Metallica's …And Justice For All pushed bass players 'to the back' in the 1990s, claims thrash legend
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Metallica's …And Justice For All pushed bassists into the background during the 1990s, according to one famed thrash metal player.
Steve Di Giorgio, who mans the low end in Bay Area favourites Testament and previously played in death metal originators Death, makes the claim in a new interview with D'Addario.
He says that the 1988 album, which infamously features inaudible bass from then-newcomer Jason Newsted, contributed to the instrument being de-emphasised in the metal scene in the years that followed.
'And then the 90s hit, and this new standard [had] come out of bass players being pushed down, pushed to the back, mixed out of there,' Di Giorgio says (via Ultimate Guitar). 'It was happening before …And Justice For All, but that's the famous example of the bass being turned off during the recording.'
He continues: 'A combination of that album and then the time period and this style, the bass was getting to the point where it was, like, embarrassing. That fuelled me to play even more obnoxious and give it a reason to be back in the mix.'
The lack of bass on Justice has been a talking point among Metallica fans for decades now, with some speculating that it was a form of hazing against Newsted, who replaced the late Cliff Burton in late 1986. In a 2021 interview with Metal Hammer, Newsted admitted that he was 'fucking livid' when he first heard the album's mix, but said it was simply a carryover from the band's earliest days.
'They always made the records that way, from [1982 demo] No Life 'Til Leather, it was Lars [Ulrich] and James [Hetfield], guitar and drums,' he said. 'On the original cassette, in Lars' handwriting, in ink pen, on the label [it reads] 'Turn bass down on stereo.' On No Life 'Til Leather! It's just been that way their entire lives.'
Di Giorgio first emerged with California progressive thrash metal band Sadus, before playing session bass on death/doom pioneers Autopsy's debut album Severed Survival (1989). He joined Death in the early 90s, playing on their Human (1991) and Individual Thought Patterns (1993) records. He joined Testament in 1998 before leaving in 2005, then rejoined in 2014.
Testament will play two US festivals this spring – Sonic Temple in Columbus, Ohio on May 9 and Welcome To Rockville in Daytona, Florida on May 18 – then will tour Australia in June. See dates and details via their website.
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