Alessandro Venturella | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Also known as |
|
Born | 12 April 1984 |
Origin | United Kingdom |
Genres | |
Occupation(s) |
|
Instruments |
|
Years active | 2000s–present |
Associated acts |
Alessandro "Alex" "V-man" Venturella is a British heavy metal musician and guitar tech who has served as a lead guitarist for Krokodil and Cry for Silence. He was previously the touring guitar tech for Mastodon‘s Brent Hinds, Coheed and Cambria, Architects, and Fightstar. He has since switched from being a lead guitarist to a bass player for the first time in a band when he joined Slipknot after being their guitar tech.
On 7 October 2014, frontman Corey Taylor of Slipknot was surprised by the fact that Venturella had been identified playing bass in a Slipknot video for the song "The Devil in I". Venturella's unique left-hand tattoo had been reported by Metal Chapel News, despite all the musicians wearing masks in the video. Taylor said of Venturella and the video's drummer, "They’re not official band members yet, but they are people who play with the band... Time will tell whether or not they’re, like, full members." On Oct, 25th and 26th, Venturella performed with the band live for the first time at Knotfest 2014.
On 3 December 2014, Slipknot's former drum tech posted a photograph of a personnel list of the band on tour, showing that bassist Venturella and drummer Jay Weinberg were touring with the band. Venturella was eventually officially revealed to be the bassist by Jim Root in an interview with Ultimate-Guitar on 13 May 2015.
On 2 August 2015, Venturella had an unknown medical emergency for which he was rushed to the hospital during a show in Hartford, Connecticut. The following day, it was revealed that Venturella had suffered from dehydration during the show the previous night, and will be returning to the stage on 4 August 2015, in Mansfield, Massachusetts, where he performed back stage. He was honoured by the other 3 bands, (Lamb of God, Bullet for My Valentine and Motionless in White) that night.