Ask any metal-head to name the first bass player that comes to mind and 99% of the time you’ll get one of two Steves: Harris or DiGiorgio. Both are great, but only one of them is considered the de-facto go-to person for bands in need of someone that can dominate the low-end of the audio spectrum.
DiGiorgio has worked with countless legendary metal bands like Death, Testament and Sadus, and continues today with his new bands Charred Walls of the Damned and Future’s End. Picking up the bass wherever he is needed, DiGiorgio is renowned for playing fast and for bringing the fretless bass into metal.
I met Mr. DiGiorgio outside of the Cynic show last month and, after a brief update, I knew that I had to find out more about what the bass phenom was up to. I was fortunate enough to speak with the man about his bands, his bass playing and his inspiration. He also opens up about the final days of Death and the meaning of completing a new Control Denied record with Chuck Schuldiner’s final work on it.
CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED was produced by Jason Suecof and recorded at his Orlando, FL based studio, Audiohammer Studios, and boasts an all-star lineup consisting of some of metal’s most talented musicians. Richard Christy, former drummer for Death and Iced Earth, comedian, and radio personality on the legendary Howard Stern Show on Sirius-XM Satellite Radio, on drums. Famed producer Jason Suecof who has produced and/or mixed some of the most prominent albums from metal’s leading bands, including: Trivium, All That Remains, The Black Dahlia Murder, Chimaira, DevilDriver and many, many more, on guitars. Tim “Ripper” Owens, who fronted heavy metal legends Judas Priest from 1996 to 2002, performed alongside Richard in Iced Earth from 2003 to 2004, and currently performs with Beyond Fear and Yngwie Malmsteen’s Rising Force, on vocals. And one of metal’s most heralded bassists, Steve Digiorgio, who played alongside Richard in the bands Control Denied and Iced Earth, and has also performed with Death, Autopsy, Testament, Vintersorg, and is a founding member of technical thrash pioneers Sadus.