He brought the knowledge and the enthusiasm, and he was the most social of all the people on the metal scene. Once you get up to .100 or a .105, it just sounds kind of dull to me. There had been a headline-generating arrest for drugs and drink-driving in 2003, sobriety, relapses and recent treatment for addiction. I will miss him with every fibre of my heart, as will everybody at this table and everyone who knew him he was the best of us.. Originally posted by volumefiend. What gear are you using live?Sensible: We have built up a collection of Marshall EL84 20/20 20-watt stereo power amps, which might even have warmed up Mrs. Thatchers cold heart if someone had thought of it! What's Inside show It's been 10 years since we lost Slipknot bassist Paul Gray. I really like the growl Tonys got on it and it really suits the songs perfectly. The same was said of his personality, Corey often describing him as the glue of the band the one member who lived and breathed Slipknot all day every day, the worlds best cheerleader to bring them together no matter what challenge or hurdle lay ahead. But the first bass I used to try out for this band, because I didn't have a bass and I'm left-handed, was some no-name bass but kind of like a double cutaway so it kind of looked like an SG maybe? She has also written for the likes of Classic Rock, Prog, Rock Sound and Visit London amongst others, and was a regular presenter on the Metal Hammer Podcast. He could listen to something and de-construct it in his head and go, You know what? Bassist Paul, aka The Pig, aka #2, appeared in a black uniform, steadily headbanging and riffing while chaos erupted around him. Try this!. For nylon strings Chet and I both used D'Addario Pro-Art, although both of us at times have used LaBella 500p Professional concert & recording strings. It was actually a badass guitar, it was a Gibson Flying V and it was left-handed, and it ruled. Really being up against the clock meant we were just going for it. And what about tunings, do you experiment when you're writing? Works 23; All; Songs written by Paul Gray [US1] Original songs. Its in the title. JavaScript is disabled. Unsurprisingly, Evil Spirits sounds very much like a continuation of the sonic tack the group were on at that point in their career. Although Slipknot's Paul Gray was known to many simply as . Although the band parted ways with Joey in 2013, the remaining seven musicians immortalised their grief and memories on 2015s .5: The Gray Chapter. I go to the same fucking bar and hang out with the same fucking people, so I really havent changed that much. Gary Moore preferred Dean Markley Electric Guitar strings he used .010 set (2504B) or a .009 set (2508). Its cheaper, too, and once youve smoothed the frets and boshed on a scratchplate, youve got yourself a cracking guitar for what it costs. I havent a clue about scales and stuff. Not I; thats for sure. Everyone in Thin Lizzy used those picks, even Phil Lynott. When asked, three albums in, if this is what he imagined being a rock star would be like, he humbly replied, I dont really consider myself a rock star, but obviously I guess I am. So I was like, I've moved to Iowa, I don't know anybody, so maybe I should jump in and say I play bass and try to meet some people? Slipknot had arrived. Paul himself remarked on how it was a sound you felt rather than heard, more atmospheric than melodic in nature. I locked myself in me bedroom after schoola real Johnny-no-matesand I plucked away until I figured what they were playing. You must log in or register to reply here. It allows you to throw things into the set on the flyjust call out a key and hell have a go at it. Although not as light as some other guys on this . "In the beginning you will probably emulate your favourite players, but take that and make it your own and be yourself. People say they eat into frets, but Ive never found that to be the case, and I change them every night when Im on tour. You have to use D'Addario short scale bass strings, 080 for the 5th and 0.100 for the 6th It's not easy to do this because you have to have a bridge that you can hook the bass string to as they are a lot larger than a guitar string. If that bass went down that was it. What kind of tips can you give us for improving finger stretches when playing bass guitar? Heavy gauge picks. What gear was important to making the new album? Total Guitar has not edited this interview, deciding instead to leave as . England and Wales company registration number 2008885. After the third or fourth show I met somebody from Warwick and they sent me out a Corvette or some model and it was awesome. (Image credit: John McMurtrie) "Yesterday we lost our brother, and the world seems a little smaller because of it," began Corey Taylor. Rhythmically, however, the song was a bit more challenging; Pauls verse basslines picked as strict alternate 16th notes throughout, which, once you factor in the boiler suit and pig mask for the live shows, would have been a quite a workout for his left arm. I named all of them after the Captain, and I think maybe there will be a Captain Sensible pack at some point for the H9. Paul, what basses did you use on Evil Spirits? "I started with Ampeg but now I'm with Peavey. But my favorite was Tony McPhee of the Groundhogs. These guitars come to Paul with pickups and volume and tone controls already installed. I've heard this too. Theyve been far too busy touring to devote time to nostalgia. During the recording sessions for All Hope Is Gone, Paul had called Shawn to say he was too sick to come to the studio. 