Alex Webster (born 1969) is an American
bass player
A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboard bass or a low bra ...
who is best known as a member of the
death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, feat ...
band
Cannibal Corpse
Cannibal Corpse is an American death metal band formed in Buffalo, New York in 1988, now based out of Tampa, Florida. The band has released fifteen studio albums, two box sets, four video albums, and two live albums. The band has had little radi ...
. He is one of two remaining members of the original lineup of the band, along with drummer
Paul Mazurkiewicz
Paul Mazurkiewicz ( ; born September 8, 1968) is an American drummer best known as a member for death metal band Cannibal Corpse. Mazurkiewicz was originally the drummer for the band, Tirant Sin, alongside two other future Cannibal Corpse memb ...
. He is also the bassist for the band
Blotted Science
Blotted Science is an instrumental progressive metal supergroup headed by Ron Jarzombek (Watchtower, Spastic Ink), bassist Alex Webster ( Cannibal Corpse) and drummer Hannes Grossmann (ex- Obscura, ex-Necrophagist). They formed under the name Mac ...
and the supergroup
Conquering Dystopia. Before Cannibal Corpse was formed, he was part of Beyond Death.
Musical biography
Webster was born in
Akron, New York
Akron is a village in Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 2,868 at the 2010 census. The name derives from the Greek word ἄκρον signifying a summit or high point. It is part of the Buffalo– Niagara Falls Metropo ...
. When describing his relationship with music, he has stated "I just always liked music since I was a little kid. Music was always a soundtrack in my head to things going on in my life. I always wanted to play. I wanted to play drums when I was about three. I made a drum out of an old butter container and hit it with tinker toys. I was going to make music. Most people who are musicians didn't have to have anyone tell them to do it. I would never push music on someone, because it is something that doesn't need to be pushed. If you're going to make music, you're going to make it."
Webster was originally of the band ''Beyond Death'', with ex-Cannibal Corpse guitarist
Jack Owen, back in 1987. Both met up with
Chris Barnes, Bob Rusay and
Paul Mazurkiewicz
Paul Mazurkiewicz ( ; born September 8, 1968) is an American drummer best known as a member for death metal band Cannibal Corpse. Mazurkiewicz was originally the drummer for the band, Tirant Sin, alongside two other future Cannibal Corpse memb ...
, all of whom were in the band ''Tirant Sin''. Webster was the one to come up with the band's name, Cannibal Corpse. In an interview he said that he thought it was a very ''catchy'' name for a band. He has a reputation for being friendly to his fans, often asking questions, and genuinely caring what his fans think, regularly answering questions on the band's forum. Webster also recorded bass for
Hate Eternal
Hate Eternal is a death metal band from St. Petersburg, Florida. The band currently consists of founding guitarist/vocalist Erik Rutan and bassist J. J. Hrubovcak. To date, Hate Eternal has released seven studio albums: '' Conquering the Throne' ...
,
Erik Rutan
Erik Rutan (born June 10, 1971) is an American heavy metal musician and producer from New Jersey. He is the guitarist and lead vocalist of death metal band Hate Eternal and lead guitarist for Cannibal Corpse, who he fully joined in 2021 after ...
's death metal band. Rutan is the producer for Cannibal Corpse's albums that were released between 2006 and 2012, ''
Kill
Kill often refers to:
*Homicide, one human killing another
*cause death, to kill a living organism, to cause its death
Kill may also refer to:
Media
*'' Kill!'', a 1968 film directed by Kihachi Okamoto
* ''Kill'' (Cannibal Corpse album), 2006
* ...
'', ''
Evisceration Plague
''Evisceration Plague'' is the eleventh studio album by American death metal band Cannibal Corpse. The album was produced at Mana Recording Studios by Hate Eternal guitarist Erik Rutan.
The album entered the US ''Billboard'' 200 at number 66, ...
'', and ''
Torture
Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...
