QUESTION OF THE WEEK: IS THERE ANY STILL-ACTIVE METAL BAND THAT COULD NOT AFFORD TO LOSE A SINGLE MEMBER OF ITS LINE-UP?
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Welcome to “Question of the Week,” a (sometimes) weekly debate amongst the MetalSucks staff regarding a recent hot button issue.
With seemingly every band in the world now less-than-hesitant to replace a departed member, no matter how seemingly important that member was to the band’s success, this week we asked our writers:
IS THERE ANY STILL-ACTIVE METAL BAND THAT COULD NOT AFFORD TO LOSE A SINGLE MEMBER OF ITS LINE-UP?
The MS staff’s answers after the jump.
I think there a lot of bands with that one key guy, but for the sake of making a fun argument I’d like to talk about Tool. I know what you’re thinking; Maynard. Nope. Some casual fans might lose interest without the quirky anti-frontman in the picture, but I’d argue that guitarist Adam Jones is THE band. Sure, he writes most of the music. But he’s also that X Factor, the heart and soul, the guy that comes up with all the weird concepts, mysterious messages, cool visuals, album art, stage shows and everything that make Tool so dear to their fans. Without Adam Jones Tool would cease to be an interesting band.
-Vince Neilstein
Lake Bukkake. They’ve had the same line-up for twenty years, and even if their output is basically non-existant at this point, they’re still one my favorite bands of all time, and if any single member left, I’d cry for days and days.
-Axl Rosenberg
Not really. You could argue that any further insy-outsy for Anthrax would mean certain doom, but, gosh, currently that shit sounds pretty tenuous anyway. And though Maiden’s new album makes deft use of their three guitarists, a departure for, oh, Jannick Gers could hardly represent a fatal wound for the Maiden beast. As for non-ancient bands, fuck I can’t think of one that hasn’t undergone line-up changes already. Arsis hired and lost three bass players just while I’m typing this sentence, for Pete’s sake. The only imperative roster-related issue in metal today is for Realm to enlist me for reunion tour vocal duties before my nuts finally drop.
-Anso DF
I can’t really think of too many. As much as I love Neurosis, I couldn’t pin down anything their bass player contributes that no other one could; I can’t give you a reason Pig Destroyer NEED their noise guru; Mastodon are great, but to be honest, you could replace either guitarist and I probably wouldn’t notice; and while bands like Misery Index and Decrepit Birth keep putting out quality material, they’re lineups are essentially revolving doors. But regarding a Voltron-esque sense of indispensability, one of the first I can think of is Tool. Each member justifies their existence with aplomb: Maynard’s voice is one of rock’s most distinctive, Adam Jones’ guitar work is goddamn iconic, Danny Carey’s style is imperative to the backbone of the band, and while metal certainly isn’t a bass player’s genre, Justin Chancellor does what he can to add to the interplay between him and Jones (even listen to Tool’s earlier work with original bassist Paul D’Amour and notice how comparatively simple — although still admittedly great — it is). Their respective talents add up to the brilliant whole, and any missing piece would be instantly noticeable. And though this really may not count, seeing as they’re only active on the reunion circuit: Sleep. Matt Haikus and Al Cisneros perfectly rein in Matt Pike’s weed-logged Sabbath worship, and I couldn’t imagine any other two guys doing the same. The other that jumps to mind is Slayer. In their case, I don’t think you could argue that “if you lose x, you can’t have y” definitively, but at the same time, Slayer just doesn’t really feel like proper Slayer unless Slayer (Araya, King, Hanneman, and Lombardo) is involved. It’s intangible, but even though the quality of their Lombardo-less records is the center of endless debate, for the most part, those involving him in the lineup certainly aren’t.
-Sammy O’Hagar
Burzum. As much as I sometimes wish Varg Vikernes’ mother had never removed her viking-horned chastity belt, his departure would have a profound effect on Burzum’s too-important-to-dismiss-as-mere-streams-of-bigotry music. Granted, you could say the same about any one-man band, including the best ever example of hateful black metal solipsism, Bert the chimneysweep from Mary Poppins.
-Satan Rosenbloom
I can’t think of any. There are bands that can’t afford to lose particular members like Iron Maiden with Bruce or Steve (and as a fan, I’d argue everyone else too but I can see how some others – newer fans- wouldn’t care about say, Nicko), but every one else is pretty replaceable. I never thought Accept without Udo would work but here we are.
-Leyla Ford
Nope. Everyone is dispensible.
-Urbandale Grimes
Well, until a little while ago, I would have said Dream Theater. Now, I guess, I’d have to say Blotted Science – although they’re not particularly active at the moment, every single member is a necessity. Ron Jarzombek and Alex Webster write the frighteningly complex yet heavy and catchy riffs while Charlie Zeleny holds up everything in the background with psychotic drum fills.
-Dave Mustein
Megadeth.
-Gary Suarez
Okay, kiddies, now it’s your turn! Weigh in with your answer to the question of the week below.
