Former Metallica producer Flemming Rasmussen once again mused on the conspicuous, endlessly discussed lack of bass on the band’s fourth album, … And Justice for All.
Spoiler alert: He still doesn’t understand why they made the confounding decision to scrub newly recruited bassist Jason Newsted from the mix — but not for lack of trying.
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Flemming Rasmussen’s ‘… And Justice for All’ Feedback: ‘You Forgot the Bass’
Rasmussen discussed his involvement with … And Justice for All in a recent interview with the Chilean radio station Futuro, which you can watch below.
“Lars [Ulrich] has a thing that every time they’ve done an album, he comes and plays it to me,” the producer said. “And he always hopes that I nod and say, ‘That’s a good lad.’ And when he came and played … And Justice for All for me, I just looked at him and said, ‘What’s that?’ He said, ‘That’s the mix.’ I said, ‘No, it’s not. You forgot the bass.’ But there’s no bass on there.”
… And Justice for All marked the third consecutive collaboration between Rasmussen and Metallica, following Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets. Rasmussen initially wasn’t going to work on the album as he was busy with other projects, but after some cajoling from the band, the Danish producer reshuffled his schedule and flew to Los Angeles to help finish the album.
“By the time I got there, they already got some hotshot Los Angeles mixers, Steve Thompson and Michael Barbiero, to mix it,” Rasmussen recalled. “And the story is that Metallica flew in, listened to what they’d done, and they went, ‘No, no, no.’ ‘Where’s my drum sound?’ ‘Where’s my guitar sound?’ And actually Lars said, ‘Now take the bass down so you can just hear it.’
“They did that. You can see it on YouTube. There’s plenty of videos of Steve Thompson talking about this. And then once they’d done that, he said, ‘Take it three dB [decibels] more down.’ So, it’s Lars and James [Hetfield] that decided, and why they did that, I’ve asked them a thousand times. I do not know.”
Flemming Rasmussen Discusses Metallica’s ‘… And Justice for All’
Flemming Rasmussen Speculates Why Metallica Scrubbed Jason Newsted From ‘Justice’ Mix
Rasmussen speculated that the absence of bass on … And Justice for All was a result of the other members of Metallica mourning the loss of former bassist Cliff Burton, who died in a bus accident in 1986 at the age of 24.
“I think the reason why they turned the bass down, 50% of it is because they were on tour with Van Halen, and they flew in and heard the mix,” he said. “And I think that’s the point where Lars and James realized, ‘We don’t have Cliff anymore. It’s not his bass. It’s a totally different sound.’ And I just think they couldn’t relate to that at that point.”
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The producer also surmised that the … And Justice for All mix was an extension of the well-documented hazing Newsted had to endure upon joining Metallica.
“What they hated most about Jason was that he was such a Metallica fan,” he said. “So every time they asked him anything, he just did it. So I think they took it down just to piss him off, ’cause they were expecting him to say, ‘Can you turn the bass up?’ And he probably never did. That’s why the bass is so low.”
Rasmussen said he had good reason to lament the lack of bass on … And Justice for All. “As one of the few people in the world who has heard the bass [tracks] on … And Justice for All, I can just say Jason did a hell of a job,” he declared. “They sound really good. They are really good bass tracks.”
The Silver Lining to ‘… And Justice for All’
Although Rasmussen was frustrated with the album’s final mix, he did note a silver lining.
“The funny thing is that, in hindsight, I read somewhere recently that … And Justice for All is the number one album in the world that people say is the reason why they started their own band,” he said. “So … And Justice for All has created more new bands than any other album in the world. So if you want to start a new band, don’t be a bass player.”
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