The Metallica member James Hetfield described as “the sacrificial lamb”
Being part of a world-famous band comes with its inherent obstacles. Yet, dealing with these and joining a widely influential outfit in the wake of a member dying is a Herculean challenge that few have managed to navigate successfully. When Jason Newsted joined Metallica in 1986 as their new bassist, he was up against it, and much to his credit, he helped the group continue to rise and hit a level of fame no one could have imagined in their early years when they were pioneering thrash metal.
The reason for Newsted joining the San Francisco group was that Metallica’s bass-playing force of nature, Cliff Burton, tragically died when their tour bus skidded violently and threw him out the window and then collapsed on top of him in Sweden. A brutal tragedy, heightened by the fact he was only 24 years old, left the band in a state of all-encompassing shock and heartbreak that would take them years to get over.
Adding to the consequent perplexity, Burton’s distinctive lead-style approach gave Metallica’s sound another unique power source, supplementing the chugging guitars and Lars Ulrich’s powerful rhythms. This meant that if they eventually decided to carry on, they needed someone to fill his boots and, at the very least, provide a similar dose of low-end muscle.
When the group eventually elected to carry on, believing that their late friend would want them to do so and securing his family’s blessing, they set about finding a replacement. As their future hung in the balance, this was an arduous period, and they needed to get it right. Around 40 people were auditioned, including another bass hero, Primus leader Les Claypool, a childhood friend of guitarist Kirk Hammett.
However, former Flotsam and Jetsam man Newsted secured the job. A big fan of Metallica, he knew he needed to do something extraordinary to beat the competition, and so he learned their entire setlist before the audition. Following this life-changing trial, the band invited him to the local San Francisco haunt Tommy’s Joynt. They then settled on him as Burton’s replacement. In an indication of the hazing he would regularly receive when in Metallica, he was initiated by tricking him into eating a ball of pure wasabi.
While tremendous success played a crucial part in thrash becoming a concerted force in the late 1980s, Newsted’s first album with the group, 1988’s …And Justice for All, was criticised for its thin bass tone compared to what came before. Although he and Steve Thompson, who mixed the album, have claimed this was due to Ulrich’s direction, Newsted was always going to be up against it, considering Burton’s significance to Metallica’s early success and in providing them with some of their greatest moments.
For many, Newstead paled in comparison to Burton throughout his time in Metallica, which is a fair point, but they’re also wholly different bassists. Regardless of the detractors, the vindictive hazing from his bandmates, and frontman Hetfield and Ulrich’s dictatorial grip on proceedings, Newstead stood fast and was instrumental in their 1991 hit album, Metallica, which saw them break into the mainstream and become a global force, watering down their thrash to widespread commercial success.
Naturally, Newsted grew weary of Metallica. At the start of the new millennium, he proposed that the band take a year off to focus on his side project, Echobrain, especially as Metallica was struggling with mounting personal tensions, Hetfield’s addictions, and creative differences. His request was denied, which became the final nail in the coffin. Newsted officially left the band in January 2001, though he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with them eight years later.
Newsted has always been frank about his departure from Metallica, with much conjecture from the others concerning the lead-up to his quitting. One topic that constantly crops up is Hetfield blocking him from doing Echobrain, despite himself contributing to Corrosion of Conformity material and other outside projects. Somewhat cynically, reflecting on what happened, Hetfield has described their old bassist as “the sacrificial lamb”, whose departure gave way to a much better period. It’s not necessarily true, though, as St. Anger had yet to happen.
Outlining the strict nature of life in Metallica, he told Rolling Stone in 2012: “The metal militia, dude! We’ve all discovered there is freedom through structure. There has to be some structure in my life, at least. I think Lars has discovered that a lot. You could look at Jason [Newsted] as the sacrificial lamb. I didn’t want him doing 12 side projects: ‘You’re in Metallica’. But it was so unconnected when he left [in 2001], so compartmentalised.” Hetfield maintained that, with ensuing bassist Robert Trujillo, Metallica is their collective solo project and the best way for the four of them to express their emotions. In reality, they’ve never quite topped the Burton period.
