{"id":9424,"date":"2013-01-15T00:00:01","date_gmt":"2013-01-15T00:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=9424"},"modified":"2013-07-20T11:52:57","modified_gmt":"2013-07-20T11:52:57","slug":"feature-newsted-01-13","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/feature-newsted-01-13\/","title":{"rendered":"NEWSTED – Metal\u2019s Soldierhead (January 2013) | Features \/ Interviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEWSTED – Metal\u2019s Soldierhead<\/strong><\/span>
\nAnthony Morgan<\/span>
\nJanuary 2013<\/span><\/p>\n

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Across four nights on December 5th, 7th, 9th, and 10th of 2011, Metallica performed at The Fillmore in their hometown of San Francisco, California. Celebrating 30 years since their inception, the audiences exclusively consisted of fan club members as well as an array of guests. The outfit\u2019s bassist from October 1986 until January 2001, Jason Newsted lent parts to four Metallica studio full-lengths; … And Justice For All<\/em><\/a> (August 1988), Metallica<\/em> (August 1991, better known as The Black Album<\/em>), Load<\/em> (June 1996), and ReLoad<\/em> (November 1997). Jason performed with his erstwhile group across each of those four nights in December 2011, other guest musicians additionally appearing throughout.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got up and played ten to 12 songs with them over four nights, and was just really surprised by the reaction of the crowd,\u201d he admits. \u201cThe fans were just overwhelming in the respect and appreciation they showed for me being up on the stage again. I had really forgotten about it. I have my own life going, because I\u2019ve been out of the band for 12 years. I\u2019m an artist now. I paint pictures and play music all the time, but I do other stuff. I have my own life, but I played with them and was excited again. I thought to myself that maybe this could happen again, that maybe I would give heavy metal one more shot for the people, and show the people a few songs one more time and see how they liked them. That was the beginning of it, in 2011. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn January and February of 2012, on two separate weekends I went to play with the Flotsam And Jetsam guys in Arizona. We put together the original band, and played Doomsday For The Deceiver<\/em> (July 1986) in its entirety in a rehearsal space. That was all fun and everything, learning the songs and getting back together again. That would\u2019ve been the 30th anniversary for Flotsam as well, but it didn\u2019t really gel like I was hoping it was going to. To take it back out was my first idea, but that wasn\u2019t going to work.<\/p>\n

\u201cI then got together with these players. The drummer\u2019s name is Jesus Mendez Jr., and I\u2019ve known him for 12-13 years. He started out as a local crew guy that helped over at Metallica headquarters, and that\u2019s how I met him back in the 90s. He was a drum tech on the Echobrain tour, and then we started playing in my studio called the Chophouse about ten years ago. We\u2019ve been making music since then. I met a guitar player named Jessie Farnsworth about five years ago, so we\u2019ve had this trio going for about five years. Jessie plays guitar and bass, and sings.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got together with Jesus and Jessie, and started working on these songs. They were written fairly quickly, once I got going on the GarageBand. I put them together in August of 2012, pretty much all of them. \u2018Skyscraper\u2019 is little bit of an older song but everything else are fresh, new songs, just a couple of months old. I wrote them all on GarageBand on the iPad, and then I gave them the songs in August of 2012 to learn. They went and learned them, and then we\u2019ve been recording. We recorded some in October, and recorded another batch in December. The plan is to release 11 songs in the first six months of 2013 in three different batches. The first batch is four songs, the four songs that are available via iTunes.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Newsted (l-r): Jessie Farnsworth, Jesus Mendez Jr. and Jason Newsted<\/em><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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Appearing at San Francisco\u2019s The Fillmore to celebrate Metallica\u2019s 30th anniversary was arguably a fitting conclusion to that specific chapter in the bassist\u2019s life. \u201cIt was one of the best experiences ever actually, because it was a resolution,\u201d he feels. \u201cIt was a finality, a finish, or whatever you might wanna call it. I\u2019m comfortable and at peace with the Metallica thing, with myself, with my decisions, with my capabilities, with my life, and all that kinda thing. It finally came that night. I had been good all those years, but that night and that week when I played with those guys was a resolving thing. I did the right thing. I did what I did so those guys could still be a strong band. I still had my fun, still got to live, and got to do anything I want whenever I want dude. You have to think about that for a second. When you\u2019re in a big band like that, you don\u2019t get to control your own time all the time. You only get to have a little here and a little bit there, and there\u2019s always something coming. There\u2019s always something that you have to be ready for. There\u2019s always something looming, like another tour, another show, another video shoot. There\u2019s always another reason why you have to be away from your family and your people, and all this kind of stuff. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt keeps going. You don\u2019t just get to plan out, like \u2018I\u2019m gonna go away for vacation.\u2019 You don\u2019t just get to do a spontaneous thing, like taking your wife on a trip. You can\u2019t do that shit, because you\u2019re married to the band first. Once I got away from that I really lived that, and still to this moment I do whatever I want whenever I want. I\u2019m my own boss, and I don\u2019t answer to anyone. I\u2019ve got it all. Nobody can take away all of the things that I\u2019ve done. Nobody can change the videos, or how crazy it was with the singing, screaming, and jumping around, and whipping my head around. All that is forever. The accomplishments that we made together were cool, and now they\u2019ve got a good band together and I\u2019ve got a good band together. We all can rock, and that\u2019s really what matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jason\u2019s December 2011 guest appearance likely sent the rumour mill into overdrive, fuelling speculation that a reunion was on the cards. \u201cIt probably did,\u201d he agrees. \u201cEvery time there\u2019s a picture of us together or somebody brings some other picture up, everybody says \u2018Are you going back to the band? Please go back to the band\u2019 and all this stuff. That\u2019s not on the cards. I was already in their band; I was already in their band for half of the band\u2019s life. I\u2019m good. I don\u2019t need to be in their band goddammit (laughs). I was already in that band.\u201d<\/p>\n

