METALLICA – “Lars” Turned Down Jason’s Bass On ‘Justice’

Ever wondered who removed Jason Newsted’s incredible bass playing on “…And Justice For All” record? According to engineer Steve Thompson it was none other than Lars Ulrich who turned down Jason Newsted’s bass.

Ultimate-Guitar.com got the scoop in 2015:

While Metallica’s 1988 album . . . And Justice For All is considered one of the band’s classics, it has been criticized almost since the day it was released for the lack of any bass guitar on the record. Jason Newsted’s playing is almost inaudible — and now we know who’s to blame. In a interview with one of the album’s mixers, Steve Thompson, revealed that drummer Lars Ulrich was the culprit. Ulrich apparently wanted his drums to sound a certain way — even if it meant cutting out the bass.

Thompson explained, “We had to get the drum sound up the way he had it. I wasn’t a fan of it. So now he goes, ‘See the bass guitar?’ and I said, ‘Yeah, great part, man. (Newsted) killed it.’

He said, ‘I want you to bring down the bass where you can barely, audibly hear it in the mix.’

I said, ‘You’re kidding. Right?’ He said, ‘No. Bring it down.’ I bring it down to that level and he says, ‘Now drop it down another 5 dB.’ I turned around and looked at (guitarist James) Hetfield and said, ‘He’s serious?’ It just blew me away.”

Thompson added that a terrific performance by Newsted was wasted due to Ulrich’s meddling, saying, “My only regret is that we didn’t have enough time to at least mix it the way we heard it . . . It was all there but I think they were looking for more garagey-type sound without bass. And the bass was great; it was perfect.”

Thompson is speaking out now because he’s tired of being blamed for the lack of bass. He remarked, “They flew us out (to Metallica’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction) and I’m sitting with Lars. He goes, ‘Hey, what happened to the bass in Justice?’ He actually asked me that. I wanted to cold cock him right there. It was a shame because I’m the one getting the s**t for the lack of bass.”

Ulrich told us a while back that fans were extremely vocal about the sound of the album at the time of its release: “I mean it was unbelievable, you know, …And Justice For All. People were saying, ‘That’s the worst-sounding record, where’s the bass, and it sounds like it was recorded in a garage, and…’ But, you know, listen, you do the best you can in the moment and then you move on.”

. . . And Justice For All was Newsted’s first full-length album with Metallica after he replaced late bassist Cliff Burton who died in a bus crash while on tour with the band in 1986.

The album was the first by the band to sell more than a million copies and featured their first radio hit, “One,” which was also the basis of the group’s first music video.

Now fans can hear the song remixed in 2017 with the bass added back to the mix by
TMD’s Randy “Rocket Cody. This post has already received over 15,000 plays.

Listen below!

Speaking of Jason, he’ll be calling into the Metal Injection Livecast tonight at 5pm eastern time. You can talk to the former Metallica bassist, who will be discussing his new art show. Don’t miss it!!

https://metallica.com/