''. In 2005, Alex was contacted by guitarist
Ron Jarzombek
Ron Jarzombek is an American guitarist best known for his work with WatchTower, Spastic Ink, and Blotted Science, featuring Alex Webster of Cannibal Corpse. His most recent project is Terrestrial Exiled. He released a brand new song, "Bey ...
about a possible collaboration which became
Blotted Science
Blotted Science is an instrumental progressive metal supergroup headed by Ron Jarzombek (Watchtower, Spastic Ink), bassist Alex Webster ( Cannibal Corpse) and drummer Hannes Grossmann (ex- Obscura, ex-Necrophagist). They formed under the name Mac ...
, an all-instrumental extreme metal project. They released their debut album, ''
The Machinations of Dementia
''The Machinations of Dementia'' is the sole studio album by the instrumental progressive metal band Blotted Science, released September 18, 2007, on guitarist Ron Jarzombek's EclecticElectric label. It was issued in Japan on June 22, 2011, via M ...
'', in the fall of 2007.
When asked about his favorite Cannibal Corpse song, Webster answered: "I don't know, it would be hard to choose one that's the "best", but one of my favorites is "From Skin to Liquid", mainly because it was so different for us. It showed we didn't necessarily have to be playing at warp drive and have gory lyrics to be heavy."
Bass playing
Webster is recognized as an extremely experienced and talented metal bass player. He can play at exceptionally fast speeds, and does a signature 3-finger walk (a "galloping" finger motion). He revealed in a making-of DVD for Cannibal Corpse's album ''
The Wretched Spawn
''The Wretched Spawn'' is the ninth studio album by American death metal band Cannibal Corpse. The cover art is by Vincent Locke. This is the last studio album to feature guitarist Jack Owen, one of the band's founding members, and up to the 201 ...
'' that he initially started playing guitar but changed to bass because he felt he could master the instrument more quickly. Unlike usual heavy metal bassists that play at high speeds, Webster is able to play his instrument without the use of a
pick, while still retaining a clean clear tone, which helps maintain clarity in the complex and very fast lines he plays in conjunction with the heavily distorted guitars of Cannibal Corpse.
"When I was six years old I took some acoustic guitar lessons. It didn't really work out because I was six and didn't really want to learn "Mary Had a Little Lamb
"Mary Had a Little Lamb" is an English language nursery rhyme of nineteenth-century American origin, first published by American writer Sarah Josepha Hale in 1830. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 7622.
Background
The nursery rhyme was ...
," and those were the kind of songs I was being taught. I wanted to play Elvis
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
. I liked all the old 50s music. My dad had a bunch of old 50s records because that's when he was a teenager. Those were what I listened to, because when you're six you don't have the money to go buy stuff, so I just listened to his records. Nobody was going to teach me how to play the guitar like that, out in the country where I lived. I just gave it up until I was 13 or 14. I met a kid in school who played bass in the high school jazz band. He wanted to make some extra money and it was five bucks a lesson. He did a good job too. His name was Mike Hudson. I don't know if he plays anymore. I lost touch with him. He's the one that got me started. I always wanted to play in a band, and to learn how to play lead guitar was going to take like five years. But I really liked the sound of the bass. I liked AC/DC
AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian Rock music, rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm Young, Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and Heavy metal ...
and figured I could do that. I thought I could learn Cliff Williams
Clifford Williams (born 14 December 1949) is an English musician, best known as the bassist and backing vocalist of the Australian hard rock band AC/DC. He started his professional music career in 1967 and had previously been in the English g ...
' bass parts faster than I could learn to play Angus Young
Angus McKinnon Young (born 31 March 1955) is an Australian musician, best known as the co-founder, lead guitarist, songwriter, and only remaining original member of the hard rock band AC/DC. He is known for his energetic performances, school ...
's guitar parts. It was motivation, because I wanted to be in a band. I never wanted to sit around and play music by myself. I wanted to play with other people, and the fastest route to that was playing an instrument that wasn't a lead instrument, and bass was that. Now I've learned to make it a lot more difficult. I've made my job a lot harder than it probably needs to be. But it's just fun. In the beginning my concern was playing in a band."[
"I took some lessons from a friend of mine when I first started. He was in the school jazz band and he taught me the basics. I didn't take lessons for about a year, but I started again when I was a senior in high school. I've had about four different teachers throughout the years, but I never took lessons for more than a few months. I did, however, gain a lot from them and I've tried to learn as much on my own as I can. Anything I can learn about music or bass playing, I'll try to learn. I mean, the more you learn and the more you apply to your playing, it just makes you a better musician."]
