Here’s part II of a series of articles about solo artists in Rock / Metal. In case you haven’t already checked part I, you missed out on 5 solo artists. Here’s the link for Part I.
The following is a modest mention of 5 musicians’ solo projects with a video preview of their material. You might also want to check the Wikipedia links below for more information on the artists.
- Les Claypool
Les Claypool is a renowned musician, songwriter and producer who’s mostly known as bassist / vocalist of Primus who reached big success in the 90’s with their Experimental / Funk Rock music. Claypool has also contributed to several artists including Buckethead, Tom Waits, Limp Bizkit, etc. One of his recent contributions was composing the soundtracks for Nintendo’s “The Mushroom Men” videogame in 2008, while his latest solo album “Of Fungi and Foe” was released in 2009 to positive critics in the Avant-Garde community.
- Mike Patton
Best known for his experimental songwriting and versatile vocals, Mike Patton participated in numerous projects including Mr. Bungle, Faith No More, Tomahawk and Peeping Tom among others, and also had additional contributions to video games and filmography. His solo project spanned 5 albums to date, 2 of which are film soundtracks, while his latest 2010 release “Mondo Cane” was essentially a ‘special’ tribute to Italian Pop songs from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. Mike took ‘Mondo Cane’ to live audiences, with a filmed show in Amsterdam with the Metropole Orchestra in 2008.
- Neal Morse
Neal Morse is a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and composer who played with successful Progressive Rock bands like Spock’s Beard and Transatlantic. He soon focused on his solo career, which revolved around his new-found faith in Christianity. Neal has an extensive discography of 10 albums in 12 years, with an even bigger number of guest appearances and contributions. His most recent solo release entitled “Testimony 2” is a double disc with almost 2 hours of music, featuring musicians Mike Portnoy and Randy George.
- Sean Malone
Sean Malone is a bassist, engineer, producer and university music teacher who’s mostly known for using both the Chapman stick and fretless bass with Progressive bands Gordian Knot, Cynic, Aghora and Spiral Architect among others. Aside teaching, he also published 4 books on bass guitar theory, and released his first and only solo album entitled “Cortlandt” in 1996. The album featured Cynic band-mate Sean Reinert on drums and Trey Gunn on guitars, and is mainly rooted in Jazz. Sean also plays bass on the upcoming Cynic EP entitled “Carbon-Based Anatonmy”, to be released in November 2011.
- Thomas Giles
Tommy Giles Rogers is the lead vocalist and keyboardist of Progressive Metalcore band Between the Buried and Me. He released his first solo album entitled “Pulse” in 2011, and is credited for composing the songs and performing all instruments. The album draws influences from Electronica, Psychedelic Rock and is best related to bands like Radiohead, Beck and Nine Inch Nails. “Pulse” has catchy melodies, dark piano, electronics, acoustic parts and most importantly Tommy’s vocals which really shine on this record.