Arizona-based Flotsam And Jetsam rehearsals across two separate weekends in January and February 2012 ultimately failed to blossom into something more since the rhythmist had arguably drifted apart from his former compadres. \u201c25 years had passed of us being in different worlds,\u201d he ponders. \u201cWe moved at different paces. Mine was a cranked and accelerated lifestyle being in Metallica, and all that kind of thing. Flotsam had changed band members, and did a lot of different things in their own lives with their decisions, families, and jobs. It\u2019s considerably different lifestyles that we lead, and so it wasn\u2019t right for that application. It was a great thing for what it was. It was awesome in that room; I think any Flotsam fan would\u2019ve just enjoyed themselves. It was pretty special for the original band to be playing those songs again so loud. I had kind of forgotten how good they really were. We were a fairly tough, fast band, and I hadn\u2019t been reminded of that for a long time. Metallica is a tough band. Metallica\u2019s great for what it does, but in certain spots Flotsam is better. Not overall, but in some spots they are. They\u2019re still very tough musicians with a very fast drummer and all that kind of stuff, so that was exciting. It wasn\u2019t going to work for the future though.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Flotsam And Jetsam 1985 (l-r): Edward Carlson, Michael Gilbert, Erik \u2018A.K.\u2019
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Nonetheless, Jason aided Flotsam And Jetsam guitarist Michael Gilbert in the penning of lyrical content for December 2012\u2019s Ugly Noise<\/em>. \u201cI did help with a couple of lyrical things on their new album, but I was trying to not confuse…,\u201d he begins. \u201cThey\u2019re releasing their new album at the same time as we are, and so I didn\u2019t want to confuse things too much. I helped with a couple of lyrics for Mike\u2019s songs on their record, but that\u2019s all though.\u201d<\/p>\n

The triumvirate of Jason Newsted, drummer Jesus Mendez Jr., and guitarist Jessie Farnsworth comprise Newsted. Lending his surname to the assortment was a calculated decision for the vocalist. \u201cI didn\u2019t want there to be any confusion or mistakes, okay?,\u201d he clarifies. \u201cI\u2019ve played a lot of different styles of music in my career. I spent the most time in Metallica, but I\u2019ve played in a lot of other things besides. Voivod, Ozzy (Osbourne), and Flotsam, Echobrain, DJ Shadow, and some Sepultura stuff, and Gov\u2019t Mule, lots of different styles of music over time. I wanted to make sure that everybody knew what this was. This is my stuff. Newsted, that\u2019s me. And it\u2019s metal. The EP is called Metal<\/em>; there\u2019s no confusion that when you buy these songs about what it\u2019s going to be. You\u2019re going to hear old school metal from me; any language you speak in any country across the world, you know what you\u2019re getting.\u201d<\/p>\n

As implied by the faction\u2019s moniker, Jason is its sole decision maker. \u201cI am the man, okay?,\u201d he confirms. \u201cI\u2019m gonna be real clear about that. I am the man in this band, and there is a reason I wanna be the man. I could have put together a supergroup; I could\u2019ve picked the best metal players, and made a super metal band. I could\u2019ve very easily, but that\u2019s not what I wanted to do. I don\u2019t want people to bring in their baggage from other bands, or all that kind of stuff. I\u2019ve been in bands like that, and I don\u2019t want to do that. I want some players that I\u2019ve been with who I understand, and who understand me. Players that are hard-working people, who aren\u2019t distracted by Hollywood bullshit or wanting to be rock stars or any of that crap that happens in other bands when they try to make supergroups. <\/p>\n