"I liked the bass player from AC/DC. I really loved the stuff he did. Peter Baltes from Accept was another. I liked the really good guys too, but that seemed out of reach at the beginning. Geddy Lee
Geddy Lee (born Gary Lee Weinrib; July 29, 1953) is a Canadian musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the lead vocalist, bassist, and keyboardist for the Canadian rock group Rush. Lee joined the band in September 1968, at the re ...
from Rush and Steve Harris were like gods to me. Billy Sheehan
William Sheehan (born March 19, 1953) is an American musician. He is best known for playing the bass guitar with acts such as Talas, Steve Vai, David Lee Roth, Mr. Big, Niacin, and The Winery Dogs. He is also known for his "lead bass" playing ...
was from Buffalo, and we all knew about Billy before the rest of the country did. Billy has been a legend in Buffalo for a long, long time. He's still one of my favorites. By the time I was listening to Cliff Burton
Clifford Lee Burton (February 10, 1962 – September 27, 1986) was an American musician who was the bassist for heavy metal band Metallica from 1982 until his death in 1986. He performed on ''Kill 'Em All'' (1983), '' Ride the Lightning'' (1984 ...
I was getting a little better. I had been playing a year or so before I started listening to Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
. I thought he was great. I always thought he could have been a little louder on those albums though. That's the thing. In thrash metal
Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...
or any other kind of metal where the bass is playing exactly what the guitar is playing, automatically the bass went down in the mix. If you notice those older bands like Accept
Accept may refer to:
* Acceptance, a person's assent to the reality of a situation etc.
* Accept (band), a German heavy metal band
** ''Accept'' (Accept album), their debut album from 1979
* ''Accept'' (Chicken Shack album), 1970
* ACCEPT (or ...
, the bass is doing something that's a little bit different from the guitar. It's more with the kick drum instead of playing the riff the guitar is doing. In thrash metal and then death metal, the bass player always wound up playing what the guitar player was doing most of the time. It's been a decade long fight for us to be heard in the mix."
"I'd like to do some instructional material, but I'm still not sure if I'll try and do a DVD or book though. It will probably be easier to do a DVD, actually. Hopefully I'll be able to come up with some stuff that's worth releasing. I definitely won't put anything out until I'm sure it's of really high quality, and full of lots of good information. Also, you might have heard about the possibility of us doing a tab book. Well, we still haven't found a publisher for that."
"I practice the most when I have something I'm working on that's difficult, like one of Pat's songs for example. I usually won't practice for more than 3 or 4 hours a day unless I'm really inspired, or I have some kind of deadline."
Besides playing bass, Alex has also contributed to lyric and music writing on many occasions for the band, some examples being "Fucked with a Knife," "Puncture Wound Massacre," "I Will Kill You," "Devoured by Vermin," "Unleashing the Bloodthirsty," "Scavenger consuming death," "Scourge of iron" and "Murder Worship".
Webster is also known for his bass guitar solos/fills in such songs as "Addicted to Vaginal Skin", "Mangled", "The Undead Will Feast", "Crushing the Despised", "Fucked with a Knife", "
Hammer Smashed Face
''Hammer Smashed Face'' is the debut EP and single by American death metal band Cannibal Corpse, released in 1993 by Metal Blade Records. There are two versions of the release, a single version that features the title song "Hammer Smashed Face" ...
", "The Discipline of Revenge", "Put Them To Death", "She Was Asking For It", "Staring Through The Eyes of the Dead", "Bloodlands", "They Deserve to Die", "Rabid", and "The Strangulation Chair".
From 2013 to 2015 Webster wrote a monthly tuition column for the UK's ''Bass Guitar Magazine''.
Equipment
Webster currently uses
Spector
Spector is a guitar manufacturing company. It has been based in Woodstock, New York
Woodstock is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the northern part of the county, northwest of Kingston, NY. It lies within the borders ...
