JASON NEWSTED Slams 'Followers' METALLICA Over Production On 'St. Anger'

November 16, 2003

Ex-METALLICA bassist Jason Newsted has once again slammed his former bandmates over the production of their latest effort, "St. Anger", stating that the band appear to be more concerned with "following" the latest production trends than putting out records that live up to the high-quality standards that fans have come to expect from METALLICA.

In an interview with Boston's 107.3 WAAF radio station, conducted in mid-August and currently archived on the WAAF web site, Newsted says, "I feel ['St. Anger'] could be a bit more listenable. I just think that for them… They make statements like this is the record I would have wanted to make [had I stayed in the band]… I think that's not [really the case]… Guess again on that.

"When you have that much production at your fingertips and you have the means to do anything and you've proven before over the years that you can make the best-sounding metal records that have ever been made, then why couldn't you do it again? It doesn't sound, to me, like the team effort that they claim that it is.

"I'm the only person on the planet that can say I was a METALLICA fan — a hardcore METALLICA fan — for years, in the band for 15 years, and now, a fan again. But all the words that I say now are as a fan only — not as a former member, but as a fan.

"As far as the new record's listenability [is concerned] and your desire to put it on again and listen to it over and over again like you did with 'Ride The Lightning' and 'Master Of Puppets', I don't hear it… I don't hear it. To me, they were always leaders, and on this record, they seem to be more followers."

Download the 17-minute interview in Real Audio format at this location.

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