The 13 Greatest Bassists in Heavy Metal

The instrument nobody watches, played by the people who decided what metal sounds like underneath.

1

Cliff Burton

Metallica's bassist until his death in 1986, who wrote a bass solo into a thrash album.

1000pts

2

Lemmy Kilmister

Motorhead's frontman, who played bass like a rhythm guitar through a distorted stack.

622pts

3

Geezer Butler

Black Sabbath's bassist and lyricist, whose lines shaped the low end of metal itself.

512pts

4

Rex Brown

Pantera's bassist across the groove-metal records that defined the 1990s.

512pts

5

Tony Levin

Session and King Crimson bassist whose Stick playing bled into progressive metal.

444pts

6

Tom Araya

Slayer's bassist and vocalist, holding the fastest rhythm section in thrash together.

444pts

7

Steve Harris

Iron Maiden's founder and galloping engine, writing most of the band's catalogue from the bass.

363pts

8

Robert Trujillo

Metallica's bassist since 2003, previously the finger-style anchor of Suicidal Tendencies.

363pts

9

Jason Newsted

Metallica's bassist from 1986 to 2001, hired into the hardest job in metal.

266pts

10

John Myung

Dream Theater's bassist, the technical benchmark for progressive metal players.

266pts

11

David Ellefson

Megadeth's long-serving bassist, the counterweight to Mustaine's thrash writing.

148pts

12

Frank Bello

Anthrax's bassist since 1984, the most visibly kinetic player of the Big Four.

148pts

13

Nikki Sixx

Motley Crue's bassist and chief songwriter through the Sunset Strip years.

148pts