Honorable Mention: Justin Chancellor, Tool

Let’s show some love for the bassists, eh? Granted, Tool’s debut full-length Undertow already won them an enormous following, and we have nothing against original bassist Paul D’Amour. But Chancellor’s bass playing quickly became a significant part of Tool’s progressive and complex sound. Just listen to a song like “Schism” if you don’t believe us.

Honorable Mention: Howard Jones, Killswitch Engage

Killswitch Engage broke through in a big way with their sophomore album, Alive or Just Breathing, which eventually went gold. A big part of that was due to Jesse Leach’s versatile voice, which practically helped invent metalcore. However, depression led him to quit the band just as they were breaking big. While Blood Has Been Shed singer Howard Jones didn’t seem like an obvious choice to replace him initially, he fit the band like a glove, and  the band’s two subsequent albums, The End of Heartache and As Daylight Dies, added to the band’s gold success. Jones exited the band as well after a 10-year run with them, and their first album with Leach back in the fold is definitely one of the most-anticipated albums of the year.

Honorable Mention: John Bush, Anthrax

Sure, everyone is happy about Joey Belladonna being back in Anthrax, especially since Worship Music ended up being an amazing album. However, there are still many fans who wish John Bush was still in Anthrax, or at least have a soft spot for albums like Sound Of White Noise and We’ve Come For You All. Hell, even Scott Ian originally wanted Bush to rejoin Anthrax before settling on Belladonna to eventually return. And though Anthrax never matched the success of their old days when Bush was in the group, the edge and power Bush’s voice brought to both newer and classic material won many loyal fans over.