Brandon Sigmund - Bass

Brandon Sigmund is an American bassist best known for his work with San Francisco Bay Area metal band Hostility and for briefly touring with Machine Head in 2007.

Reliable information about Sigmund's date and place of birth has not been publicly documented.

Hostility

Sigmund's primary band throughout his musical career was Hostility, a metal band formed in Novato, California, in 1996.

He joined the band as bassist in 1998 and remained a member for the rest of its existence.

Hostility developed a style combining elements of thrash, death and groove metal and became part of the San Francisco Bay Area's heavy music scene during the late 1990s and 2000s.

Sigmund appeared on the band's early recordings and played bass on Another Statistic, released in 2001.

In 2006, Hostility released their debut full-length album, Uncompromised. The album was mixed by producer Colin Richardson, whose previous work included bands such as Machine Head, Slipknot and Sepultura.

Hostility continued performing and recording throughout the following years, with Sigmund remaining the band's bassist.

Their second full-length album, Set in Stone, was released in 2010.

Machine Head

In 2007, an unexpected opportunity brought Sigmund into Machine Head's touring lineup.

Machine Head were preparing for their North American The Black Tyranny Tour when bassist Adam Duce broke his leg in a dirt bike accident in Redding, California.

With Duce unable to perform, Machine Head recruited Sigmund from fellow Bay Area band Hostility as a temporary bassist for the tour.

The tour began in September 2007 and featured Machine Head alongside Arch Enemy, Throwdown and Sanctity.

Sigmund's first documented performances with Machine Head took place in early September. On September 7, he performed with the band at the Glass House in Pomona, California, where fan-filmed footage captured him playing "Aesthetics of Hate".

Although Sigmund could handle Duce's bass parts, Machine Head also needed someone capable of reproducing Duce's high backing vocals.

Roadrunner Records A&R executive Monte Conner suggested Sanctity vocalist and guitarist Jared MacEachern, whose band was already opening the tour.

MacEachern consequently performed double duty during the tour – playing with Sanctity and later returning to the stage to provide backing vocals for Machine Head while Sigmund handled the bass.

The arrangement created an unusual connection in Machine Head history: six years later, MacEachern successfully auditioned to become the band's permanent bassist following Duce's departure.

Adam Duce Returns

Sigmund's position in Machine Head was always intended to be temporary.

As Adam Duce recovered from his injury, he was expected to return to the band in time for their performance at the Loud Park festival in Japan on October 20, 2007.

Sigmund therefore remained a touring substitute rather than becoming an official member of Machine Head and did not appear on any of the band's studio recordings.

Despite the short duration of his involvement, he helped Machine Head complete an important North American headline tour during the highly successful touring cycle for The Blackening.

Return to Hostility

Following his temporary stint with Machine Head, Sigmund continued with Hostility.

The band remained active on the West Coast, performing live and working on new material with drummer Blake Ferris joining the lineup in 2008.

Hostility released Set in Stone in 2010, with Sigmund once again handling bass.

The band eventually came to an end in 2011, bringing Sigmund's approximately thirteen-year tenure with Hostility to a close.

Later Career

Unlike many of Machine Head's other temporary touring musicians, Sigmund does not appear to have subsequently joined a long succession of other established metal bands.

His documented musical career is primarily associated with Hostility, where he spent more than a decade, and his brief period as Machine Head's touring bassist in 2007.

His place in Machine Head history remains closely connected to The Blackening era and the 2007 Black Tyranny Tour, when he temporarily stepped into Adam Duce's position and helped the band continue touring while their regular bassist recovered from injury.