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Metallica: Some kind of Monster. Bass players.


TimR

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It's on Netflix at the moment. A very interesting 2 part - 2 hours each - documentary following the band.

 

Some very emotional scenes from Dave Moustaine - anyone who's been asked to leave a band and then followed them from a distance may relate. 

 

But my overwhelming view from the 1st hour was getting rid of Jason Newstead almost destroyed them. 

 

Without a bass player the whole band seemed to lack something. Not withstanding the issues Hetfeild was going through, that probably were instrumental in the treatment of Jason, a new bass player sooner should have been their main focus.

 

Or is a bass player someone who just plays what the guitarist tells them to? 😉

Edited by TimR
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  • TimR changed the title to Metallica: Some kind of Monster. Bass players.
25 minutes ago, TimR said:

It's on Netflix at the moment. A very interesting 2 part - 2 hours each - documentary following the band.

 

Some very emotional scenes from Dave Moustaine - anyone who's been asked to leave a band and then followed them from a distance may relate. 

 

But my overwhelming view from the 1st hour was getting rid of Jason Newstead almost destroyed them. 

 

Without a bass player the whole band seemed to lack something. Not withstanding the issues Lars was going through, that probably were instrumental in the treatment of Jason, a new bass player sooner should have been their main focus.

 

Or is a bass player someone who just plays what the guitarist tells them to? 😉

They've been on record since as saying they really did him wrong and have massive respect for the way he handled them shitting on him for the fifteen years he was in the band; not to mention Lars basically admitting that the model Jason envisaged for Metallica as regards potential to do side projects etc is the one that exists now. So while he hasn't been in the band for 20-odd years his influence on them is still being felt.

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I think in many respects Newstead was the whipping boy of the band, the And Justice debacle aside I remember reading stories about how the other band members had 'hazed' him inwhat seems to have been a fairly brutal manner on his first tour with them.

 

Hetfield in particular seems to have deliberately prevented Newstead from having as much musical input as he wanted whilst also trying to block him from expressing  his creative side in another project. 

 

I think when he left the band almost imploded because, Hetfield who seems to have been a thoroughly unpleasant character for the first 20 years or so of Metallicas career  started directing his destructive and controlling behaviour at the remaining band members and they lacked Newsteads strength of character

 

 

Edited by Cato
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Not that they care , but it's a shame the way they evolved imho .

A great enthusiastic bunch , and real underdogs back in the day . They got very lucky with their Bass players  of true talent .

As said above , it does seem true that they took way too many liberties with Jason and admitted doing so . 
It is said also, that they were going to kick lars out of the band  when cliff was still alive . 

That gig at download when Dave Lombardo and joey jordison showed how much better they could have been ..

I have the monster dvd , watched it a couple of times and it is heavy going , bordering on embarrassing imho.

couldn't stomach it now . 

They went from alcoholic a  to bud light . " The Metallica family " etc .  
Even though I'm bored of them now and despite anyone's opinions of Lars , they did write some killer material  at a young age .

As for James , I don't understand why he appears to be fragile even now . Has the drink still affected him ? 
Does he still shoot bears ?  

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21 minutes ago, RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE said:

Does he still shoot bears ?

 

That bit was a bit odd.

 

I don't think any of them can have a grasp on reality anymore. Maybe they have the same insecurities as anyone who relies on their creative output to earn a living. What happens if I can't write another good tune?

 

The bit when Lars realised Newstead's band were out gigging and drawing a sizeable crowd, while Metallica didn't even know if their singer was ever going to return let alone record or even gig. 

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12 minutes ago, SteveXFR said:

Some kind of monster is just car crash viewing. It was commissioned by the band and I don't understand how they watched the finished product  and thought "yeah we come across well, let's release it"

I 'd say it was a ' bucket list ' moment . ( I hate that term ) .

They did the deep purple thing with the orchestra, then Monster , then ...lulu 🤐

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The Napster/some kind of monster stuff was the end really.

 

“: At that time, the managers suggested that we have a psychotherapist come in. A man that meets with pro ball teams, you know - big-ego, big-dollar guys that can't get along, but have to make some kind of entity flow, so everybody else and everybody can make the money. And, uh, I actually said, "I think that this is really f*cking *lame* - weak - that we cannot get together. Us! Look - the *biggest heavy band of all time*! The things we've been through and decisions we've made... about squillions of dollars and squillions of people... and this? We can't get over this?"
 

He was right.

 

And coincidentally they’ve done nowt worth a hoot in the time since…which is a shame.

 

 

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There definitely some interesting things said in it. Like when James is complaining about decisions being made overnight in his absence, and Kirk candidly reports "well now you know what the last fifteen years have been like for me".

 

Robert Trujillo had some fecking stones on him to walk into that mess, even if they threw a big pile of cash at him.

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It's a brilliant movie, an account of people who made some of the most revolutionary, high-quality music of the 80's, now creatively adrift with seemingly no ability to connect with that which fuelled them and made them great in the first place. They were so, so good. It's amazing to see just how mediocre they could become once the fire went out... and it has stayed out. Neither Newsted nor anyone else would have made a difference.

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3 hours ago, SteveXFR said:

Trujillos audition was amusing when he suggested playing Battery and Lars questions whether he can play that fast without a pick, it's just obvious that he's worried he can't drum that fast any more.

 

I had the same from a guitarist over From Out of Nowhere by Faith No More. I think it's just someone assuming it's not possible. Both previous bass players had always used a pick. Newstead only uses a pick.

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1 hour ago, TimR said:

 

I had the same from a guitarist over From Out of Nowhere by Faith No More. I think it's just someone assuming it's not possible. Both previous bass players had always used a pick. Newstead only uses a pick.

Cliff Burton was a fingerstyle player. Kirk even mentions after the audition "it hasn't been played that way since Cliff".

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2 hours ago, SteveXFR said:

Possibly a bit controversial but Jason Newstead was the best Metallica bassist.

Cliff was an amazing bassist possibly better than Jason but I think Jason suited Metallica better

Interesting take . 
Cliff had a dirtier sound , while Jason's is much more clearer .  It was a  great move to allow Jason to sing on a couple of songs also .

It is said that Cliff was more into skynyrd etc . The flares are a clue 🙂
They relied heavily on cliff , who was said to be more in charge of their direction . I think you're right , and that Jason  was the best Metallica bassist .  I did wonder if  Cliff would fit in with the makeup and ' friends haircuts'  around the Load era.  😂
 

Edited by RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE
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