'Alex Webster Signature Edition' (based on Euro 5lx basses),
DR Strings, and His signature Hammer Smashed Bass pickups by
Seymour Duncan
Seymour Duncan is an American company best known for manufacturing guitar and bass pickups. They also manufacture effects pedals which are designed and assembled in America. Guitarist and luthier Seymour W. Duncan and Cathy Carter Duncan foun ...
paired with a
Darkglass Electronics tone capsule preamp wired for 18 volt operation. All of his signature basses have been set up by scooter at granville guitars and are wired using 4 single stack knobs for reliability on a heavy tour rotation (1 volume with both pick ups hardwired and 3 tone controls) Before his signature model, he used
Modulus Quantum 5 and Spector Euro 5lx basses. He also used a white 1987 Fender Precision bass on the albums ''
Eaten Back to Life
''Eaten Back to Life'' is the debut studio album by American death metal band Cannibal Corpse. It was released on August 17, 1990 through Metal Blade Records. The album was banned in Germany—censored versions of the album were not available, ...
'' and ''
Butchered at Birth
''Butchered at Birth'' is the second studio album by American death metal band Cannibal Corpse. It was released in 1991 through Metal Blade Records.
Track listing
All lyrics written by Chris Barnes. All music written by Cannibal Corpse.
Pers ...
'', an Ibanez Sabre SB900 on the album ''
Tomb of the Mutilated
''Tomb of the Mutilated'' is the third studio album by American death metal band Cannibal Corpse. It was released in 1992 through Metal Blade Records and is the last record with the band's original lineup, as founding guitarist Bob Rusay was fire ...
'', an Ibanez Soundgear SR1500 on ''
The Bleeding'' and both a 1971 Precision Bass with EMG Pickups and a Badass bridge on the C# songs as well as a Spector NS Series 5-string bass that was rented on ''
Vile''. In the past, he used an Ampeg SVT200T with an Ampeg 8x10 cabinet, then switched to the SVT-4PRO head. Later, he signed an endorsement deal with SWR and used 2 SWR SM-1500 and 2 SWR Megoliath 8x10 cabinets. Currently he is using Aguilar DB 751 and DB810 cabinets. Not much of an effects user, however on the album ''
Torture
Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...
'' he stated that he began using a
Darkglass
Darkglass Electronics is a bass guitar equipment company based in Helsinki, Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sw ...
Microtubes B3K switched to a B7kU (2016) overdrive pedal and commented that it's the heaviest tone he has achieved yet. He also uses a
Radial
Radial is a geometric term of location which may refer to:
Mathematics and Direction
* Vector (geometric), a line
* Radius, adjective form of
* Radial distance, a directional coordinate in a polar coordinate system
* Radial set
* A bearing f ...
Bassbone and a Boss TU-2 Chromatic Tuner, and a
Seymour Duncan
Seymour Duncan is an American company best known for manufacturing guitar and bass pickups. They also manufacture effects pedals which are designed and assembled in America. Guitarist and luthier Seymour W. Duncan and Cathy Carter Duncan foun ...
Bass Studio Compressor.
Personal life
Personality
Webster is prominently featured in the heavy metal documentary ''
Metal: A Headbanger's Journey'' where he comes off as musically knowledgeable and well-spoken.
"Cannibal Corpse's bassist Alex Webster exudes a quiet, intellectual and particularly amiable persona which seems so at odds with the music that he is a driving force behind that one is immediately reminded of the old adage about not judging books by their covers."- Sinister Online
When asked about what he likes to do in his spare time outside of Cannibal Corpse, Webster commented: "working out, I’ve been doing some martial arts stuff for a while now, so I just like to run, I like to go mountain biking"
"I'm not very proud of myself if I lose my temper. That's something I would love to be able to change. I've worked on it throughout my life and hope to eventually have it conquered and react as peacefully as Gandhi in the worst situation."
"
Forrest Gump
''Forrest Gump'' is a 1994 American comedy-drama film directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Eric Roth. It is based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Winston Groom and stars Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Mykelti Williamson and ...
