Metallica have spent the last little while celebrating 30 years of The Black Album, and between the 53-song covers compilation, album reissue and retrospective photo book, the metal icons' latest bit of reflection finds them admitting that they "weren't equipped" to deal with the exit of bassist Jason Newsted.
The Black Album — Metallica's self-titled fifth studio LP which was released in 1991 — was Newsted's second with the group, after having his bass tracks reduced to near-inaudible levels on 1988's ...And Justice for All.
After handling the low end through the band's grungier mid-'90s Load & Reload albums, 2001 saw Newsted propose Metallica take a year-long hiatus, on which he would turn his focus to side project Echobrain. His Metallica bandmates were not receptive to such a suggestion, and as Lars Ulrich put it in 2004 documentary Some Kind of Monster, Newsted then "fucking left the band."
"If you think about it, Jason is the only member of Metallica who's ever left willingly, and that in itself is a statistic," Ulrich told Apple Music's Zane Lowe during an hour-long 40th anniversary interview. "And the resentment from James and I was just so... [We felt like] you can't do that. You can only leave if we want you to leave. And then we weren't equipped at the time to do a deep dive into why he was leaving. And so, of course, now you can see 20 years later, it makes complete sense."
"We write the songs; we make the decisions; we do all of it," Ulrich recalled of their relationship with Newsted. "You have no creative outlet in this band; you have no creative voice. And then when you go and do something that gives you satisfaction and a way for you to express yourself to the rest of the world, then we get fucking pissed at you. And then that resentment then goes to you leaving the band. I mean, that's kind of Psychiatry 101 here. But we weren't equipped to see that side of it. Twenty years later, so now it makes complete sense."
Outside of debunked rumours that he would join Megadeth, Newsted has recently appeared to unbox Metallica's Black Album anniversary reissue, and Ulrich now feels much more appreciative of his contributions to the band. You can watch Metallica's interview with Apple Music below.
"Jason gave 14 years — every day, every performance, he was there always... I mean, we always used to joke. It's, like, 'He's so fired up. Come on, dude. Slow down.' He was the fucking first guy in and the last guy out," the drummer explained. "He was signing autographs when we were driving by waving on the way out of the buildings. I mean, he really was. And I now [am] finally equipped to appreciate every moment that he gave. And we have, I think, so much respect for each other now, so much appreciation."
Discover how Canada helped bring Metallica's Black Album to the world, ahead of diving into Exclaim!'s Metallica Blacklist ranking.
The Black Album — Metallica's self-titled fifth studio LP which was released in 1991 — was Newsted's second with the group, after having his bass tracks reduced to near-inaudible levels on 1988's ...And Justice for All.
After handling the low end through the band's grungier mid-'90s Load & Reload albums, 2001 saw Newsted propose Metallica take a year-long hiatus, on which he would turn his focus to side project Echobrain. His Metallica bandmates were not receptive to such a suggestion, and as Lars Ulrich put it in 2004 documentary Some Kind of Monster, Newsted then "fucking left the band."
"If you think about it, Jason is the only member of Metallica who's ever left willingly, and that in itself is a statistic," Ulrich told Apple Music's Zane Lowe during an hour-long 40th anniversary interview. "And the resentment from James and I was just so... [We felt like] you can't do that. You can only leave if we want you to leave. And then we weren't equipped at the time to do a deep dive into why he was leaving. And so, of course, now you can see 20 years later, it makes complete sense."
"We write the songs; we make the decisions; we do all of it," Ulrich recalled of their relationship with Newsted. "You have no creative outlet in this band; you have no creative voice. And then when you go and do something that gives you satisfaction and a way for you to express yourself to the rest of the world, then we get fucking pissed at you. And then that resentment then goes to you leaving the band. I mean, that's kind of Psychiatry 101 here. But we weren't equipped to see that side of it. Twenty years later, so now it makes complete sense."
Outside of debunked rumours that he would join Megadeth, Newsted has recently appeared to unbox Metallica's Black Album anniversary reissue, and Ulrich now feels much more appreciative of his contributions to the band. You can watch Metallica's interview with Apple Music below.
"Jason gave 14 years — every day, every performance, he was there always... I mean, we always used to joke. It's, like, 'He's so fired up. Come on, dude. Slow down.' He was the fucking first guy in and the last guy out," the drummer explained. "He was signing autographs when we were driving by waving on the way out of the buildings. I mean, he really was. And I now [am] finally equipped to appreciate every moment that he gave. And we have, I think, so much respect for each other now, so much appreciation."
Discover how Canada helped bring Metallica's Black Album to the world, ahead of diving into Exclaim!'s Metallica Blacklist ranking.
