SLIPKNOT bassist Alessandro "VMan" Venturella told Bass Guitar Magazine that he landed in the band after getting a phone call from Jim Root while working with MASTODON as guitarist Brent Hinds's tech. "Me and Jim became friends while I was teching," Venturella said. "He was asking if I knew any bass players. When I found out what for, I put my hand up right away. He pointed out, 'But you don't play bass?' and I said something to the effect that I could do whatever he needed from me. Then I just had to make sure it was true." According to Venturella, his role early on in SLIPKNOT was to "fill a great man's shoes and do him justice," referring to original bassist Paul Gray, who passed away in 2010. "My approach isn't the same as Paul's. I can't be him and never will be; every player is ultimately born different. That said, if you listen to Paul's note choices on 'Vermilion', he was all over the shop and it sounded great. I wanted to try things like that. "After listening to his stems, I honestly looked at bass in a different light and understood how to support everything as the backbone," he continued. "Take the bass out of the mix and everything will fall flat on its arse — and equally, if you mix too bass-heavy, you're not going to get your point across either. Lead guitarists, on the other hand, always need to cut through because that's what the job entails. As the rhythm section, we're there to hold the fort." Venturella began working with SLIPKNOT during the recording of 2014's ".5: The Gray Chapter" album, contributing bass tracks along with guitarists Root and Mick Thomson and former touring bassist Donnie Steele. He made his live debut with the band in 2014 at the first annual Knotfest. Gray passed away in May 2010 from an accidental overdose of drugs. SLIPKNOT is continuing to tour in support of its latest album, "We Are Not Your Kind", which came out in August.
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