In metal you will find lots of guitar copiers, unfortunately. But when you actually HEAR a metal bass player that does his own thing, the whole song is so much better!
Fine examples of bass players in the lead are:
- Peter Steele -> Type O Negative
- Lemmy -> Motorhead (okay, hardrock...)
- Ryan Martini -> Mudvayne
- Marco Hietala -> Nightwish
Examples of players who sometimes excel but mostly not:
- Kjel Rune Hagen -> Trail of Tears (Excelled on the first album, but now only copies)
- Steve Edmondson -> Paradise Lost (Never heard him really well, but he gets better every year)
Bass players that cannot be missed in the band but hardly add anything fancy:
- Ade
Jackson -> My Dying Bride (You only hear him when he plays live)
- Any bass player from bands like Tristania, Sins of My Beloved or Trivium