Jason Newsted wasn't too happy when he first heard '...And Justice for All'

Jason Newsted has admitted that he was “f*cking livid” when he first heard the lack of bass on the Metallica album …And Justice for All.

Fans of Metallica were surprised by the sound of that record and it seems like it came as a surprise to the band’s bassist himself. In a new interview with Metal Hammer, Newsted revealed his anger when he first heard what …And Justice for All sounded like. “I was “f*cking livid!,” he said during his appearance on the Metal Hammer podcast. “Are you kidding me? I was ready (to go) for throats, man!”

Newsted had only just joined the band too, with …And Justice for All being his first album in the lineup after replacing the late Cliff Burton. He didn’t think anything of recording his bass lines for the album separate from the rest of the band. When the mix from Steve Thompson and Michael Barbiero came back though, his bass parts were often deeply buried.

“They mixed it how it was supposed to be mixed: there’s the bass and there’s the guitar from all the way back,” he recalled. “But Lars didn’t want (that) because it messed with his drums somehow, so when he sends the demo out to fucking Combat Records and wherever, (his instruction is) ‘Turn the bass down before you even listen to this.’

Before you even get it going, just turn the bass down. Right from the get go. Before you even start. That’s where he’s been his whole goddamn life, so why would it be any different when it came to (…And Justice For All)? They made Kill ’Em All that way, they made Ride (the Lightning) that way, they made Master (of Puppets) that way, all of them. Those two guys in a room (mimics drum beats and playing), that’s the way it always happened. (For) the most successful metal band of all time. So you argue with this shit? I’m not really sure.”

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