Tony Campos | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Antonio Campos |
Also known as | Maldito X |
Born | Los Angeles, California, U.S. [1] | March 8, 1973
Genres | |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instrument(s) |
|
Years active | 1994–present |
Antonio Campos (born March 8, 1973) is an American musician. He is the current bassist for industrial metal bands Static-X and Fear Factory and the vocalist and bassist for extreme metal band Asesino. He is also a former bassist for Prong, Soulfly, Ministry and Possessed, and a former vocalist for the metal band Brujeria. Following the death of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Wayne Static and the resurrection of Static-X, Campos is the longest-serving member of the band, and the only one to appear on every album.
Campos was part of the original Static-X lineup, playing bass and performing backing vocals on all of the group's studio albums. Along with Wayne Static, he was one of the legal owners of the Static-X name, even though he did not participate in the band's temporary reunion from 2012 to 2013. [2]
In 2001, Campos broke his collarbone in a motorcycle accident, leaving him unable to play in the ongoing "Extreme Steel Tour", headlined by Pantera. Campos continued to sing backing vocals on the tour, and Marty O'Brien took over bass duties. [3]
In 2002, Campos became part of Mexican American metal group Asesino. His stage name, "Maldito X", is Spanish for "Damned X". [4] In the same year, he played bass with the Colombian band Agony during the Rock al Parque.
Campos has played bass for Ministry in four stints (2007–2008, 2011–2012, 2014–2016, 2017–2019), following the death of Paul Raven. [5] He has joined Ministry again for their US tour with Death Grips in Autumn 2017. [6]
From 2011 to 2012, he was a member of death metal band Possessed. [7] He also played with Possessed in 2013 at The Oakland Metro.
He also joined Soulfly in 2011 as their bassist.
In May 2015, Campos announced his departure from Soulfly, and that he would be joining Fear Factory as their bassist. [8]
In October 2018, Campos announced that he and the other two surviving original members – guitarist Koichi Fukuda and drummer Ken Jay – had reformed Static-X, who were planning to release a new album and tour in 2019 in memory of Wayne Static. [9]
Campos has cited Blasko, Cliff Burton, Dan Lilker, Jeff Hanneman, and Kerry King as influences. [10] [11]
Campos tunes to ADGCF when playing in Asesino. With Static-X, he played with several tunings: CFBbEbG and BbFBbEbAb during Shadow Zone and forward. [12] [13]
Campos majored in computer science before becoming a musician. [14] He's an avid video gamer [15] and considers the Doom and Halo series as his all-time favorites. [16]
Year | Band | Album | Track(s) |
---|---|---|---|
2007 | Divine Heresy | Bleed the Fifth | "Rise of the Scorned" and "Closure" |
2011 | Otep | Atavist | "Drunk on the Blood of Saints" and "Remember to Forget" |
2015 | Taipan | Straight from the Underground | "Straight from the Underground" |
2020 | Mick Gordon | Doom Eternal soundtrack | Member of the "Heavy Metal Choir" [17] |
Static-X is an American industrial metal band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1994. The line-up has fluctuated over the years, but was long-held constant with band founder, frontman, vocalist and rhythm guitarist Wayne Static until his death in 2014.
Clifford Lee Burton was an American musician who was the bassist for thrash metal band Metallica from 1982 until his death in 1986. He performed on the band's first three albums, Kill 'Em All (1983), Ride the Lightning (1984), and Master of Puppets (1986). Burton also received a posthumous writing credit on ...And Justice for All (1988) for the song "To Live Is to Die".
Fear Factory is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1989. Throughout the band's career, they have released ten full-length albums and have evolved through a succession of sounds, all in their main style of industrial metal. Over the years, Fear Factory has seen frequent changes in its lineup, with lead vocalist Burton C. Bell being the only consistent member for 31 years until his departure in 2020. Guitarist Dino Cazares is the only original member still in the band. The band went on hold in March 2002 following some internal disputes, but resumed activity a year later without founding member Cazares. Previous bassist Christian Olde Wolbers replaced him as the new guitarist, and bassist Byron Stroud joined the band. In April 2009, a new lineup was announced. Cazares returned as guitarist, and Gene Hoglan as drummer. Bell and Stroud reprised their respective roles, and this lineup recorded the band's seventh studio album titled Mechanize (2010). Former members Wolbers and Raymond Herrera — together comprising 50% of the band's legal ownership — disputed the legitimacy of the new lineup, and a legal battle from both parties had begun. Despite this, Fear Factory has since released three more albums: The Industrialist (2012), Genexus (2015) and Aggression Continuum (2021).
Soulfly is an American heavy metal band formed in Phoenix, Arizona in 1997. Soulfly is led by former Sepultura frontman Max Cavalera, who formed the band after he left the Brazilian group in 1996. To date the band has released twelve studio albums, one tour EP, twenty-three singles, one video album, and twelve music videos. Their debut album, Soulfly, was released on April 21, 1998, while their most recent album, Totem, was released on August 5, 2022.
Wayne Richard Wells, known professionally as Wayne Static, was an American musician, best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, keyboardist, and primary lyricist for the industrial metal band Static-X. He also released a solo album, Pighammer, in 2011. Static was recognizable for his unusual hairstyle; his hair was held up in a vertical position, a process that took about 20 minutes to complete. He was also known for his signature "chintail" beard.
Machine is the second studio album by American industrial metal band Static-X, released on May 22, 2001, and recorded at Studio 508. When compared to the band's other albums, Machine features more electronics and industrial effects, and more screamed vocals from Wayne Static. It was also the final Static-X album for eighteen years to feature drummer Ken Jay, and the last for four years to feature lead guitarist Koichi Fukuda, who, despite having already left Static-X, was credited as a keyboardist on the album.
