185 - Rex Brown: The BONECRUSHING bass lines of Pantera

The SBL Podcast

Scott's Bass Lessons

Scott's Bass Lessons, Bass Guitar, Bass, Online Bass Lessons, Education, Music Interviews, Electric Bass, Music, Sbl

4.8 • 522 Ratings

🗓️ 11 April 2025

⏱️ 34 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What makes a bass line cut through in a heavy band like Pantera? In this episode, Ian Allison sits down with Rex Brown to find out. Rex walks us through a few of his most iconic lines—including the growling groove of “I’m Broken” and shares what it took to hold down the low end in one of metal’s loudest, heaviest bands. If you’re into classic hard rock riffs, thunderous tone, or just want to hear a legend talk shop, this one hits hard.

Transcript

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0:00.0	You know, we were 17, 18 years old.
0:02.0	You want to make a name for ourselves.
0:06.0	To make a name for yourself, you have to get out there and practice, practice, practice.
0:17.0	Today we are here with Rex Brown, who has been the bassist for Pantera for over 42 years and currently going strong.
0:25.5	Also basest with Down, Kill Devil Hill, and solo artist putting out his own debut record Smoke on this in 2017.
0:33.2	He's also an author, singer, songwriter, and overall super badass.
0:38.8	And we're going to have him break down a few of his classic Pantera baselines today.
0:44.2	Rex, thanks so much for being here, man.
0:46.8	Thanks so much for having me.
0:48.3	Yeah, we're happy to have you.
0:50.3	We're happy to have you.
0:51.3	Our producer, Sharon's going to pull up, I'm broken,
0:57.6	and I can't wait for you to show me how to play this correctly because I don't know how.
1:13.6	Dude, look at you guys. Ferocious.
1:14.6	Absolutely ferocious.
1:16.6	I think we did two takes of that.
1:18.6	Really?
1:20.6	Yeah.
1:21.6	Just two?
1:23.6	Oh, maybe it was five.
1:26.6	But it was five. But it was continuous.
1:29.3	These riffs are like classic hard rock metal canon.
	...

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