I was fortunate enough to Meet Jason and Metallica twice. Jason was by far the most personable of the band members. The first time I met them was at the ..And Justice tour in 89. The second time was in 91 for the Black album. I'll never forget being backstage and I asked Jason if he had a spare pick. Without hesitation, he reaches in his back pocket and hands me his pick. The kid next to me asks Jason to sign his can of beer. Jason says " It's full man, I can't sign on the condensation, you'll have to drink it first." The kid looked underage and was afraid to do it at first, then Jason goes "C'mon man it's cool, slam it." So he did and We all laughed and Jason signed his beer can. Great memories.
@Stay Sharp I've heard about the other three that have diva attitude compared to Jason who's down to earth, and friendly to people, and at backstage to meet and greet the fans were distant and treated people with arrogance and couldn't wait to leave. How ungrateful to the very people who made them millionaires and successful. How rude and disrespectful.
@Stay Sharp I used to be a Metallica fan but when I found out the way they treated their band members and fans, it really put me off and changed to Megadeth. I never regretted that decision.
Seen him at the gorge in Quincy Washington, and Jason got cut by a glass bottle some asshole threw at him, right when the fast part of one started. He came back out after jaymz gave everyone a tongue-lashing and told us to kick that dudes ASS!!! They started basically on the same BEAT, in the darkness's part of one. Was amazing. I was 16, at the time. I'm 36 now.
Jason put out way more energy than any of the other guys in the group and that was obvious. And the bass solos were always fuckingawesome. I've seen Metallica nine times and unfortunately I've only seen Metallica with Jason twice. But as you might suspect, those two were the best
Because of Jason I started playing bass. He was the one headbanging on stage and just having a blast. "Hmmm, an instrument where this is possible, I may need to learn that". Of course I'm still as crappy as I was 25 years ago. :)
Exactly!!! Met him on the Summer Sanitarium tour. Was the nicest guy and was interested in what you said for the few minutes you had with him. He signed my concert ticket and my tshirt. Best day ever!!!
@@RobertLandrum13 There are a fuckton of really cool people in the rock/metal scene. The first one that comes to mind is John Petrucci. The mans a legend and has zero ego.
@@ijustchangedmyname the guys from Rush are all pretty chilled out too. Peart was very shy and didn't want to live in the Limelight, but they all loved their fans
Agree, I've met Aerosmith's Tom Hamilton and GNR's Duff McKagan, both were humble and appreciative of their fans and I can't say that about the other members of their respective bands although Brad Whitford was also pretty cool to talk to.
Simply because being a bassist requires for you to drop your ego and work for a team. An egoistic asshole would never sign up for a bassist job - no way.
@@cody_sorensen5757 that's like saying telling people Motley Crew did a bit of heroin was letting the cat out of the bag. EVH's coke and booze habits were 100% old news before Jason ever joined Metallica, mate.
He sees the bigger picture of their journey, and he doesn't let himself get affected by details along the way. It takes an intelligent, mature and well grounded human being to drift above the bruised egos that tried to down him, and he does, because he is. So much respect and love for Jason, absolute legend.
Pantera's Rex Brown stated on his book that when they we're partying with Metallica during a stop on mixing or touring of the And Justice for All album, that Lars & James where laughing at the fact they had omitted the bass from the album to spite on Jason for whatever reason they had against him. Jason is super cool and down to earth dude that both Lars & James probably disliked due to the fact he was no Cliff, but i'm sure Cliff would have disapprove on how they treated him.
@@Longlivedolphnigga it isn't lmfao there is literally an interview with the producer saying that James, and more specifically Lars, was the one who asked him to put the bass all the way to unhearable.
@@xaviermoyssenalvarez4419 it was Lars, James didn’t like the no bass mix version. Pretty common knowledge I just don’t don’t believe James was laughing at jason in front of Rex about it.
@@Longlivedolphnigga Rex has claimed since that allegedly the author that wrote it with him “added” somethings. I think Rex maid some BS claims to make his book sound better and tried to blame the guy he hired to write it🤦♂️
He ABSOLUTELY is. Check out my story: www.quora.com/Have-you-ever-met-someone-before-they-became-famous-and-now-they-are-really-famous/answer/Julie-Schultz-15
Cliff and Jason both had very good vocals, and it is sad that Cliff died and Jason left. Fortunatly, Robert Trujillo is still a great bassist with decent back vocals.