, that was OK actually, but I prefer... I'll tell you what one of my favorite all-time movies was, as far as horror. I like
The Shining and I like
Jacob's Ladder
Jacob's Ladder ( he, סֻלָּם יַעֲקֹב ) is a ladder leading to heaven that was featured in a dream the biblical Patriarch Jacob had during his flight from his brother Esau in the Book of Genesis (chapter 28).
The significance of th ...
. I don't know if you'd call Jacob's Ladder horror anyway, but I really liked that movie. I like, Jesus there's a lot of them... I like the
Evil Dead
''Evil Dead'' is an American horror film franchise created by Sam Raimi consisting of four feature films and a television series. The series revolves around the ''Necronomicon Ex-Mortis'', an ancient Sumerian text that wreaks havoc upon a gro ...
stuff, just total splatter action and
Nekromantik
''Nekromantik'' (stylized as ''NEKRomantik'') is a 1988 West German horror exploitation film co-written and directed by Jörg Buttgereit. It is known to be frequently controversial, banned in a number of countries, and has become a cult film ove ...
from Germany. I have a very bad copy of Necromantik 2 and it's all in German and you can barely watch it. You can't even see the picture, really, but I saw Necromantik 1 and it's classic. I was just in a bar in Paris where they were playing Necromantik while you were just hanging about in the bar – yes!" "I just like the really low budget splatter. It's fun. And I like high budget psychological horror like Jacob's Ladder and The Shining. Everything's entertaining for different reasons. Here's kinda the way I see it: you can appreciate a lot of different things for what they are. Like, we're obviously a much different type of death metal band from, say,
My Dying Bride
My Dying Bride are an English doom metal band formed in Bradford. Since their inception in 1990, they have released 13 studio albums, three EPs, one demo, one box set, four compilation albums, one live album, and one live CD/DVD release.
Alon ...
or something like that, but there's no reason you can't appreciate both of them for what they are. I like
Anathema
Anathema, in common usage, is something or someone detested or shunned. In its other main usage, it is a formal excommunication. The latter meaning, its ecclesiastical sense, is based on New Testament usage. In the Old Testament, anathema was a cr ...
and My Dying Bride. I also like
Morbid Angel
Morbid Angel is an American death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling ...
and
Vader, and I also like us and
Autopsy
An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any di ...
– of course I like us! I'm in the band! You know what I mean. It's good for what it is. When I see a movie like Evil Dead I don't expect it to be like The Shining, just like a person who likes Cannibal Corpse. They shouldn't expect us to be like Anathema. You know what I'm saying? But they can like us for being... the Evil Dead of death metal!
aughsAnd they can like those other bands for being more psychological or whatnot." Alex is
agnostic
Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, of the divine or the supernatural is unknown or unknowable. (page 56 in 1967 edition) Another definition provided is the view that "human reason is incapable of providing sufficient ...
.
Honors
The fossil marine worm species ''
Websteroprion armstrongi'' is named for Webster; the researchers who named it — both heavy-metal fans — stated that "Alex Webster just seemed like the perfect fit for a giant worm with saw-like jaws".
[This 400-Million-Year-Old Worm Monster Is Metal as Hell]
by Rae Paoletta, at Gizmodo
''Gizmodo'' ( ) is a design, technology, science and science fiction website. It was originally launched as part of the Gawker Media network run by Nick Denton, and runs on the Kinja platform. ''Gizmodo'' also includes the subsite ''io9'', whic ...
; published February 21, 2017; retrieved March 29, 2017
Favorites
"Films: ''
Phantasm'', ''
Fargo'', ''
The Reflecting Skin
''The Reflecting Skin'' is a 1990 British-Canadian dramatic horror film written and directed by Philip Ridley and starring Jeremy Cooper, Viggo Mortensen and Lindsay Duncan. Described by its director as a "mythical interpretation" of childhood, ...
'', ''
Burnt Offerings'', ''
The Shining'', ''
Goodfellas
''Goodfellas'' (stylized ''GoodFellas'') is a 1990 American biographical crime film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Nicholas Pileggi and Scorsese, and produced by Irwin Winkler. It is a film adaptation of the 1985 nonfiction book '' Wis ...