1970s Ampeg SVT V9 I knew the guitar lines and could have jammed those, but the bass parts were totally different and I was like, 'Fuck!' The bass player often partnered with ex-drummer Joey Jordison, fleshing out early anthems such as Surfacing and Spit It Out, the former including riffs hed written back in his Body Pit years. Growing up with little money, his family were living in shitty roach- infested apartments, and by age 14 Paul was out on his own, struggling with homelessness, bouncing between friends and locations. I looked at the sheet Id been working on and at the bottom was the chorus for Psychosocial already This song was meant to be. The breakdown after the guitar solo remains a highlight of any Slipknot live set, its members falling into a Meshuggah-esque groove as Corey screams of, The limits of the dead! Using a mixture of palm-muting, chromatics and pauses to twist and stretch the listeners ear in new and unexpected ways, it would be one of Pauls final contributions to the Knot. The Kerrang! It was his older brother, Jay, who introduced him to the music that would change his life Black Sabbath, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, The Stones, The Beatles, Alice Cooper and Kiss. In December 2010, they announced they would headline 2011s Sonisphere to honour the legacy of their fallen friend. Actually I played guitar first - hang on, my sunglasses are totally fucking up here - I played guitar first and never picked up a bass, wasn't interested in it at all. So all those prominent bass players really caught my ear and I thought it was so great, because it was such an important part of the song. But the novelty of freedom at such a young age soon wore off and he called his mum, now living in Des Moines, to see if he would able to sleep on her couch and start a new life in Iowa where, while playing in death metal bands Anal Blast and Body Pit, he would eventually meet the other original members of Slipknot. . Who cares if theres a few jazz notes in there. Doing that actually made me fall in love with bass guitar and that's why I became a bass player.". Those killer riffs on Surfacing, which switch from propulsive to filthy, came from his death metal project, Body Pit. I remember when I set up a photoshoot, that was a bad day. His playing was informed by his early devotion to thrash, and that conversion to the bass. While it might seem unusual that I like Mountain and Deep Purple, considering the music Im known for playing, Captain is into the really obscure progressive rock stuff and has that in his playing. Now42 years since they became the first of the British punk groups to put out a single, with 1976s New Rose, beating the Sex Pistols by a month, and 10 years since their last studio album, So, Whos Paranoid?the Damned have returned with Evil Spirits, an album that bristles with the vitality, immediacy, and irrepressible creativity thats earned them the distinction of being one of the most important punk bands of all time. Oh, and he didnt have a bass, either. Never having had a lesson, I play completely by ear and I often overstretch myself. He turned up to rehearsal with a right-handed bass borrowed from his brothers friend, Frankensteind into a left-handed one, and played the regular guitar parts on it. I saw Slayer on the Hell Awaits album and that changed my world, he once said. It doesnt get thin at the top end and it keeps its clarity in the bottom end. Captain, please tell us a bit about who influenced your guitar playing? He never returned home. It's weird but I love the bassline in Van Halen's 'Running With The Devil' in open fucking E. Now, I appreciate any player who can lay down a solid bass groove, like Cliff Williams from AC/DC. We made the tour and we were able to get out there, but by the end of it, he was so sad, there was a lot of fighting going on, remembered Shawn. Mar 3, 2003 #9. It was hard to comprehend. What gear was integral to creating the guitar tones on the album? But life was still difficult, so he contacted his mum, who by this time had managed to secure a house in Iowa. He played bass and guitar left-handed, and there was something about his muting, a weird sort of backwards quality. They toured All Hope Is Gone across nine gruelling legs, starting in July 2008 in Washington, taking in Download in June 2009, and finishing in Las Vegas that October. Not being able to predict what kind of music wed deliver mustve pissed off the record labels, because things never lasted long before us being shown the door. Later he sometimes used strings wrapped with black nylon to get more of a thumping sound. