Metallica is a Heavy Metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1981. The band was formed by singer and rhythm guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich. The band’s fast tempo and aggressive music made them part of the ‘Big Four’ bands of thrash metal.

The band’s current lineup consists of (from left to right) Kirk Hammet (Lead Guitar) Lars Ulrich (Drums) Robert Trujillo (Bass) and James Hetfield (Singer and Rhythm Guitar)

Their fourth album ‘…And Justice For All’ is considered one of Metallica’s greatest works. The song’s are lengthy, talk about many issues in life, like the atrocities of war (One). The album brought Metallica into the mainstream and even won them a Grammy. The drumming on the album has given people a whole new way of music. Yet, it has one issue: The bass is missing.

During the tour of Metallica’s third album, former bassist ‘Cliff Burton’ was hit in a fatal bus accident in September 1986. Drummer Lars Ulrich decided that the best idea for the band was to push forward and keep producing music. During auditions, bassist Jason Newsted was hired to join Metallica.

Jason Newsted wrote the opening of the ‘…And Justice For All’ album, which made him well likes with singer James Hetfield. Newsted chalked up the lack of bass being because he was playing just as fast as the guitars which caused it to drown out. Later it was revealed the Lars Ulrich messed with the bass settings in the mix, possibly lowering the to drown out the bass tone in the album.

Jason Newsted