It is well known that Rush’s bassist, singer and keyboardist Geddy Lee is a huge fan of Progressive Rock, the subgenre that inspired his band the most. However, he has a broad musical taste and although he is not a big fan of Heavy Metal, he does like a few bands from the genre and over the years has praised two American ones.
The 2 Heavy Metal bands Geddy Lee said he likes
Metallica
The first one is Metallica, a band Geddy Lee already praised back in the 1980s and that he almost became the producer of for their album “Master of Puppets.” “Most metal bands sound the same. There’s a frightening lack of desire to break from the standard metal cliches. But I like Metallica. They’re a great metal band. They’re real good and honest at what they do. In some ways, they remind me of Rush. They’re trying to make their metal complicated, but also entertaining,” Geddy told Hit Parader magazine in 1986.
Shortly before praising the band, Geddy was considered to be the producer of their groundbreaking album “Master of Puppets” (1986). He was a good friend of Cliff Burnstein, Metallica’s manager, who was the one that had signed Rush to their first American record deal. “It’s sort of true. There was some discussion with Lars, back in the day, about working with them. This was before ‘Master of Puppets’ came out, I think? There was talk, you know. I was friends with their management and I met Lars back in England. I remember going to see them here in Toronto when they played at the Masonic Temple.”
“That’s when the original bass player was still happening. You know, before that tragedy. And, you know, we talked about it and I liked their band a lot at that time. But it just never came together. (…) I like Metallica, I’ve got great respect for them. But, you won’t hear too much speed metal or death metal in my house,” Geddy Lee told Vice in 2015. Curiously, Bernstein was the same person who gave Neil Peart‘s number to Lars Ulrich around that time so that he could ask for some advice about gear.
Geddy Lee likes “For Whom The Bells Tolls”
When Geddy was part of CBC Music‘s “It’s a Jam or Not a Jam”, in which songs were played and he had to say whether he liked them or not, he praised Metallica’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls.” “I know that bell… Well, this one of those songs where the bass line is really doubling the guitar parts. So it’s not… it’s basically contributing to the ‘heaviosity’ of the track. The purpose of the bass line in this is to add weight. It’s got a bit of a twang, it’s got a lot of heaviness. So that genre requires that Heavy Metal pomp and that’s what the bass line does. It serves after it. So I would say it’s kind of a jam,” Geddy Lee said in 2019 (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage).
The late bassist Cliff Burton was a huge fan of Geddy Lee, and, as revealed by Kirk Hammett, when the Canadian musician went to see them play in the ’80s, Burton was extremely nervous about having to play in front of him. “Geddy Lee showed up at one of our shows on the ‘Ride The Lightning’ tour. We played Toronto, and all of a sudden we got a message backstage that Geddy Lee was in the audience. And Cliff Burton just freaked out.”
“He started pacing, he started smoking pot, and he was, like, ‘Oh my God! Geddy! Geddy Lee!’ He could not settle down. He was so nervous and just happy at the same time that Geddy Lee was there. And then Ross (Halfin – Photographer) tells him that Geezer Butler is out there one night. Same thing — he starts pacing around, super nervous, grabs a beer.” Kirk Hammett said in 2022.
Tool
Geddy Lee is also a fan of Tool, which he also praised when being interviewed on CBC’s “Jam or Not a Jam”. Their track “Schism” was played and he said: “This is a jam already. You just have to give an odd time signature and I’m all in. This is one I want to turn up, I’m digging it. I don’t remember who it is, but I heard it before”. After being informed it was Tool, he said: “Oh, yeah. Well, there you go,” he told CBC in 2019.
That track was part of the band’s third album “Lateralus”, released in 2001 and Geddy Lee had the chance to perform with Tools’ drummer Danny Carey in 2023. The musician joined Lee and Alex Lifeson at the Taylor Hawkins’ tribute show. He was the one who played the drums with them when they were performing Rush’s “YYZ”. He is a fan of Carey’s drummer and already said he is one of the best in the world. “There are so many (great drummers). We’re living in a time rich with great drummers. I love Danny Carey’s playing. I love Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers).”
Geddy Lee continued:
“Very different to Neil (Peart), but the man has so much power. I heard this drummer the other day, I think her name is Anika (Nilles). She played on the last Jeff Beck tour and I thought she was terrific,” Geddy Lee told The Guardian in 2023. Two years later, Anika who was announced as Rush’s touring drummer. Geddy is a good friend of the members of Tool, especially Maynard James Kennan. Once when asked if he knew any other Rock stars who also loved wine, he mentioned Maynard James Keenan.
“There are many, but I can think of two guys right off hand who got bitten by the bug and started their own wineries. There’s Maynard from the band Tool who has started a winery in Arizona. Also, Les Claypool from Primus is now making his own wine as well. Pinot Noir, I think, from his winery in Sonoma,” Geddy Lee told TidingsMag.com in 2011.
Although he didn’t have the chance to play with Tool yet, his bandmate Alex Lifeson had. He is also a fan of the band and one of his favorite songs by them is “Third Eye”, from the album “Ænima”, released in 1996.
“Adam Jones is a fabulous guitarist and songwriter, and Tool are such a powerful band. You know it’s Tool when you hear them, because they’re intensely dynamic, yet heavy, even when their playing is light. I listened to this album over and over; I don’t do that very often. Tool have an interesting, intelligent approach to song construction and lyrics. It’s just too bad we don’t hear from them more often,” Lifeson told Guitar World. Back in 2023 he joined them on stage in Toronto and played “Jambi”, from their fourth record “10,000 Days” (2006).