\u201cNobody\u2019s trying to outdo each other, like \u2018My band has sold more than your band\u2019 and all this bullshit. I don\u2019t want to deal with any of that and I don\u2019t have to, so I\u2019m not going to. I wanted to get players that are real and genuine musicians, musicians that are motivated, that aren\u2019t drunk, that aren\u2019t drug users, that aren\u2019t any of that shit. I wanted to get people that are real and ready to work hard, so that\u2019s why I chose to have the guys that I have. We recorded as a three-piece, but we\u2019ll perform live as a four-piece. I\u2019ll be taking on another guitar player as well. In the studio I play bass and guitar, and for live performances I play bass and guitar also. You\u2019ll see me singing lead vocals the whole time, but switch instruments.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Newsted frontman was previously a member of Rock Star Supernova, a hard rock supergroup which additionally included drummer Tommy Lee (M\u00f6tley Cr\u00fce<\/a>), guitarist Gilby Clarke (ex-Guns N\u2019 Roses), and vocalist Lukas Rossi. Occupying bass for the quartet, November 2006\u2019s Rock Star Supernova<\/em> was their sole full-length. \u201cWhen I was talking about a bad experience or a not so great experience in that particular instance, that was the one I was referring to, yes,\u201d the Newsted frontman verifies. \u201cIf you think about that one, you\u2019ve got the two biggest Hollywood rock star bands involved with a guy from the purest metal band. You\u2019ve got Guns \u2019N Roses, which is so much fakey, Hollywood stuff. You\u2019ve then got M\u00f6tley Cr\u00fce which is even more fakey, Hollywood stuff, and then you\u2019ve got real metal. It was not easy to get them to come to rehearsals, or even play songs. We only got to have like five rehearsals in the entire existence of the band. That\u2019s not the way I do things. I work hard and I practise hard, and I always have. I don\u2019t do that kind of Hollywood shit, man (laughs).\u201d<\/p>\n

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Newsted\u2019s musical influences are the same that Jason has always harboured. \u201cI try to keep my original teachers very close, especially when it comes time to make these records and get to the studio,\u201d he shares. \u201cIt\u2019s Mot\u00f6rhead first, and then some Black Sabbath<\/a>, and then some Rush, UFO, AC\/DC, and Judas Priest. These kinds of bands that I learned from are what make up my music for sure. You can hear a lot of Mot\u00f6rhead, and Black Sabbath is pretty plain to hear. It\u2019s just what it is man. Whatever I listen to the most, that\u2019s what I regurgitate now.\u201d<\/p>\n

A four-track affair, January 2013 EP Metal<\/em><\/a> is inaugurated by the composition \u2018Soldierhead\u2019. \u201cIts lyrical content is basically what I think would go on in a soldier\u2019s mind,\u201d the singer divulges. \u201cThe song says in the beginning \u2018Bombs go off around me \/ Bullets chase my head \/ I try to not get dead\u2019<\/em>. It\u2019s basically that, my shout out to the soldiers. That\u2019s what it is for me. It was written fairly quickly, like the other ones. When I sit down with a guitar and concentrate it just shows, just like my paintings. It comes from the sky, and I just have to be channeling the music. I don\u2019t really think about it too much \u2013 it just happens. \u2018Soldierhead\u2019 was a pretty quickly written song. I\u2019m very proud of the lyrics; I\u2019m very excited for people to read all of the lyrics, but that\u2019s what that one\u2019s about. <\/p>\n

\u201cAs a fan of Metallica it\u2019s like old school Metallica, like Kill \u2019Em All<\/em><\/a> (July 1983) or something. It\u2019s that old thrashy thing. I think it has the younger voice. The singing voice I\u2019m using now is much different than the cookie monster voice, like \u2018Die, motherfucker, die!\u2019<\/em> or any of that kind of thing. It\u2019s quite a bit different. It\u2019s a real singing voice this time, so that\u2019s what the music is. It\u2019s old school metal; \u2018Soldierhead\u2019 particularly is like speed metal, old school thrash metal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Certainly, the voice of James Hetfield (Metallica vocalist) gracing \u2018Soldierhead\u2019 isn\u2019t difficult to imagine. \u2018Soldierhead\u2019 is arguably a snippet of the types of numbers Jason could\u2019ve contributed to Metallica\u2019s canon, had he been allowed the opportunity to do so. \u201cYep,\u201d he chuckles. \u201cThat\u2019s a good point, my man. Good point. Now though, everybody should see that I always had the songwriting. I always had it (laughs). I just didn\u2019t get to use it that much in that band (laughs).\u201d<\/p>\n

