Jo-Anne Bench is a British musician from Leamington Spa,[1] who is best known as the bassist for Bolt Thrower. She has performed on all of the band's albums, but not on any of their demos.[1] Noted for being one of few women in the extreme metal genre, Bench has been influential to a number of other female musicians in the genre.[2]
Bench joined the band in 1987,[1] shortly after Gavin Ward switched from bass guitar to guitar.[3] At the time, she was Ward's long-time girlfriend[4] and notable as one of a few female members in a commercially successful metal band. Bolt Thrower were active until 2016, when they decided to disband following the death of drummer Martin Kearns the previous year.