Martin Mendez vs. Dan Briggs – Greatest Metal Bassist, Round 1

Fellow metal aficionados, we present you with another brain-stabbing battle. In this Greatest Metal Bassist round, both competitors constantly strive for perfection while rarely missing their targets.

Opeth's Martin Mendez was recruited into the Swedish progressive death metal band in 1997. Since Mendez's involvement with Opeth, the group has unveiled masterpiece after masterpiece from 'My Arms, Your Hearse' to 'Heritage.' During his tenure with Opeth, Mendez has been extremely versatile, flowing seamlessly between the band's death metal, acoustic, progressive rock and highly experimental styles.

Between the Buried and Me's Dan Briggs has emerged as one of metal's most valuable 21st century musicians. Briggs acts as a powerful agent of change within the band, having encouraged BTBAM to explore insanely experimental concepts since 'Alaska' was unleashed in 2005. BTBAM have grown into legitimate visionaries since, and Briggs deserves a great deal of credit for that shift. Plus, if you want to experience Briggs' technical skills, just type 'Viridian' into Google.

Martin Mendez or Dan Briggs? Vote for your favorite bassist in the poll below! Voting for this round closes on Sunday, Sept. 29 at 11:59PM ET. Fans can vote once per hour, so keep coming back to make sure that your favorite metal musician wins!