A music video was filmed to accompany \u2018Soldierhead\u2019 on December 15th, 2012. \u201cWe went into this old factory,\u201d the four-stringer remembers. \u201cIt was really pretty crazy, man. It was an amazing set; I think it would\u2019ve taken Hollywood a long time to build this set. We just kind of cleaned it up a little bit, and set up all the gear ready inside with all of the pipes and machines. It was pretty cool, a lot of energy. It\u2019s a very natural kind of video, a performance video. It\u2019s not kind of any literal story, or extra actors, or any of that kind of thing. It\u2019s just us playing our instruments in a cool setting, and that\u2019s it. It\u2019s very simple and very to the point, kind of like \u2018One\u2019 (from … And Justice For All<\/em>). There\u2019s no CGI, and there are no girls running around or any of that kind of bullshit. It\u2019s just an honest black and white video, a video that\u2019s me in your face singing that song and playing fast, everybody in a room standing, facing each other, and jamming. There\u2019s no fanciness to it; I just want it to be my calling card heard around the world. <\/p>\n

\u201cI plan on having the \u2018Soldierhead\u2019 video available to everybody for free, for anybody that wants it. We will be selling it in HD on iTunes and everything if somebody wants a serious package, but I want everybody to have it. I want everybody to see and hear what this band is all about, and I think it\u2019s the best five-minute calling card that we possibly could have. It\u2019s the tip of the spear to pierce everybody, and make sure everybody knows what\u2019s coming.\u201d<\/p>\n

A performance video was filmed \u201cfor purist reasons. You\u2019ve gotta think about what\u2019s happened, and I\u2019m sure you\u2019re up on your rock history enough on what\u2019s happened, how big Metallica is, and the times and stuff. This isn\u2019t something that I have to do. I don\u2019t really have to do anything other than sit around and watch TV if I wanted to, but that\u2019s not what I do. I played bass on The Black Album<\/em>; it\u2019s the biggest rock album, the biggest metal album ever, so I\u2019m always gonna have something to eat. I\u2019m covered, I\u2019m good. I\u2019m set (laughs), so it\u2019s not for that. It\u2019s because I love the music, and I wanna give it one more shot. That\u2019s really what it comes down to. <\/p>\n

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\u201cI wanna take it out to the people one more time, and remind them of how much fun we had. I wanna remind them of how much fun we can have, that life is short, and that we\u2019ve gotta rock man. We\u2019ve gotta rock while we\u2019re alive, and we\u2019ve gotta live while we\u2019re living. We\u2019ve gotta be loud, have fun together, scream shit out, and express ourselves. That\u2019s what we gotta do, so I wanna try to take it out to everybody one more time. That\u2019s the main reason. There\u2019s really not a whole lot of budget constraints. If I wanted to make a video on the top of… You pick some place, man. The Empire State Building, or… Where are you calling from right now?\u201d<\/p>\n

Wales. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf I came down to your town and said \u2018I wanna play at the most expensive place. I\u2019m gonna set up all these monsters, and there\u2019s gonna be Transformers walking through the street. That\u2019s how I\u2019m gonna make the video,\u2019 I could do that. That\u2019s not what I wanna spend my money on though. I wanna spend my money on guitars, on the tour, and on making the metal. I wanna spend my money on making music, and that kind of thing. That\u2019s what I do. I always have, and from the money I made with Metallica I feed myself. I keep having clean, warm water, and I make music. Metallica paid for the Voivod records, Metallica paid for the Echobrain records, and Metallica paid for this record. It\u2019s just the way it is. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the biggest band ever basically for heavy music, and I was in it for 15 years. It\u2019s not a budgetary thing \u2013 it\u2019s just that I wanted to keep it as real as I possibly could. I want everybody to see that I\u2019m starting over in a way, even though I\u2019ve done everything that I\u2019ve done. I got into the Hall Of Fame (laughs) and all that stuff, but I\u2019m still the same guy that started Flotsam. I\u2019m the same guy that still likes that kind of music, that still plays bass like that. I\u2019m still that guy, and I just wanna make sure that everybody knows it. If I doctored it up and made it all fancy and had monsters and all that shit, they wouldn\u2019t be able to see that it\u2019s just the real me.\u201d<\/p>\n