'', ''
Casino
A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...
'', ''
Braveheart
''Braveheart'' is a 1995 American historical drama film directed and produced by, and starring Mel Gibson. Gibson portrays Sir William Wallace, a late-13th century Scottish warrior who led the Scots in the First War of Scottish Independence ag ...
'', ''
Saving Private Ryan
''Saving Private Ryan'' is a 1998 American epic war film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat. Set during the Battle of Normandy in World War II, the film is known for its graphic portrayal of war, especially its depictio ...
'', ''
The Exorcist
''The Exorcist'' is a 1973 American supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin and written for the screen by William Peter Blatty, based on his 1971 novel of the same name. It stars Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb, Kitty W ...
'', ''
Full Metal Jacket
''Full Metal Jacket'' is a 1987 war drama film directed and produced by Stanley Kubrick, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Michael Herr and Gustav Hasford. The film is based on Hasford's 1979 novel ''The Short-Timers'' and stars Matthew M ...
'', ''
The Warriors'', ''
City of God'', ''
Romper Stomper
''Romper Stomper'' is a 1992 Australian drama film written and directed by Geoffrey Wright in his feature film directorial debut. The film stars Russell Crowe, Daniel Pollock, Jacqueline McKenzie, Tony Le-Nguyen and Colin Chin. The film tells ...
'',
''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy, ''
Freddy Got Fingered
''Freddy Got Fingered'' is a 2001 American surreal absurdist screwball black comedy film directed by Tom Green in his feature film directorial debut and written by Green and Derek Harvie. Green stars in the film as a childish slacker who wishes ...
'', ''
The Road Warrior
''Mad Max 2'' (released as ''The Road Warrior'' in the United States) is a 1981 Australian post-apocalyptic action film directed by George Miller. It is the second installment in the ''Mad Max'' franchise, with Mel Gibson reprising his role a ...
'', and tons more..."
Television: "Most of the original programming on
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
; I also watch the news a lot."
Books:
1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...
by
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalitar ...
, Murder Machine by Gene Mustain and
Jerry Capeci
Gerald Capeci () is an American journalist and author who specializes in coverage of the Five Mafia crime families of New York City. Capeci has been described by news organizations, such as CNN and BBC, as an expert on the American Mafia. , The Westies by
T.J. English, The Lord of the Rings and
The Silmarillion
''The Silmarillion'' () is a collection of myths and stories in varying styles by the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien. It was edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in 1977, assisted by the fantasy author Guy Gavriel ...
by
Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''.
From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...
,
Gulag
The Gulag, an acronym for , , "chief administration of the camps". The original name given to the system of camps controlled by the GPU was the Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps (, )., name=, group= was the government agency in ...
by
Anne Applebaum
Anne Elizabeth Applebaum (born July 25, 1964) is an American journalist and historian. She has written extensively about the history of Communism and the development of civil society in Central and Eastern Europe.
She has worked at ''The Econo ...
, etc..."
When asked about his favorite song on the
Morbid Angel
Morbid Angel is an American death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling ...
album ''
Altars of Madness
''Altars of Madness'' is the debut studio album by American death metal band Morbid Angel, released on May 12, 1989, by Combat Records/Earache Records. The album was recorded in December 1988 at Morrisound Recording in Tampa, Florida. The album is ...
'', Webster answered: "that whole album is so amazing, it's hard to choose. Maybe "Chapel of Ghouls", "Immortal Rites", or "Visions from the Darkside"."
In a 2006 interview, he commented that his favorite albums of the previous five years are
Spawn of Possession
Spawn of Possession was a Swedish technical death metal group, which formed in 1997 in Kalmar. The band have collectively released three studio albums. A fourth album was planned, but in 2017 the band announced their split up.
Biography
Spawn of ...
's ''
Cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filing ...
'',
Necrophagist
Necrophagist was a German technical death metal band founded and fronted by guitarist and vocalist Muhammed Suiçmez. The band used baroque music-influenced compositions paired with extreme metal drumming.
The name originates from the Greek ro ...