@@tristanribeiro7903 He's okay. Compared Outlaw Torn from S&M I to S&M II and there is a clear difference. Jason just delivered with such energy Rob can't even come close. To be fair, I like Rob, he's a good bass player, but he can't come close to Jasons backing vocal range.
Jason was the free spirit of the band. He connected fans with the Metallica Inc. His live energy was insane. I appreciate for the fact that I had the chance to see this monster live here in Brazil in 99, in my first international concert. Thank you Jason for the amazing songs, energy and headbanging!
the only time i saw jason newstead live was when he was playing bass for ozzy on one of the ozzfest tours. and you could actualy hear him because ozzy and his crew are not idiots when it comes to mixing music.
Jason is now, and will always be my favorite member of Metallica. He took all that drunken, immature bullshit hazing that went on far too long. He had his bass on Justice wiped out, and yet here he sits, not at all bitter. He's twice the man James and Lars are.
Hetfield and Ulrich are a couple of pompous doochbags that got LUCKY ! Jason was lucky too, but he was/is COOL, Hetfield gets my vote for #1 $#!T-#E@D of the 1980's-2010's.
@really sore knee It's not about the money, mate. It's about respect, when someone doesn't respect you. it's highly unlikely you'll keep working for 'em. Not to mention you just become a "bass player" not a band member which means no creative input from you. Atleast, they used his "blackened" riff.
In one album. He is more than audible in the next 3. They were hurting the most trying to write their first record without Cliff. Its bogus but understandable. Its not like they ruined his whole life damn
I think Lars deserves at least a strong kick to the nuts and a broken nose. If I was in Jason's shoes and Lars did that to me, I wouldn't hesitate to kick his ass. That's disrespectful to the max.
@@kingnothing2161 It was a big deal because it was the first album following Cliff's death and it was basically a resurgence. The fact that they did that is just plain disrespectful. The producer even said that Lars complained about his drum sound that the producer made and demanded it fit what he wanted. If I was the producer I would've refused to change the drum sound to Lars' demand and kick him out of the mixing booth since he has no business being there.
Jason had HUGE shoes to fill and did it admirably. He had the energy, listen to him singing Whiplash. Nothing against Robert, he's a amazing bassist but Cliff and Jason are METALLICA!
Rob is a good Bass player, but he can't get the same energy as Jason had, especially as singer. When Jason sang Seek & Destroy with that energy it was just something else.
I remember when Garage Days Revisited came out. I missed Cliff but I was beyond happy to see Jason fill his shoes. I popped GDR in and my first thoughts were "Sounds great, can't wait for the bass to come in." It never did, prompting me to think they F'd up and released the album without the bass tracks. I tried to return it for another copy but the guy at the music shop said all copies were like that and he'd already had a lot of people try to return theirs. Only wish there was a Justice for Jason edition for that album.
I had the honour to interview Jason way back in the early 90's I spoke to him for 30 minutes and he was such a wonderful, honest and inspiring man...to this day he was my favourite Metallica member and still is
but it's not how it should have been . that album did imeasurable damage to the bass guitar as an instrument in metal. every one wanted to copy metallica's sound and this meant many people buried their bassist's sound in the mix both live and on stage. and even today there still that dumb saying " bass is better felt and not heard" It's a MID range instrument actually the bass drum is the lowest of low end in any music ,so why on earth would you want to bury your mid end rythm?
I like how he didn’t make any jabs at Lars for literally taking him out of the album all together. He was just happy that it made an impact on the world. With or without bass.
Andriy Vasylenko You make excellent videos! And yes, I find it very ironic how James Hetfield looks amazingly healthy and alive at this point in his life, and Jason looks like he needs a blood transfusion.
Jason has a very good humble attitude and sometimes things don't need to be said, and he's forgiving, so I really appreciate his attitude and not being bitter about it.
I would read his autobiography in a second. He always seemed like the most level-headed well balanced member of Metallica. I would love to read the story of Metallica through his perspective lens.