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). And that goes for the records, too! #22. The Damned play their unofficial anthem, Smash It Up, from 1979s Machine Gun Etiquette, at BBC Radio 6s annual Christmas Punk Party. Or Maiden's Steve Harris, who does all kinds of amazing stuff and who is completely different to Cliff. Does new pickguard & knobs = NGD? However, first-generation punks the Damned dont care much about any of that. Its so easy to be generic or cheesy in metal, and Paul never was. Aqua Marine. Doing that actually made me fall in love with bass guitar and thats why I became a bass player., Paul was my biggest influence when he came into the band, recalled Anders Colsefni, Vexxs drummer. The first 5 strings often stayed the same string gauge throughout his career. "I took a few bass lessons to learn slap and pop techniques, because once I really got into bass I started listening to everything - not just metal and rock. Seven years ago today, extreme metal music lost one of its most radiant beacons - Paul Gray of Slipknot. Marshall EL84 20/20 stereo power amps, Effects But the time was right. Its a mission statement that encapsulated The Nines bloodthirsty ambitions and set the bar incredibly high early on, the verse shifting between a staccato and muted delivery to a more open, groove-orientated feel for tension and release. Listened to 4 Beatles LPs (yes; these black huge 33 1/3 things) the last days. What strings did Paul Gray use? With Slipknot, my bass playing is a little more laid back and subdued, like I get spots where I get to do some stuff I guess, but it's hard to kind of like We have three drummers, there's a lot of low end, you know what I mean? Search Ray Brown for details. It's definitely a different thing compared to if I was playing in a punk band with only one guitar player and I could fucking, y'know, noodle around and do lots of stuff. What gauge is the low E string? I saved up and bought their album Thank Christ for the Bomb and I played it over and over. I have to put on the heaviest string I can find to actually do it. I don't know what he used on actual recording. It required the heaviest gauge top string he could find in order to hold the notes well enough to record. Recorded at Download 2009, Paul talked to TG about his solid playing style, his reason for being a bass player and his tips for making you play better. Did McCartney use flatwound strings on his Hofner bass from the very begnning or did use round wound on it at some point? You dont often get that, and I struggle to think of any other guitarist that Ive worked with that Ive had that relationship with. 1990s British-made handwired Vox AC30 reissue You gotta find your pocket. ), but i'm not 100% sure Apr 26, 2001 #3 Jman Mar 24, 2000 Waterport,NY Eventually, he managed to procure a replacement. Gray: We turned everything up full! 19 years ago Wow, I'm getting old! 3: (The Subliminal Verses), 2004), in a heartfelt tribute to his old bandmate, The inside story of Vol. The bass fills he did, I really had to fucking rewind tapes and play them over and over to get it.". He will never be forgotten. Rotosound (.049.090) That evening, the eight remaining members of the Knot, aided by early bandmember/stand-in bassist Donnie Steele, provided their own loud tribute. John Paul Jones. Based on that statement, it is likely that these strings were used even prior to that, were his main choice before he started playing Stratocasters (at which point he began using Ernie Ball strings) The Gibson Les Paul Goldtop was on the cover of his album "Blue Guitar Hero". And while his technical prowess has been overshadowed by his giant personality and tucked away within the confines of excellent songs, Evil Spirits puts his cadre of guitar-borne personas on display as he chunks, clatters, burns, and jangles through the albums tracks. At one point, Paul drifted back to LA, but was persuaded back by Anders and Shawn. It would prove to be a life-changing decision, as was his switch from guitar to bass, Theres a funny story about how I got playing bass, he explained in his Behind The Player instructional DVD. I knew the guitar lines and could have jammed those, but the bass parts were totally different and I was like, Fuck! I had to go back and listen to them. The previous day hed passed away from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs, at just 38 years old. Sensible: Theres something about the Gibson SG 60s Tribute. On Slipknots off-time, Paul and Joey would hunker down to write in Pauls basement. The fact that Ament was using an 12-string bass helps to explain the instrument's presence on the track, although you won't hear the extra strings ringing out individually - they simply add to the overall tone. Actually, I did go on and try to compose something better, but we liked the skin-of-your-teeth excitement of the originals best. With Slipknot, my bass playing is a little more laidback and subdued. Take the song 'Scissors', from the first album, where I'm tuned to an octave below A. Which isnt the end of the world, of course, but there seems to be no fix, according to chatter on gear forums anyway. I'm trying to figure out what type of strings he was using in around '64. Sign up below to get the latest from Metal Hammer, plus exclusive special offers, direct to your inbox! You are using an out of date browser. Thats my go-to bass at the moment with the Damned, and thats the one I used on our tour. Though omitted from later reissues, the ninth track from the Slipknot debut still towers among their darkest moments: lyrically, thanks to a title inherited from a fictional story about a girl who had been kidnapped and buried alive, and sonically, with Paul dialling in a woolly bass tone containing virtually