's ''
Epitaph
An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...
'',
Aeon
The word aeon , also spelled eon (in American and Australian English), originally meant "life", "vital force" or "being", "generation" or "a period of time", though it tended to be translated as "age" in the sense of "ages", "forever", "timeles ...
's ''
Bleeding the False
''Bleeding the False'' is the debut full-length album by the Swedish death metal band Aeon. It was released on 20 September 2005.
Track listing
Personnel
;Aeon
* Tommy Dahlström – vocals
* Zeb Nilsson – guitar
* Daniel Dlimi – guitar
* ...
'',
Hate Eternal
Hate Eternal is a death metal band from St. Petersburg, Florida. The band currently consists of founding guitarist/vocalist Erik Rutan and bassist J. J. Hrubovcak. To date, Hate Eternal has released seven studio albums: '' Conquering the Throne' ...
's ''
I, Monarch
''I, Monarch'' is the third studio album by Florida technical death metal band Hate Eternal and it was released June 28, 2005 on Earache Records.
Track listing
All songs by Erik Rutan except when noted.
# "Two Demons" – 03:55
# "Behold Judas ...
'', and
Spastic Ink
Spastic Ink was a progressive metal band from the United States.
History
Spastic Ink was formed in 1993 by guitarist Ron Jarzombek of Watchtower after recovering from multiple hand surgeries that had sidelined him, unable to play, for a couple ...
's ''
Ink Compatible
''Ink Compatible'' is the second full-length album from Spastic Ink. It was released in 2004 after a four-year process via Ron Jarzombek's EclecticElectric label, except for Japan and Southeast Asia where it was released by Avalon/Marquee. It wa ...
''.
His five all-time favorite albums are (in descending order)
Accept
Accept may refer to:
* Acceptance, a person's assent to the reality of a situation etc.
* Accept (band), a German heavy metal band
** ''Accept'' (Accept album), their debut album from 1979
* ''Accept'' (Chicken Shack album), 1970
* ACCEPT (or ...
's ''
Restless and Wild
''Restless and Wild'' is the fourth studio album by German heavy metal band Accept, released in 1982 in Continental Europe and in 1983 in the US and UK. It was the first Accept album not to be recorded at Delta-Studio, since the band had moved t ...
'',
Morbid Angel
Morbid Angel is an American death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling ...
's ''
Altars of Madness
''Altars of Madness'' is the debut studio album by American death metal band Morbid Angel, released on May 12, 1989, by Combat Records/Earache Records. The album was recorded in December 1988 at Morrisound Recording in Tampa, Florida. The album is ...
'',
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
's ''
Master of Puppets
''Master of Puppets'' is the third studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on March 3, 1986, by Elektra Records. Recorded in Denmark at Sweet Silence Studios with producer Flemming Rasmussen, it was the band's last album ...
'',
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...
's ''
Powerslave
''Powerslave'' is the fifth studio album by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released on 3 September 1984 through EMI Records in Europe and its sister label Capitol Records in North America. It was re-released by Sanctuary and Columbia ...
'' and
Slayer
Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style ...
's ''
Reign in Blood
''Reign in Blood'' is the third studio album by American thrash metal band Slayer, released on October 7, 1986, by Def Jam Recordings."Touring Blood", ''Decibel Magazine'', April 2008, p. 57. The album was the band's first collaboration with pro ...
''.
Musical tastes
Alex Webster is a big Slayer fan. "''I got into them back in the mid 80's. I learned about them through word of mouth from some other metal heads at my school. They were the best of the evil thrash bands at the time. I can't really stress how much I and the other Cannibal guys listened to Slayer. They were a massive influence on us.''"
He said that his favorite song lyric would be "anything by Slayer.."
He also said if any band could cover a Cannibal Corpse song, it would be Slayer.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Webster, Alex
1969 births
Living people
American rock bass guitarists
American agnostics
American heavy metal bass guitarists
American male bass guitarists
People from Akron, New York
Death metal musicians
Cannibal Corpse members
American male guitarists
Guitarists from New York (state)
20th-century American guitarists
Blotted Science members
Conquering Dystopia members