Jason really had that raw trash-metal energy on stage. Metallica's now mellowed out and it is how it is, they're old but still kicking some serious ass together with Robert. He's a great bassist but he would never have brought that aggressive energy Jason did during the late 80s and 90s. And with respect to how good and the importance of Cliff, I don't think he could match Jason's energy either. Cliff's musical impact on the songs is and will always be greater than Jason and Rob's but when it comes to live shows, Jason was simply perfect. Hetfield was hella intimidating on stage during late 80s/early 90s and yet Jason always managed to look meaner. I love Metallica, during all eras including today, but I can't think of any band performing with more energy than them during the late 80s and through Justice and Black Album.
I really like Jason's attitude. When he got kicked out (or quit, if you want to be technical), he easily could've turned into another Dave Mustaine. Talking trash, competing, being spiteful. Don't get me wrong, I'm a HUGE Megadeth fan, but it really says volumes about Jason as a person that whenever he's being interviewed about this kind of thing, he has only good things to say. He doesn't try to make it all about him.
I agree with you but you did not get kicked out he left because he wanted to do a echobrain project with other people and James did not want that to happen so he left
+The Metal One Jason is truly one of the greatest examples of being the bigger man when it comes to this subject matter, there's been too many nasty splits in the metal community that wind up in trash talking, taking jabs at former band mates live etc. mustaine is STILL talking trash to this day because he can't accept the way things happened, I was a little disheartened about how disconnected Hetfield was from Jason at the RNRHOF induction but Lars, Robert and Kirk were friendly and almost brotherly, all in all this is a ramble, you're correct! I'll agree thumbs up.
+KISSFAN8689 I think he really likes them, you know? I think he never got to a point where he started hating them, because he just likes them that much. It's kind'a like what's called a "love-hate relationship", I would say. I respect his attitude towards this to no small extent. As for James, I think it might be a little difficult for him because he clashed with Jason more then anyone. Maybe he felt weird? I don't think he holds any hate for the guy, I think it was just weird for him. Not everyone can get along well with people they've bashed in past, not because of lack of wanting, but simply because it feels weird and uncomfortable.
I'm a big Cliff Burton fan and this guy is awesome. Saw Metallica in 1989, stood at the left side of the stage. Intro music comes on, lights shine on two lion statues on either of the stage. Then the start of blackened comes on the PA building up then... James Hetfield starts the song and then Jason jumps to the stage right in front of me. He won me over right there with his eternal pissed off look and hair twirling. Just a ball of lightning this guy is.
Tom Flake I saw both Cliff and Jason, Cliff for Master of Puppets in 86' and Jason with AJFA and the Black album). I thought both kicked ass but by the black album I also thought the rest of the band had become a joke.
@@piperschulenberg9109 Same here on seeing both. Cliff was such a hippy , running around the stage in bare feet and wearing his denim tuxedo. lol. Monster sound though...gawd damn.... Still wonder if he would be in band if he had not passed , especially if they had still wanted to "clean up" their sound via Bob Rock. One could assume he may have also matured musically and might have been ok with that? or just said "fuck it" and leave. lol. He delved into so much classical music (like Randy Rhoads) that surely would affect his choices as he matured? Randy even said in interviews he could not see himself doing heavy rock in 10 more years as he loved classical guitar. ah well...we will never know and we have what we have...
+Amanda Ramsey Just in time for what? Making a few million more? lol - No matter what anyone wants to say... Metallica is one of the biggest metal bands ever. Jason was a drama queen bitch for leaving the band. He didn't get the big picture of Metallica. That's okay he left... but as a musician it was a huge mistake. Nothing he did after went anywhere. He probably don't care...but bottom line is he's a quitter. Cliff would of never quit the band.
Amanda Ramsey You didn't answer the question... Just in time for what? And yes, that is my opinion. I saw Metallica play when Cliff was alive..Newsted was given the golden ticket and he threw it away because he wanted to stroke off on his bass on his Echobrain failure. No need to feel sorry for a dumb ass.
Mr Jason Newsted, deserves upmost respect. Integrity, humility, talent. I don't know what took more balls, joining MetallicA... or walking away from MetallicA in their prime?
+HunterShad Dude the riffs on St. Anger are the heaviest thing I've heard since Slayers Reining Blood... so whatever man. Hahaha, just kidding, you know what meant.
He didn't walk away from Metallica during the band's prime. He joined the band during their prime. Though they became more popular with the Black Album, it was a slow artistic decline for them after AJFA.
