Robert Trujillo's work in Metallica

[silky smoove]

As far as tone is concerned, I always really liked Jason's. It's doesn't stand out super well against the wall of heavy guitars, but it fills things out nicely (Justice album notwithstanding). The God That Failed just sounds wonderful on what I assume is one of his Sadowsky basses.

 

[JimmyM]

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.

Agreed in full, especially the first line. Rob was BY FAR the best one to show up. Was not even close.

 

[sotua]

Rob's sound on Death Magnetic is a muddy mess,

IIRC Rob didn't record the bass on Death Magnetic, that was Bob Rock. Rob joined the band after the record was done.

As far as tone is concerned, I always really liked Jason's. It's doesn't stand out super well against the wall of heavy guitars, but it fills things out nicely (Justice album notwithstanding). The God That Failed just sounds wonderful on what I assume is one of his Sadowsky basses.

Again IIRC, the Black album was recorded mostly with a Spector. The Sadowsky period thing came through after the Black album tour.

 

[JimmyM]

Rob DID record Death Magnetic. Bob Rock played on St. Anger.

 

[silky smoove]

Again IIRC, the Black album was recorded mostly with a Spector. The Sadowsky period thing came through after the Black album tour.

It very well could have been a Spector. It sounds very "active" and not unlike Spectors I've played, so I would not be surprised.

 

[sotua]

Rob DID record Death Magnetic. Bob Rock played on St. Anger.

My bad, I thought of "St Anger" when I read "death magnetic". Probably because of the instant association between StAnger and "sonic abortion"

 

[Kmonk]

I like the the music even though I feel that the guitar and bass playing are very simplistic and lacking in creativity. I absolutely can't stand Hetfield's voice. Having seen "Some Kind Of Monster" several times, I do believe that based on the players who they auditioned, Trujillo was probably the best fit.

 

[dedpool1052]

It very well could have been a Spector. It sounds very "active" and not unlike Spectors I've played, so I would not be surprised.

according to the sep/oct '91 issue of BP, Jason stated that he used a spector on the entire black album, with the exception of "the unforgiven" which he stated sounded best with a '58 or '59 p-bass. for the sadowsky basses, in the '96 interview he did with BP, he did the "load" album with his spector again, but used a zon fretless for "until it sleeps". he also stated that he did not get his sadowskys until after "load" was already mixed.

 

[gully_jones]

Honestly, if he could pull it off, Hetfield would put a roadie on stage with a bass not even plugged in. I feel like all 3 bassist's talent was wasted in that band.

 

[tbz]

Les auditioned just prior to Robert being hired. They talked about it on their documentary.

I'm 99% sure you are wrong here. I know for a fact he auditioned for them in 1986 when Cliff died, that's essentially been common knowledge since Les and Primus hit the scene.

Haven't heard anything about him auditioning later.

You have to remember he was already an established "brand" by the time Jason left. It would make no sense to try and mix that into Metallica. You'd have people asking for Jerry and Mud at a Metallica show.

When he auditioned in 1986 he was a virtual nobody. It made sense then, not when Jason left.

 

[jallenbass]

Your right. I stand corrected.

 

[mikeswals]

Why is his hair always wet?

My guess would be from the heaters Metallica reportedly always keeps on. Old interviews from Newstead said the band likes keeping the heat on onstage (and tons of sweat shorting out his instruments as a result).

 

[mpayne86]

I have to say i think Robert Trujillo's joining of Metallica threw me off. Not who i expected them to choose, yes he was the best choice. It really did good for his career, but its like Metallica + Robert Trujillo.

 

[marko138]

From what they showed of the auditions, Rob OWNED that audition. They couldn't have possibly chose anyone else based on what they made public.

Besides that, I love Rob's style. He's a boss on stage.

 

[Jeff Sarsippius]

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.

GREAT WORDS WELL SAID

A shame how Lars and James are such control freaks; it's obvious. I am very impassioned on the Trujillo/Metallica threads because I think while the "Whiskey Warlord" looks goofy on stage at times, the dude can play ANYTHING and no one can say that he has lousy tone when he could be AUDIBLE prior to joining Metallica. I have been a fan since just before Cliff died....his career in Metallica was sadly very short, and I think it was odd for people (James ESPECIALLY) to make him THE Metallica bassist: Jason and Rob have both been in the band longer.

 

[socialleper]

GREAT WORDS WELL SAID

A shame how Lars and James are such control freaks; it's obvious. I am very impassioned on the Trujillo/Metallica threads because I think while the "Whiskey Warlord" looks goofy on stage at times, the dude can play ANYTHING and no one can say that he has lousy tone when he could be AUDIBLE prior to joining Metallica. I have been a fan since just before Cliff died....his career in Metallica was sadly very short, and I think it was odd for people (James ESPECIALLY) to make him THE Metallica bassist: Jason and Rob have both been in the band longer.

Unfortunately that's kind of on Metallica, they've been riding their first four albums for nearly 30 years now and part of that legacy is Cliff. Randy Rhodes will always be part of Ozzy's legacy no matter how great the guitar players he hires are. That's just how dying at a high point in your career works.
When you can actually hear Rob, his playing is dead on, and his tone can be very good, although I don't like the distortion he uses for For Whom The Bell Tolls. If Metallica could wrap their heads around what type of band they want to be, if they wanted to expand themselves, Rob's abilities could take them into a whole new direction, all they'd have to do is be willing to take those steps, and I don't think they have the courage to do it. They get nailed for trying new things, but only because the "new" is a pussed out or poorly recorded version of what they've already done. I bet they could do something interesting with their existing speed by adding more technical elements, or instead of slowing down in a weak way, try slowing down in a super heavy doom metal way.
If Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Testament, and Exodus can keep finding way to stay relevant with their new material, why can't Metallica (or Megadeth for that matter)?

 

[codycon96]

I think that Robert is a great player. It's cool that Metallica decided to change things up a little bit, but still have a veteran of the scene come and join. it's almost like if Touché Amoré needed a new singer, and Ian MacKaye auditioned. The name alone is awesome, but he's also got the recognition.

 

[marko138]

GREAT WORDS WELL SAID

A shame how Lars and James are such control freaks; it's obvious. I am very impassioned on the Trujillo/Metallica threads because I think while the "Whiskey Warlord" looks goofy on stage at times, the dude can play ANYTHING and no one can say that he has lousy tone when he could be AUDIBLE prior to joining Metallica. I have been a fan since just before Cliff died....his career in Metallica was sadly very short, and I think it was odd for people (James ESPECIALLY) to make him THE Metallica bassist: Jason and Rob have both been in the band longer.

Well said. I'm not a big fan of the vast majority of Metallica's music but there are a number of their songs that I really like. Having said that...I LOVE Rob T's work. I'm not a huge fan of any of Rob's bands but I love how he commands a stage and his look and tone.

 

[JimmyM]

Metallica has the absolute worst fans of any band ever.

 

[Haji]

Funny how this same thing cuts across so many different endeavors. I see exactly the same situation in the industry I work in, and it's everywhere else too.

BLUF: I'm sure Metallica loses sleep every night being worried about our opinions. Its awfully difficult to worry about what people don't like when you sell out: every time they play, everywhere they play.

For the record, RT is one of my all time favorite bass players. Dude's a monster.