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Robert Trujillo's work in Metallica

ryanms3030

ryanms3030

Jan 5, 2014
35
2
Glendale, CA
#1
Does anyone think it is a good match? I am a huge Cliff era Metallica fan and the Justice album and have been since I discovered them when I was 12 (around when Justice came out). I completely gave up on them after the Black album but I decided to watch the Through the Never movie since it's on Netflix streaming now. I respect Robert's playing and actually like some of his Suicidal and Infectious Grooves stuff but he is just completely wrong for Metallica. His tone completely ruins the classic songs for me and his stage presence is way too goofy for their music.

I don't understand why Metallica thought he was the right guy. I'm guessing he just had the best chops and was the most well known guy that they could get. But I would much rather have an unknown guy that fits their style.
 
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#2
I haven't been a fan of anything post Black album, so wouldn't know how he was in regards to what they are doing now. I always liked his work with Ozzy and Black Label Society. Would agree that his tone and playing style are a little different from the past bassist for Metallica though.
 
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#6
I too have been into Metallica since Justice came out, although i belive the Black album is a Masterpiece. If you did not have any expectations from them and they were just a new band on the scene i think St.Anger was heavy as hell and a great record. The loads were also great Pop Rock records, in fact with every album they made they tweaked thier sound and changed it up, often alienating some old fans but ushering a new generation of fans into the tweaked sound and to them THAT Metallica that they first got into was the best...

I think they went with Rob because he's a seasoned Vet in the Metal game and has been around as long as they have, hes a great player and while some may find it a bit Goofy he has tremendous stage presence. When Jason joined he was hated on, even though i think he was a great player and fit the later Metallica better than Cliff could. I a huge Cliff fan but i think Jason had the best "Tone" and style for the band, its a shame they did not put him up in the mix on Justice.

Death Magnetic was Metallica bringing it back to the older way of doing things, its a great record and Rob's playing and tone fits very well IMHO and i dont see what the problem is? If you want a band to continue making great music for decades you have to let them grow.
 
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#7
I am all for bands growing. One of my favorite bands of all time is Opeth. They have been around 20 years, one original member, many line up changes and their last couple of albums are basically full on prog rock getting away from their progressive death metal roots but I still enjoy their newest stuff because it's great and an obvious progression over the years. Iron Maiden is another favorite band and their new stuff still sounds like it could be from 1982 but they are still great. I really can't get into any newer Metallica after the Black album. I actually hated the Black album at first but now in retrospect it seems awesome compared to what came after. But I am not one to bash them, I understand you are not into the same stuff when you are 50 that you were at 20. I'm pushing 40 and yeah I still like a lot of extreme music that I did when I was 15 but I have expanded my horizons a lot over the years.

As for Robert's bass tone, it's just too punchy and too much of growl for Metallica's sound in my opinion. Jason was a big change from Cliff to especially as a pick player but I still think it sounded like classic Metallica when he played the Cliff era stuff live.
 
#9
Dude at this point what is the difference?? I always respected hetfield he was the baddest mofo out there and they killed everything. I grew up on cliff and as a drummer Lars was my inspiration. Puppets was a masterpiece and everyone tried to be like them. Now a crew a straight up pansies who hide from the term metal. Robert is a bad ass no doubt but at this point I care less which makes me sad cuz I really want to care
 
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#11
wolfkeller said:
Dude at this point what is the difference?? I always respected hetfield he was the baddest mofo out there and they killed everything. I grew up on cliff and as a drummer Lars was my inspiration. Puppets was a masterpiece and everyone tried to be like them. Now a crew a straight up pansies who hide from the term metal. Robert is a bad ass no doubt but at this point I care less which makes me sad cuz I really want to care
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I guess thats my point. I don't care and I really want to care about what they are doing. I kind of hope one day they might at least reunite with Newstead and decide to put out a seriously heavy record and let Jason contribute to song writing. Kind of like when Iron Maiden got back with Dickinson after the Blaze Bayley experiment and started making great classic Maiden music again
 
#13
ryanms3030 said:
Does anyone think it is a good match? I am a huge Cliff era Metallica fan and the Justice album and have been since I discovered them when I was 12 (around when Justice came out). I completely gave up on them after the Black album but I decided to watch the Through the Never movie since it's on Netflix streaming now. I respect Robert's playing and actually like some of his Suicidal and Infectious Grooves stuff but he is just completely wrong for Metallica. His tone completely ruins the classic songs for me and his stage presence is way too goofy for their music.

I don't understand why Metallica thought he was the right guy. I'm guessing he just had the best chops and was the most well known guy that they could get. But I would much rather have an unknown guy that fits their style.
Click to expand...

I also think it's a bad fit. He actually seems to have a sense of tone and you can even hear him sometimes!

Seriously, it's a bit odd, i agree. I personally stopped following Metallica after the whole Napster thing (for right or wrong).
 
#15
I don't see how Metallica could ever go back. For better or worse they've changed. Once hetfield started to sing it was done. I myself can't understand how James thinks his tone is good??? He was the definition of metal tone now its as weak as a kitten. They said in some kinda monster that they don't know if cliff would even be the right guy now. That says it all. That young anger and aggression is gone therefore so is what made them what they were. On the topic, I think Jason's tone on garage days was the best they ever had period!!! I never liked Jason though. In fairness who could shine in the hetfield show? Cliff got away with it cuz he was one of the boys from early on, everyone else is the new guy. Funny that megadeth has remained more metal!
 
#18
First, I would like to settle a few things:
Trujillo was very well known before Metallica. In the 80's Suicidal Tendencies was huge and his work in Infectious Grooves was also well known. We played with Ozzy for a number of years before he and Newstead did a do-si-do, but is mostly remembered in this period for screwing Bob Daisley at the behest of the Osbournes.
Primus is a band with a hardcore following, and Les Claypool is beloved by a lot of players, but I'd put Rob higher in the food chain than Les.

Now to whether or not Metallica is using Rob to the fullest of his abilities. The quick answer is no. Rob is a very capable bass player as is demonstrated by his Infectious Grooves work, however anything beyond basic finger or pick playing is outside Metallica's wheelhouse. They've made made a career of being a certain kind of band, and slap or tapping techniques just don't fit into that equation. James, Kirk and Lars have done more to make more very talented bass players sound like @$$ than nearly anyone else. Cliff's brilliant playing is barely audible on their first three albums, Jason's track is literally non-existent on Justice, and anything after that is of little consequence. Rob's sound on Death Magnetic is a muddy mess, which is appropriate since the entire album is a nightmare spawn of the loudness wars. He could play better if they let him and he could sound better if they let him. I guess as he sees it he is playing bass for Metallica and getting paid a ton for it; so just smile and wave Rob, smile and wave.
 
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#20
They actually showed a lot of the try outs in "Some Kind of Monster." If you watch those he was by far the best fit, of the ones they showed at least. You can hate on Metallica these days but they did something most seasoned bands would never do, they made him a full member from the beginning. Most bands these days would just hire a touring/studio player and pay him separately. They even showed him signing contracts and the lawyer is trying to give him less "votes" and have him earn more over time and Lars stops the guy and says "that's not what the spirit of what we are doing here" and tells him he gets 25 votes like the rest of them.

I haven't seen them live since 94 so its hard to say how he fits on stage, though I have seen him with Ozzy so I know his presence is pretty unique. I thought Death Magnetic was their best record since Justice and he was part of the reason why. His tone is pretty different from Jason's, which is somewhat good and bad at the same time. I do agree about the bass tones on Garage Days, I think its the best bass tone on any Metallica record.
 

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