no treble frequencies. He had a difficult and itinerant childhood, and his father died by suicide. Alter Bridge, Halestorm, Neck Deep, Bob Vylan, Hot Milk, Palaye Royale, Jinjer and more join this years Download Festival. I never took lessons or anything, I was always self-taught, listening to albums and just trying to figure stuff off of that.. in July 2008. But it was seeing a nascent Slayer touring the merciless Hell Awaits that made the biggest impact on the young Paul Gray. Basses BA1 1UA. thats corey's stone sour. How would you describe your playing style? Lurking in the back of the studio was this really, really old Ampeg, which the guy said was handwired. A long time ago we used to do a cover of that song 'The Humpty Dance' and I would have to tune during the song, as we're playing.". Its a clairvoyant chemistry that cant be really pinned down. I was used to hearing the guitar in each song and the bass is there and you can hear it filling out the song, but I really had to listen to his parts. There's a heavy difference in style between the two basses, that's for sure. and four years as Production Editor and Deputy Editor at Bizarre. There is no definitive answer to this question as Paul McCartney has been known to use a variety of different strings on his Hofner bass over the years. Which is a hard thing to do with nine people in the band!". Born in Los Angeles on April 8, 1972, Paul Dedrick Gray was in many ways the beating heart of Slipknot. Photo by Matt Condon. When his pregnant wife, Brenna, and their family had tried to stage an intervention to prevent Paul from harming himself, he checked into a hotel. Originally titled Lust Disease on an early demo, Iowas lead single might not be one of Slipknots fastest or heaviest, but its riff is certainly one of their busiest from the earlier years of their career using double notes, slides and chromatics that snake their way around the fretboard. "It depends on what I'm doing. When Macca's Rickie was sent for an overhaul to Rickenbacker, they found that the bridge pickup was dead and had been dead for a long time, turns out that when Macca stripped his Rickie, he tried to get rid of the cover for the bridge pickup, so he sawed it open, which in a horse shoe is a big mistake, since that cover he wanted to get rid of is part of the pickup. He spent the several decades with Spirocore Mittels. Paul was there from the very, very beginning. Its a real players bass and has obviously been played and loved for over 40 years and it really feels like it! While the Damned are fronted by a crooning vampire-poet of a man in Dave Vanian, much of the groups sweeping sonic vision has hinged upon the guitar work, songcraft, and imagination of founding member Captain Sensible (born Raymond Burns). Paul Gray: The Man Behind the Mask. "I think I started playing bass in 1990, which is what? Pure Ric-into-Ampeg glory. You gotta find your pocket, he said. As his bandmates drift in and out, its really just #2 holding everything together from beginning to end. The Damneds dynamic duo, Captain Sensible and Paul Gray, played together in the studio for the first time in 22 years while recording the bands new album. The 1980s were yet another decade that brought massive changes in music. Back in the late 1960s the bass player in my band (who was left-handed) purchased a Hofner. Summary is that he used Guts until around '59. Summary of Gary Moore's Gear What guitar did Gary Moore play? On July 10, at 2pm, thousands of Sonisphere-goers joined together in a two-minute silence for #2. Most of the guys you cited developed their sounds around a Rickenbacker bass, and thats been your instrument of choice over the years. Or why not treat yourself? Do you remember what your first bass guitar was? So I went over and said, 'Dude, I play bass' even though I didn't have a bass guitar and never picked one up. Heres how it works. There was one problem: hed never played bass. After then he used steel strings. Theyre really consistent. Bath "I was listening in on their conversation, eavesdropping, they were talking about doing covers of Slayer and Metallica - all these songs that I knew how to play on guitar. From triumph to tragedy, here is his story, Yesterday we lost our brother, and the world seems a little smaller because of it, began Corey Taylor. While Paul tragically left us too soon, his creative influence remains. As one of the three founding members of Slipknot, Paul Gray fast became one of their key songwriters his name more often than not found in the credits for the tracks that werent assigned to the group as a whole. 