Before I start with the list, let me explain that this is not a measure of technical ability or record sales or anything like that. These are just lists of musicians that I like and who play my favorite instrument: the bass. I have to give Geezer a massive shout out, he’s not on the list, but we all need to talk about influence. Let’s get on with the show:
My favorite No. 4 bassist is none other than Jason Newstead, a longtime Metallica member.
When most people talk about Jason, they talk about the fan who came to live his dream and play with his heroes in Metallica. That might be true on some levels, but Jason was a part of Flotsam & Jetsom before Metallica. They recorded an album, which credits Jason with 90% of the writing credits.
In 1986, Metallica bassist Cliff Burton died in a tragic bus accident, leaving Metallica devastated and searching for a new bass player. Auditions were held and Jason was selected from 30 other musicians who auditioned. This started the feeling of being Metallica’s “hired hand”. Even to this day, Jason will say that he never felt like a true part of the band. To make matters worse, when the first studio album with Jason (Justice for All) came out, people were outraged that the bass line didn’t appear. Lars and James blamed poor production, but Jason always claimed it increased resentment.
1991 was a watershed year for Jason and Metallica. The Black Album was released and producer Bob Rock used Jason’s considerable skill to his potential. The band was high throughout the years, but the tension was always there with Jason and the group. In 2000 he overflowed with Jason working in his self-funded band Ecobrain. Jason wanted to release an album and James claimed it would weaken Metallica. With that said, Jason officially parted ways with Metallica on January 17, 2001.
Ecobrain released the album, but with very little critical success. Metallica also struggled with St. Anger, which is a completely different blog unto itself. Jason went on to work with Ozzy Osbourne for a full tour and talked about writing an album together, but after the tour, Jason left Ozzy for undisclosed reasons.
Next up was Voivod, Canadian thrash legends. Once again, Jason financed the band himself. They have released two albums, but with the exception of a small cult following that follows, the albums have done very little. I could also talk about Jason’s participation in Rockstar Supernova, but why?
I like Jason because he was the first real bass player I noticed when I saw Metallica and I had never heard a bass solo before. It was incredible. That will always be special, but since leaving Metallica he just lost his way. At this year’s Hall of Fame ceremony, he was on stage with Metallica again and we all sat down and realized where he had to be.