I wish I had Jason's attitude toward life, man. Has he ever said a bad word about anyone? "I thought how it was supposed to be was how it came out." To get through my next 30 or so years here, I'm gonna hafta start asking myself, "What would Newsted do?" #WWND
I remember seeing Metallica live when I was a kid, and being completely blown away by Jason's playing. He took a melodic solo between songs, and it was simply perfection. The man is an amazing musician.
Jason is a smart guy, and a very talented musician. I loved his band Echobrain. I saw the Justice For All tour in Hamilton, Ontario. The loudest concert I have ever been to!
Seth Dillard With all the "Jason got left out" talk you hear from people I thought that he might have been bitter, but he kept it pretty classy. No stone throwing. I like that.
Jason has become a lot more adult over the years. He used to throw barbs at Metallica, not like Mustaine but still there was animosity. Jason was a mile a minute when he left Gull Lake for Phoenix. He had the attitude and the ego. Was either going to end up famous or dead.....we know where he went👍🏼
My first heavy metal awakening moment. Traveling in my parents car we stop at a record shop and I buy Justice, throw it in my Walkman and the reverse guitars come in. Life changing moment.
I gotta say Jason is probably my favorite member of metallica of all time. On stage, he brought down the energy and seemed liked an intense bassist but he really was a normal guy offstage, and thats what makes him a top metallica guy, he really was nice to everyone and, ya, alot to cramp into words, but, he is awesome!
If you put one ahead of the other it's like changing the name to Jason Newstead and the Metallica band or Cliff and James's Metallica project. It should never be an either or, but instead be both and more. Whether it was Ron, Cliff, Jason, or Rob, Dave or Kirk, bandmate, roadie, or loyal fan it doesn't matter. We will never stop, never quit, because we are Metallica. So much more than four guys on a stage playing songs to itch the ears of people whom want to hear their favorite hit songs. It was always to bring honest music to the listeners that we might be inspired to change the world. So let it be written, so let it be done. Bang the head that doesn't bang. I HAVE SPOKEN.
MrBarlion You guy talk too much. I listen to bands such as Earthless, Samsara Blues Experiment, Red Fang that started after 2005 and still have a lot to give. And dont give a fuck about your opinion, by the way.
Wayne Christopher did you think about age and taste being a factor at all? They could’ve been too young in 1988 to be interested in that album, or they just didn’t like the genre or Metallica before that point.
Wow, I am impressed that he does not hold against Metallica that they cut the bass from Justice. That he said that the way it ended up is the right way intended since he saw the impact the album had on the world. That is very mature of him, Metallica don't know what they missed out on when he left. I really liked Jason in the band! Rob now is also very talented, but Jason brought something else to the band as well.
Jason, if you’re reading this... It would be so epic if you released a bass-only version of the album, with same timings as the official release, so that we fans can mix your bass lines back in where they belong!
@@juliandelconde6662 That's because he's a classy humble person. Takes the high ground instead of criticizing the album as it is. I wouldn't take his answer as the definitive opinion on how the album would have best sounded.
Blueberry Cupcake if you listen to them both just play, Rob is technically better in every way. Jason is a bad dude on the bass, and he was very energetic. I love the guy, but Rob is a freak of nature on the bass...
There is a remaster of ...AJFA, but the bass remains inaudible either due to the masters being compromised (according to the album's producer, the un-mixed master tapes were basically held together with splicing tape and prayers thanks to all the drum edits that were made, so the original bass tracks may have been inaccessible) or because the band and/or their management didn't want to change the original bass-less experience fans were familiar with.
*groan...... You just won't let it die, will you? Every other comment, I see on a Newsted video on YT, is fans still bitching about this bullshit after 20 buttfucking years. Hey, here's an idea. Join the rest of us and MOVE ON!!! The band has realized their mistakes in recent interviews, and Jason (as you can see in this interview, for example) has moved on with no grudge against the band in question. Don't you think, they would have apologized ages ago IN private? Especially, when they reunited in 2009 and 2011 for the R&RHOF and anniversary performances? Yes, the no-bass mix on Justice is weak, and it would have been cool to see an official remix as a bonus in the remastered boxset. Yes, Jason's exit was not a good send-off by the band. James was in the wrong, when Echobrain and other side projects were concerned (Maybe we wouldn't have to witness St. Anger and SKOM, if Metallica handled it differently). But if Jason has no animosity towards the band over an issue, 3 decades ago, and has moved on, why keep the hatred and demands? In the end, it's you fanboys, who somehow feels entitled to your own demands. Not Jason. Take a hint.
