Troy Sanders
Encyclopedia
Troy Sanders is an American bassist
/singer best known as a member of the Atlanta, Georgia
metal band Mastodon
, in which he shares vocal duties with guitarist Brent Hinds
and drummer Brann Dailor
.
and Darren is “a one man road crew” and bass tech for Mastodon.
from Metallica
, Gene Simmons
from Kiss
, and Phil Lynott
from Thin Lizzy
as some of the major influences on his bass playing. He plays both with his finger and his pick, and usually steps out of the guitar parts in Mastodon, and composes his basslines on his own. He has shown a wide variety of playing styles and techniques, so he is known as a very flexible player. He has stated in interviews that his favorite albums are Men At Work
’s Business As Usual, Neurosis’ Times Of Grace, and George Jones
’ Anniversary - 10 Years Of Hits
.
. His harsher vocal style is similar to Dave Edwardson
of Neurosis
and King Buzzo of The Melvins
, utilizing low growls but not low enough to be death grunts
. His harsh vocalism was largely applied in Mastodon’s earlier Lifesblood
and Remission
. In Mastodon's more recent albums, Leviathan
through The Hunter
, Sanders utilizes a different range of clean vocals along with his harsher style.
Troy also uses a lot of different amps, pedals & effects. He uses TC Electronic Blacksmith amp & cab, Orange AD200B cabinet & Orange SP410 cab, Ampeg SVT-VR stack, Ampeg SVT-4 PRO head, Mesa 8x10 cabinets, Mesa Engineering Titan V12 head, Mesa Boogie Big Block 750 head and 4x12 cab (synth pedals). As for pedals, he was seen using MXR Octave Deluxe, MXR El Grande Bass Fuzz, vintage Sovtek Big Muff Pi, Cobrahawk B12 Fuzz, Moog MF-104SD Moogerfooger Analog Delay, Moog Taurus Bass Pedals, Electro-Harmonix POG Polyphonic Octave Generator, Digitech Bass Whammy, Boss RV-5 Digital Reverb, Boss GEB-7 Bass Equalizer, Morley Wah Pedal, Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus, Sanford Bluebeard Fuzz, Fern DI, and a Monster Power Pro 2500 power conditioner.
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
/singer best known as a member of the Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
metal band Mastodon
Mastodon (band)
Mastodon is an American heavy metal band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 1999. The band is composed of bassist/vocalist Troy Sanders, guitarist/vocalist Brent Hinds, guitarist Bill Kelliher and drummer/vocalist Brann Dailor...
, in which he shares vocal duties with guitarist Brent Hinds
Brent Hinds
Brent Hinds is an American guitarist/singer best known as a member of the Atlanta, Georgia metal band Mastodon, in which he shares guitar duties with Bill Kelliher and vocal duties with Troy Sanders and Brann Dailor....
and drummer Brann Dailor
Brann Dailor
Brann Dailor is a drummer, best known as a member of Mastodon, a progressive metal band based in Atlanta, Georgia. Dailor was also a founding member of mathcore band Lethargy, and played with grindcore bands Discordance Axis and Today is the Day.-Personal life:Dailor was born into a musical family...
.
Background
Sanders first played when he was picked up his older brother's bass and decided to try it out, even though the bass was strung for a lefty, and he was right-handed. A few months later, he had talked his dad into buying him a bass. Troy's two brothers Kyle and Darren are both involved in music. Kyle is the former bassist of BloodsimpleBloodsimple
Bloodsimple is an American heavy metal band from New York City that formed in 2002. They were signed to Warner Bros. Records.The band's name, Bloodsimple, comes from a term coined by detective novelist Dashiell Hammett. The term apparently describes the addled, fearful mindset people are in after...
and Darren is “a one man road crew” and bass tech for Mastodon.