Brujeria is an American extreme metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1989. The band has Spanish lyrics with topics such as Satanism, anti-Christianity, sex, immigration, narcotics smuggling, and politics. Brujeria portrays Mexican imagery, with several members being Hispanic and Latino Americans, while the band's name stands for brujería.
Beneath... Between... Beyond... is the first compilation album by American industrial metal band Static-X, released on July 20, 2004, through Warner Bros. Records. It is a compilation of previously unreleased tracks, remixes, cover versions, and the band's original demo tracks. The band did some touring in support of the album.
Koichi Fukuda is a Japanese musician, best known as the lead guitarist, programmer and keyboardist for the American industrial metal band Static-X; he has been a member of the band three times, initially from 1994 to 2000, again from 2005 to 2010 and since 2018. He was also the former lead guitarist of the bands Drugstore Fanatics and Bellusira.
Asesino is an American deathgrind supergroup and a side project of Fear Factory guitarist Dino Cazares. The band has featured members of Brujeria, Fear Factory, Sepultura, Sadistic Intent, Possessed, Ministry, and Static-X.
Dino Cazares is an American musician, known for being the guitarist and one of the co-founders of industrial metal band Fear Factory. He is also the co-founder of the metal bands Divine Heresy, Asesino, and Brujeria. Cazares popularized the use of digital amp modelling processors, as well as the use of seven and eight-string guitars in metal music.
Christian Francis Olde Wolbers is a Belgian musician, songwriter and producer. He is the bassist and backing vocalist of the rap metal/nu metal band Powerflo, and the bass player of the thrash metal band Vio-lence. He is also a former bassist, guitarist and backing vocalist of the industrial metal band Fear Factory, and the hardcore punk/crossover thrash band Beowülf.
Fernandes Guitars is a guitar brand of Japanese marketing company Fernandes Co. Ltd. It is one of two guitar brands belonging to the company, the other being Burny Guitars which are Gibson guitar replicas. It's parent company originated in 1969 as Saito Musical Instruments before changing its name to Fernandes in 1972. The company started as a distributor of flamenco guitars sub-contracting to Japanese factories to build them. As the company grew, it expanded production to include electric guitars, bass guitars, amplifiers, and accessories to become one of the biggest guitar producers in Japan. Early manufacturing was done by Kawai Gakki whom had guitar building experience from their acquisition of Teisco in 1967. Other major Japanese manufacturers have built guitars for Fernandes under original equipment manufacturer (OEM) arrangements, including Matsumoku, Dyna Gakki, and Tōkai Gakki. From the late 1980s, lower-spec guitars have also been built in Korea and more recently China.
Matthew DeVries is an American musician. He is the rhythm guitarist in the metal band Chimaira and the former bassist in Fear Factory. During his time with Chimaira, he, along with lead guitarist Rob Arnold and singer Mark Hunter, wrote many of the band's songs. In 2005, DeVries appeared on the Roadrunner United: The All Star Sessions album, playing on two of the tracks, "Annihilation by the Hands of God" and "Constitution Down".
Divine Heresy is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California by founder of Fear Factory guitarist Dino Cazares and Devolved drummer John Sankey. Although the band's origins trace back to 2002, Divine Heresy was officially formed in 2006. The band currently consists of guitarist Cazares, former Vital Remains drummer and current World Under Blood drummer Tim Yeung, former Nile bassist Joe Payne and vocalist Travis Neal. Tommy "Vext" Cummings was fired from Divine Heresy following an onstage altercation on April 26, 2008. After holding auditions for a new frontman for the band, it was announced on August 14 that The Bereaved vocalist Travis Neal is to fill the position.
Alexei Rodriguez is a Puerto Rican drummer currently with Boston-based hard rock/heavy metal band Cortez. He is known for his time in the metal band Prong (NYC/LA), Canadian heavy metal band 3 Inches of Blood, metalcore band Walls of Jericho, as well as Trial and anarcho-punk/hardcore outfit Catharsis.
Marty O'Brien is an American bassist. He plays professionally for live touring musical acts, recording sessions, television, and film scores all of which encompass a range of genres such as pop and rock, thereby collaborating with various musical artists. O'Brien's discography is generally diverse yet also maintains a notable background and standing in the hard rock and metal music genres.
Omen is the seventh studio album by American heavy metal band Soulfly. It was recorded in November 2009 and was released first in Japan on May 18, 2010, and on May 25, 2010, in other parts of the world. It was released on May 24, 2010, in parts of Europe. It is the last album to feature bassist Bobby Burns and drummer Joe Nunez, who were replaced by Asesino frontman Tony Campos and former Borknagar drummer David Kinkade in mid-2011. At just over forty and a half minutes, it is the band's second shortest album; the shortest is Archangel at thirty-six and a half minutes.
Archangel is the tenth studio album by American heavy metal band Soulfly. It was released on August 14, 2015, through Nuclear Blast Entertainment. It is the band's shortest album to date, running thirty-six and a half minutes. It is the band's last album to feature bassist Tony Campos, who left the band shortly after recording to join Fear Factory. With a peak position of number 130 on the Billboard 200, it is Soulfly's second-lowest charting album to date. The statistic is common with the decreasing number of album sales worldwide in all genres of music, as digital releases have taken over the market. The ensuing "We Sold Our Souls To Metal" Tour to promote Archangel's release featured Soulfly playing as many as 7 songs from the album live each night, which is the first time since the Primitive Tour that the band has played the majority of a new album live.