I am dedicating this posting to a couple artists that have come to my attention over the last few days that just blew me away. It's not often that a band shoots right close to the top of my favorite artists list, but the one I mention here did just that. The next artist is just a bass player, but calling him just that is almost an insult. To put things in perspective, I am a big fan of John Myung's bass playing (Bassist from Dream Theater), he can play guitar solos on a bass better than most lead players can on an electric guitar. But this guy... I hate to say it, he almost makes John Myung look like an amateur. But enough with the summary, let's get to it:

First up, the band that recently blew me away:
I Am Abomination
I'll be honest, the way I heard of these guys is kind of lame, but I'm glad I did, despite this. I was over at a friends place for a small New Years Eve party, and something we often do, is play RockBand. He had just gotten RockBand 3, along with the keyboard controller, and being the multi-talented (sure, I'm not amazing at anything in particular, but I like to think I'm at least decent at it all) person I am, I decided to try pro keys (Which I failed at miserably)...
But anyways... After doing a few sets, we decided to browse through the rockband network (I.E. in game store where you buy downloadable tracks), and this band popped up in the metal section. We were all joking, seeing the name "I Am Abomination", that it was probably just another shitty death metal band that sounds like they're more concerned with being as loud and fast as possible that they forget to make their stuff actually sound like music.

Well... that was the worst assumption I have ever made. Just for shits and giggles, we played the preview of the track, my jaw just dropped. I was speechless... I had never been so pleasantly surprised in my entire life. This band is technical, melodic, heavy, and so full of soul that they immediately jumped right up near the top of my favorite artists list. Still, after having listened to two of their albums (Which can be found on iTunes) all the way through (Multiple times I might add), the effect has not faded, the quality of this seemingly under-appreciated band is just awe-inspiring.

You owe it to yourself if you like metal to check these guys out, you will not be sorry.

Next up:
Victor Wooten
The... Most... Skilled... Bass... Player... EVER.

There is no doubt about it... this guy is practically a god on a bass guitar. I used to play bass myself before switching to guitar, so I know a few of the less advanced tricks, but this guy... watching him play that bass makes me feel like I've never touched a musical instrument in my entire life (Despite having been in national competitions in an orchestra when I was younger as a tenor sax player).

He is without a doubt my new favorite bass player, the things he can do on a bass guitar rival the innovation and skill of Buckethead on his guitar, this guy doesn't need a band, what he does as is, is already an orgasmic experience for the ears.

To be honest, I don't even know if this guy has a band, if he does, I really hope his talent isn't wasted with 4 note basslines like so many bassists do.