Joe DiBiase

Joe DiBiase — born in the United States in 1957 — was Fates Warning's founding bassist, in the band from 1982 to 1996. His time covers the whole formation of the group's identity: from the early heavy metal records with British influence, such as Night on Bröcken (1984) and Awaken the Guardian (1986), to the consolidation of progressive metal on Perfect Symmetry (1989), Parallels (1991) and Inside Out (1994). His function in that repertoire is less obvious than it appears. When compositions run through irregular metres and do not return to a fixed chorus, the bass stops being accompaniment and becomes structure — it is what gives the listener a reference in passages where guitar and drums are working different patterns. DiBiase plays with steadiness and little ornament, exactly what that function demands. He left in 1996, when the band completely reshaped the line-up to record A Pleasant Shade of Gray (1997), and was replaced by Joey Vera.