Playing style
Sanders cites Cliff BurtonCliff Burton
Clifford Lee "Cliff" Burton was an American musician, best known as the bass guitarist for the American heavy metal band Metallica....
from Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
, Gene Simmons
Gene Simmons
Gene Simmons is an Israeli-American entrepreneur, singer-songwriter, actor, and rock bassist. Known as "The Demon", he is the bassist/vocalist of Kiss, a hard rock band he co-founded in the early 1970s.-Early life:...
from Kiss
KISS (band)
Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
, and Phil Lynott
Phil Lynott
Philip Parris "Phil" Lynott was an Irish musician who first came to prominence as a founding member, principal songwriter, and frontman of the Irish rock band Thin Lizzy....
from Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Two of the founding members, drummer Brian Downey and bass guitarist/vocalist Phil Lynott met while still in school. Lynott assumed the role of frontman and led them throughout their recording career of thirteen studio albums...
as some of the major influences on his bass playing. He plays both with his finger and his pick, and usually steps out of the guitar parts in Mastodon, and composes his basslines on his own. He has shown a wide variety of playing styles and techniques, so he is known as a very flexible player. He has stated in interviews that his favorite albums are Men At Work
Men at Work
Men at Work are an Australian rock band who achieved international success in the 1980s. They are the only Australian artists to have a simultaneous #1 album and #1 single in the United States . They achieved the same distinction of a simultaneous #1 album and #1 single in the United Kingdom...
’s Business As Usual, Neurosis’ Times Of Grace, and George Jones
George Jones
George Glenn Jones is an American country music singer known for his long list of hit records, his distinctive voice and phrasing, and his marriage to Tammy Wynette....
’ Anniversary - 10 Years Of Hits
Anniversary - 10 Years Of Hits
Anniversary – 10 Years Of Hits is an album by American country music artist George Jones. This album was released on October 30, 1982 on the Epic Records label. This album went gold in 1989...
.
Singing style
Sanders performs clean and harsh vocals in Mastodon, where he shares lead vocal duties with Brent HindsBrent Hinds
Brent Hinds is an American guitarist/singer best known as a member of the Atlanta, Georgia metal band Mastodon, in which he shares guitar duties with Bill Kelliher and vocal duties with Troy Sanders and Brann Dailor....
. His harsher vocal style is similar to Dave Edwardson
Dave Edwardson
Dave Edwardson is the bassist and back-up vocalist for the Californian sludge metal band, Neurosis. His vocal style in the band resembles a low growl but it is not deep enough to be a death grunt since it is higher in pitch and more throaty. He is also a member of experimental/noise group, Tribes...
of Neurosis
Neurosis (band)
Neurosis is a post-metal band, based in Oakland, California. They formed in 1985 as a hardcore punk band, and their sound progressed towards a doom metal style that also included influences from dark ambient and industrial music as well as incorporating elements of folk music...
and King Buzzo of The Melvins
The Melvins
The Melvins are an American band that formed in 1983. They usually perform as a trio, but in recent years have performed as a four piece with two drummers. Since 1984, singer and guitarist Buzz Osborne and drummer Dale Crover have been the band's constant members...
, utilizing low growls but not low enough to be death grunts
Death growl
A death growl, also known as death metal vocals, guttural vocals, death grunts, and harsh vocals among other names, is a vocalisation style usually employed by vocalists of the death metal and black metal music genre, but also used in a variety of heavy metal and hardcore punk subgenres.Death...
. His harsh vocalism was largely applied in Mastodon’s earlier Lifesblood
Lifesblood
-Credits:*Brann Dailor − Drums*Brent Hinds − Guitar, vocals*Bill Kelliher − Guitar*Troy Sanders − Bass, vocals...
and Remission
Remission (Mastodon album)
Remission is the first full-length debut album by American sludge metal band Mastodon. It was released on May 28, 2002 through Relapse Records and was re-released on October 21, 2003.-Production:...
