Lars Ulrich... How dare he!

[48thStreetCustom]

Was Lars Ulrich to Blame for Lack of Bass on Metallica's '... And Justice For All'?

“We had to get the drum sound up the way he had it,” Thompson says. “I wasn’t a fan of it. So now he goes, ‘See the bass guitar?’ and I said, ‘Yeah, great part, man. He 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 [Metallica guitarist James] Hetfield and said, ‘He’s serious?’ It just blew me away.”

The shame of it, according to Thompson, was that former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted had put the performance of lifetime to tape...

Fast forward to 2009, and Steve Thompson was on hand for Metallica’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction. “They flew us out and I’m sitting with Lars,” Thompson recalled. “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– for the lack of bass.”​

 

[rtav]

Was Lars Ulrich to Blame for Lack of Bass on Metallica's '... And Justice For All'?

“We had to get the drum sound up the way he had it,” Thompson says. “I wasn’t a fan of it. So now he goes, ‘See the bass guitar?’ and I said, ‘Yeah, great part, man. He 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 [Metallica guitarist James] Hetfield and said, ‘He’s serious?’ It just blew me away.”

The shame of it, according to Thompson, was that former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted had put the performance of lifetime to tape.​

I thought this was a discussion with Mike Portnoy about Myung's levels from his Dream Theater days.

 

[petrus61]

Sucky drummer, sucky little person and all around douche. This story goes way back. It's nice to have confirmed what everyone suspected all along: that EGO comes first in Metallica.

I dig some of their songs, but I don't know if there's ever been a more arrogant, self absorbed pack of phonies than Metallica.

 

[letsrumble]

Thompson should've set the story straight a long time ago.

 

[Frozen J]

Try this.

 

[twocargar]

My favorite Metallica album, so interesting article. I'm going to check out that YouTube link too. I'd be happy to buy an officially remixed version of this album.

That might be a good marketing ploy for them considering they are bankrupt (if I heard correctly). Rush had Vapor Trails remixed and released it. I think Metallica should do the same with AJFA.

 

[Tupac]

Why has the lack of bass on AJFA become such a... known thing? There's so many albums with no bass, why do people pick on that one?

 

[marko138]

Always blame Lars.

 

[Bryan R. Tyler]

Why has the lack of bass on AJFA become such a... known thing? There's so many albums with no bass, why do people pick on that one?

Many albums have quiet bass- AJFA really sounds like there's no bass on a lot of it. It was also a marked difference from their previous albums where the bass was not just clearly audible, it often played a leading role in many of their songs (Burton writing a lot of that music had a lot to do with this I'm sure).

 

[HeavyAxe]

Jason can rest knowing his old band is just a washed up, Disney channel-esque, teeny bopper boy band consisting of three sellouts and a creatively deprived bass player.

Too harsh maybe, but I still remember my pain upon listening to 90s Metallica. While I was born in 97, somehow I ended up listening to Metallica in chronological order. Each album got better and better then they stumbled a little on AJFA but was still good. Then the Black album comes along and you know...its tolerable, but its basically the Nickelback of the day. Then the dark days came...Load/Reload/St. Anger

 

[friendlybass]

I think Lars is the reason I can't get laid

 

[Schlyder]

LOL MetalliKidsontheBlock

 

[petrus61]

Many albums have quiet bass- AJFA really sounds like there's no bass on a lot of it. It was also a marked difference from their previous albums where the bass was not just clearly audible, it often played a leading role in many of their songs (Burton writing a lot of that music had a lot to do with this I'm sure).

Also, wasn't that Jason's debut album? That would have made it all the more glaring.

 

[Bryan R. Tyler]

Yup. If you watch any documentaries on them, video footage from that time shows they were neither too keen on getting a new bassist or with him as an excited young guy joining his favorite band.

 

[AaronVonRock]

I remember Justice came out when I was a senior in high school. Three of my friends and I were so stoked. We made "special preparations" before we all listened to it together for the first time. We bought the tape, drove out of the city limits, parked the car, got in the right right frame of mind, and popped the tape in the deck. Once Blackened kicked it in, we all just looked at each other. We thought the tape was messed up. No bass and that terrible clicky bass drum. Great songs, awful production. Then we all went to the concert together a couple of months later. It was on Super Bowl Sunday 1989. Good times.

 

[HeavyAxe]

Thought this might be relevant to the thread!

 

[HeavyAxe]

I hate to go away from the AJFA topic but seriously...



I'm all for exploring new musical directions, but come on! Changing that much in less than a decade? In my honest opinion, the only explanation is $$$. I still love Metallica's early stuff and the dudes in the band seem like OK guys, but they totally destroyed any creative credibility they had. Jeez, why do I still care about this?

 

[Dave W]

Also, wasn't that Jason's debut album? That would have made it all the more glaring.

Garage Days Re-Revisted was his first, if you count it.

 

[AaronVonRock]

Why has the lack of bass on AJFA become such a... known thing? There's so many albums with no bass, why do people pick on that one?

I think it was a big deal because it was Metallica's first full-length album after Cliff died. Cliff was already considered one of the top bassists in the metal scene and fans were really curious (and ultimately disappointed) what the new stuff would sound like without Cliff.

 

[AaronVonRock]

Garage Days Re-Revisted was his first, if you count it.

And the bass on that EP was killer.