2,977 1,264. So between that and jamming along with the records is how I got my fairly unorthodox guitar technique together. ], my chum [singer-songwriter] Martin Newell showed me a couple of his own tunings that, although a bit off the wall, have an infectious jangle thats particularly inspiring when it comes to 60s Beatles/Monkees kind of tunes. Hellfest reveal 2023s line-up with headliners Iron Maiden, Slipknot, Mtley Cre and KISS. The words Fender, Telecaster, Stratocaster and the associated headstock designs are registered trademarks of the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. Other guitars at the studio were a StratI never got on with them as the volume knob is too close to bridge; a Rickenbacker 12-string, which I found to be lovely; and the studio acoustic, which had an almost unplayably high action. . His knack for finger-twisting, down-tuned riffs including extreme slides and bends is what made their assault all the more bludgeoning, a skill which hed undoubtedly sharpened as a death metal-obsessed teenager. Surfacing is a perfect example because its so unhinged, but after the crazy bridge section it breaks down so hardcore that it grooves! Paul didnt know anyone in Iowa, so six months in, when he overheard some guys in a local record store talking about needing a bass player for Metallica and Slayer covers, he volunteered his services. For me, it was an extremely emotional experience., When Paul was interviewed during the Vol. Title Written by Originally by Original date Covered by ; Before I Forget . A metalhead through and through, he nevertheless began listening to funk and jazz, taking a few lessons to learn slap and pop techniques. Incredibly, he was welcomed into the band, Vexx. Paul Dedrick Gray was born in LA on April 8, 1972. Its got a really nice punch. I was writing lyrics when Paul and Joey played this to me, Corey told Kerrang! It wasnt a million miles away from the sound John Entwistle got on Live at Leeds. It was as simple as that. Repeat: the secret debut album that launched the legend, The definitive history of every Slipknot mask, The 10 best new metal songs you need to hear this week, Watch this metal frontman teach terrified daytime TV hosts black metal growls on live TV, James Hetfield has been cast in a 'dark western' film with Juliette Lewis and Game Of Thrones' Peter Dinklage, Watch grannies rip through some gnarly death metal and shoot fireworks from their backsides in this hilarious advert for Liquid Death iced tea, Watch Mike Shinoda & Ice Nine Kills' Spencer Charnas star in Demi Lovato's new Scream-inspired video, Every issue delivered direct to your door. How did you and Tony Visconti record the bass tones for the album? According to his own words, these strings were used on his Les Paul during the recording of Wheels of Fire (1968). I think it was made in February, which was just a month or two after they stopped doing the toaster pickups. Before his teenage years had even begun, his two greatest musical revelations had arrived in the form of Suicidal Tendencies 1983 debut and, not long after, experiencing Slayer live in the flesh. verdict on the 50 albums that shaped 2022. Like '1, 2, 3, 4' and '1, 3, 2, 4' to just try different finger patterns. Prior to joining Metal Hammer, El spent three years as Production Editor at Kerrang! Bands rose and fall, members came and went. Today, we celebrate the songs which epitomised his pivotal role within The Nine. Kill. "After that the first real bass I bought was an Ibanez Soundgear and I still play Ibanez now. Perfection is overrated! Songs with JANGLE, let's display those electric 12 strings. I was just, I gotta get a real guitar and actually do it. Seeing them up there and the red lights and the smoke and it was all evil, I thought it was the coolest thing ever. Im having the time of my life.. "Finger stretches? A guitar most often associated with him is the 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard "Greeny".Now a famous guitar, once owned by Peter Green of the Fleetwood Mac, and now in the possession of Metallica's Kirk Hammett.Another one worth singling out is the Les Paul Standard nicknamed . Sadly, those close to Paul knew hed been battling demons for a while. I introduced him to the wonderful world of Eventide, and we used the H9 a lot. We used that with an 8x10 and had everything up full blast and thats the sound on the record. The guy I got it from says that it was a factory custom that had been requested to have the toaster pickup put on it. We both also share a love of melody and those three chords at the start of Louie Louie and all of the American garage-rock from the 60s. When we started the band I felt it, right when we started it, and it still feels the same. He has been adding internal mikes for amplification. Proprietor Fifth Avenue Fret Shop. Genre politics and hyperbole aside, the Damned have always been the musicians band among the classic punks, and the group has always operated with a policy of lawlessness when it comes to the music they make. No tricks, no pedals, no nothing. "But then I ended up going to Ibanez on the last album because - I can't remember where we were - but I went to a pawn shop and picked up this Ibanez ATK that they've stopped making and I just loved the way it played and sounded, so I started playing it too and Ibanez approached me to offer me a deal. Everything else has been me just experimenting.". 3: (The Subliminal Verses), 2004), Vermilion (Vol. I became slightly obsessed with the solos on Strange Town and the way the excitement builds in them, carrying the listener away on a tidal wave of excitement. It really fascinates me how basses that are essentially the same can still be so different. By their own admission, it was a chaotic time for The Nine Clown once described the sessions as hell and this track in particular as their way of saying, "Fuck off and leave us alone.". Those strings are absolutely the go-to strings for me and I absolutely love them.

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