. In Mastodon's more recent albums, Leviathan
Leviathan (album)
Leviathan is a concept album by sludge metal band Mastodon, released in 2004 by Relapse Records. The album is loosely based on the Herman Melville novel Moby-Dick, and the songs "Iron Tusk", "Blood and Thunder", "I Am Ahab" and "Seabeast" were released as singles...
through The Hunter
The Hunter (Mastodon album)
The Hunter is the fifth studio album by the American metal band Mastodon. Released through Roadrunner Records on September 26, 2011 in the UK and one day later in the US via Reprise Records The Hunter is their first release with producer Mike Elizondo...
, Sanders utilizes a different range of clean vocals along with his harsher style.
Gear & Equipment
Troy owns a wide variety of basses from different companies, from Godlyke, through Yamaha, Ibanez, Fender, Wal, to Warwick most recently. His most notable basses are:- FenderFenderFender Musical Instruments Corporation, commonly referred to as simply Fender, of Scottsdale, Arizona is a manufacturer of stringed instruments and amplifiers, such as solid-body electric guitars, including the Stratocaster and the Telecaster...
Precision 4-string silverburst bass, Custom Shop - Warwick Streamer Stage II 4-string bass, Custom Shop
- FenderFenderFender Musical Instruments Corporation, commonly referred to as simply Fender, of Scottsdale, Arizona is a manufacturer of stringed instruments and amplifiers, such as solid-body electric guitars, including the Stratocaster and the Telecaster...
American Standard Jazz Bass 4-string - FenderFenderFender Musical Instruments Corporation, commonly referred to as simply Fender, of Scottsdale, Arizona is a manufacturer of stringed instruments and amplifiers, such as solid-body electric guitars, including the Stratocaster and the Telecaster...
Prophecy II bass - IbanezIbanezis a Japanese guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki. Based in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, Hoshino Gakki were one of the first Japanese musical instrument companies to gain a significant foothold in import guitar sales in the United States and Europe, as well as the first brand of guitars to mass produce...
SRX700 4-string bass
Troy also uses a lot of different amps, pedals & effects. He uses TC Electronic Blacksmith amp & cab, Orange AD200B cabinet & Orange SP410 cab, Ampeg SVT-VR stack, Ampeg SVT-4 PRO head, Mesa 8x10 cabinets, Mesa Engineering Titan V12 head, Mesa Boogie Big Block 750 head and 4x12 cab (synth pedals). As for pedals, he was seen using MXR Octave Deluxe, MXR El Grande Bass Fuzz, vintage Sovtek Big Muff Pi, Cobrahawk B12 Fuzz, Moog MF-104SD Moogerfooger Analog Delay, Moog Taurus Bass Pedals, Electro-Harmonix POG Polyphonic Octave Generator, Digitech Bass Whammy, Boss RV-5 Digital Reverb, Boss GEB-7 Bass Equalizer, Morley Wah Pedal, Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus, Sanford Bluebeard Fuzz, Fern DI, and a Monster Power Pro 2500 power conditioner.
Guest appearances
- "Back to the Mountain" by YakuzaYakuza (band)Yakuza is an avant-garde metal band, formed in Chicago in 1999. They have been acclaimed for their incorporation of jazz and world music elements.-History:...
on the album SamsaraSamsara (album)Samsara is the third album by Yakuza and their first for Prosthetic Records.-Track listing:#"Cancer Industry" - 3:02#"Plecostomus" - 3:38#"Monkeytail" - 5:24#"Transmission Ends... Signal Lost" - 1:27#"Dishonor" - 5:20#"20 Bucks" - 5:02...
. (vocals)
- "Until Man Exists No More" by DozerDozerDozer is a stoner rock band from Sweden.- Early years :Dozer was formed in Borlänge, Sweden in 1995, playing local youth centres and supporting any bands that came to their hometown. In 1998 the band recorded a Split EP with the American band Unida...
on the album Through the Eyes of HeathensThrough the Eyes of HeathensThrough The Eyes Of Heathens is Dozer's fourth album. It was recorded at the Seawolf Studios in Helsinki. The album was released on Small Stone Records with whom they had signed on to earlier that year...
. (vocals)