In an exclusive interview with Metal Hammer’s Stephen Hill, available on Spotify, former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted talks about some of the biggest moments of his career with Metallica, including his first reaction to hearing his (lack of) bass on ...And Justice For All, how Bob Rock helped to make him understand that less is more for The Black Album, how he feels about the fans' reaction to Metallica's drastic image change for the Load album, what planted the seeds for his eventual exit from the band, the projects with Devin Townsend and Sepultura that never came to fruition and much more.

On hearing the final mix of ...And Justice For All for the first time

Newsted: "I was fucking livid! Are you kidding me? I was ready to go for throats, man! I was out of my head, because I really thought I did well, and I thought I played how I was supposed to play.

Lars and James were the original garage band duo, as far as that goes. They always made the records that way, from No Life ’Til  Leather (1982 demo tape), it was Lars and James, guitar and drums. On the original No Life ’Til Leather cassette - if you happen to ever see a real copy or a photo of a real copy - in Lars’ handwriting, in ink pen, on the label of the cassette, it reads 'Turn bass down on stereo.'

They mixed it how it was supposed to be mixed: there’s the bass and there’s the guitar from all the way back. But Lars didn’t want that because it messed with his drums somehow,  so when he sends the demo out to fucking Combat Records and wherever... 'Turn the bass down before you even listen to this.' Right from the get go, before you even start. That’s where he’s been his whole goddamn life, so why would it be any different when it came to ...And Justice For All? They made Kill ’Em All that way, they made Ride The Lightning that way, they made Master Of Puppets that way, all of them. Those two guys in a room, that’s the way it always happened for the most successful metal band of all time. So you argue with this shit? I’m not really sure."