote: Drew wrote: OK- I am blanking on a prog-metal group HEAVILY relying on the bass presence. Technical/Progressive Metal..... Someone help! Cynic, Sieges Even, Intronaut, Unexpect (Chaoth has a 9 string bass!), Between the Buried and Me, Cult of Luna, Dark Suns, Fen, Indukti, Isis, Madder Mortem, Mastodon, maudlin of the Well, No Made Sense, Pain of Salvation, Riverside, Rolo Tomassi, To-Mera, Virus, Ved Buens Ende and Zero Hour. From none metal bands theirs Anekdoten, Anglagard, East of Eden, Gnidrolog, Guapo, Karnivool, Kayo Dot, King Crimson, NeBeLNeST, Paatos, Russian Circles, Saens, The Tangent, Tartar Lamb II and White Willow.