Bass Nation

Black Sabbath’s bassist, Geezer Butler, was another one of my big early influences. He played real low (Sabbath tuned all of their instruments down one and a half steps, so the E string was actually a C#, giving them that extra low sound and requiring really heavy strings), bluesy and slightly distorted. He uses flatwound strings which gives his tone more warmth and depth. Most of his basslines went along with Tony Iommi’s iconic guitar riffs with a little added flourish which makes those songs incredibly fun to play. The thing with Black Sabbath, at least the classic original incarnation before Ozzy got too fucked up on drugs, is that it’s all built on these riffs that have since become part of the rock and roll lexicon. Anyone even with some casual listening can hum most of them in their sleep. And that’s also what makes them so fun to play. And then there’s the intro to N.I.B. Tune down, throw on a slight flange or chorus and a little bit of fuzz and give this one a try. It’s fast and dark and like all of their early stuff just sounds a little bit evil.

Here’s the tab. Below is  a youtube of just the music. And here’s a version of it done by Primus with Ozzy on vocals! Enjoy.

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