I wouldn't put all the blame on Lars. What about James and kirk? Are you telling me they had no say? They didn't hear the final project before it was released? So for once I can say that not just Lars fucked up, James and kirk did too..
superQman600 Jason actually said it himself, during the mixing it was James and Lars with the mixing tech. Kirk and him were in hotels waiting for the next gig and hanging out. Because since really forever, the two people who dealt with mixes in the band were James and Lars, going back all the way to at least Puppets (Kirk said this).
After seeing "Some kind of monster" I felt that Metallica was so unfair towards Jason that I started to lose most of the interest in Metallica. Very glad I got to see him playing live with Metallica. Rob is a great bass player but Metallica died for me after Jason left.
You know, one of the things I immediately missed from Metallica right after Jason left was his back up vocals. Also, like another comment I read, the energy he gave on stage, which is still unmatched in the band. Love the guy
Jason is very gracious and charismatic. Very humble and awesome at the same time. He wasn't given the respect he deserves but in the end, he is still part of Metallica and the diehard fans know this. That's all that matters.
I love Jason and while Rob plays a good bass, I absolutely think Jason was a far better fit playing wise & for sure backing vocal wise. Super nice dude is Jason, outstanding player. I met him and got some autographs here in Cleveland on 1-1-00 pre-show and he was such a nice guy.
McFly yeah watching battery played that fast and hard is what i call FUCKING THRASH. watching james yelling his YEEEEEAAAHHH and lars is fucking on the verge of destroying his drums as the pounding riff blows through the stadium. man id be fromt row breaking my fucking neck headbanging. those days for metallica were fucking GOD
McFly I'm trying to figure out a way back to then, it's takes alot of alcohol and coke but it only lasts for short while then your in hell for the rest of the night, it's not really worth the brief feeling of being back in the good old days.
Says who? James is just a quiet, withdrawn person when he's not out under those lights. He's a private person, with his own demons. He was "controlling" etc. due in large part to his drinking, which made his other issues harder for him to deal with. He has openly said since that he was terrified of people leaving, of anything being more important than Metallica, because he was afraid it would all go away. He regrets how he acted, but he's also at peace with it. And so is Jason.
@@ferff27 Cliff a dick? Lol Cliff was probably the coolest guy to hang with. James was also pretty cool back in 83-87 it wasn't till 88 when he started being a bit of a dick but that was cause he was told that he was too silly backatage. Kirk was also pretty cool as well. And Lars is Lars he's always been annoying.
That's a cheap shot dude. They're all in their 50s now. Give Lars a break. Kirk and James have both had work done to keep their Hair, and Lars just lets it fly. Like a real man.
Jason is da man 🤘🏻 I was mega bummed when he walked out, because I knew that an era had ended. And the 22-23 yearold me would have loved to experience the follow up record to the “I disappear” single. But to this day I have a huge amount of respect for his decision. Roskilde Festival 1999 I bear in my heart.
It's actually a fallacy that they "treated him like shit". Jason has said so himself. Did they "haze" him and clown on him when he first joined? Yes. But they respected him. He was a member of the band, of the "family". Did they ever see him in the same light as Cliff? Probably not, and that's their bad. But he didn't leave the band because he was "tired of his treatment". He left the band because being part of that rolling Metallica machine for 15-16 years, took a toll on him. And when James got mad that he was doing a side project, he just felt like that toll wasn't worth it anymore. But he has always made it clear that he loved his time in Metallica, and that he wouldn't trade those years for anything.
is the one from metallica who gets old in nice way. Compare to the three other, he can be their son. ulrich bald, hammett tahiti bob, hetfield pampers grand pa'
Still good memories of seeing them play at the Houston Raceway Park way back in the day. First song was "One," and they had their outdoor stage with lights, smoke, explosions -- it was awesome.
I have so much respect for this man, his professional touch, the way he handled his exit and the lack of bass on something you work so hard on. And Justice for Justin for keeps.