That \u201csame guy that started Flotsam\u201d is better known for his Metallica exploits, his songwriting endeavours on Flotsam And Jetsam\u2019s Doomsday For The Deceiver<\/em> perhaps unknown to most. The Newsted band is arguably an exercise in Jason proving his songwriting capabilities, an exercise in proving that he isn\u2019t merely a bassist. \u201cI\u2019m saying that to myself, and that\u2019s what I\u2019m doing with this,\u201d he confesses. \u201cI\u2019m saying it to myself. The original idea of this whole project wasn\u2019t even going to be released to people at all. It was just that we were going to go into the studio. We had a good offer from a guy to go to do some music for next to nothing, and so we said \u2018We\u2019re gonna make new songs.\u2019 We did that in October, and they came out so good that we were like \u2018We should probably share these with people.\u2019 <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why I decided to do a website and all these other things, to share it with everyone. It was really more to prove to myself that I could make this happen, and so now that it\u2019s good enough I\u2019ll share it with anybody who wants to hear it. I\u2019m not really trying to prove anything to anybody else other than me though, actually (laughs). I don\u2019t know if I have to prove anything to anybody else anymore, when I think about it. I\u2019m really enjoying it again. I\u2019m feeling that I have found the fountain of youth in heavy metal music. It keeps me young; my bones may be old, but I still have the same attitude in my heart that I\u2019ve always had as far as\u2026 I wanna riff fast, man (laughs).\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u2018Godsnake\u2019 hearkens to one of the mainman\u2019s central influences, meanwhile. \u201c\u2018Godsnake\u2019 is kind of a heavier track, more like Black Sabbath,\u201d he reckons. \u201cThe words talk about judging, and not judging people. Not judging things, and not judging until you know what the facts are. Basically, that\u2019s what it talks about. You never know what you\u2019re gonna get with people, so don\u2019t pretend that you know what they are until you know what they are, and that kind of thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018King Of The Underdogs\u2019 is an anthemic number. \u201cI see it as a really cool live song that people can sing along to, chant along to, and scream together at a live show,\u201d Jason foresees. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of like a heavy groove-oriented song. I think there\u2019s a lot of nice space in it. It\u2019s almost funky, in a way. It\u2019s like a heavy, funky song for the first minute or two, and then it gets considerably heavy (laughs). It really has the most groove out of any of the songs, so that\u2019s that one. It\u2019s a little bit mid-tempo. It reminds me possibly of some riffier (Led) Zeppelin<\/a> stuff, personally.\u201d<\/p>\n

The \u201cunderdog\u201d in question is the composer himself. \u201cI think it\u2019s a personal thing like that,\u201d he accepts. \u201cIf you read the lyrics there are two or three meanings to each song, but in that case it can go both ways. It\u2019s almost like the tallest midget. Is he the winner because he\u2019s the biggest midget? Or is he still just a midget? It\u2019s that kind of thing. And if you\u2019re the king of the underdogs, does that mean you\u2019re the best of the worst? Or does that mean of those people who\u2019re never expected to do anything, you\u2019re the one who did the most? There are many different ways you can look at it. I might not be an underdog in a way because people are showing a lot of love, but I\u2019m an underdog in the sense that I\u2019m coming up from the underground and I\u2019m trying to make it on my own from the roots. The underdog, that could be me. I do wanna be the king, so I guess that could all play in. I can rise from the underground as the underdog and be victorious, and be the king of the underdogs. It depends how you look at it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The birth of Newsted signals the dawn of a fresh chapter for Jason. \u201cI\u2019m definitely starting over in many ways, and I\u2019m happy about that too,\u201d he enthuses. \u201cIf I tried to ride on my past too much then that wouldn\u2019t be right, and I think that\u2019s maybe why I waited so long for this. It had to be the right time to do this, because people had to be ready for it. I\u2019m reinventing myself a little bit only in the sense that people haven\u2019t seen me for a little while, and I\u2019m back. I\u2019m still the same person that I always was with the same attitude so it\u2019s still me, but I have to make a fresh start of it because the music has to still do its own thing. I don\u2019t ever want to ride on what I did before. \u2018Enter Sandman\u2019 (from The Black Album<\/em>) was great, but that was 20 years ago. What can I do now? It matters how tough I am now, doesn\u2019t it? Nobody can take away what we did back then with The Black Album<\/em>, but it matters right now what I can produce. That\u2019s what I\u2019m trying to do, once again prove to myself that I can do it. It really does come down to that, and I hope everybody else likes it.<\/p>\n

In starting afresh, the bassist is arguably striving to prove he isn\u2019t a has-been. \u201cThe only difference about that deal is I chose to do what I did,\u201d he contemplates. \u201cI made all the decisions. I did it my way, okay? It wasn\u2019t a thing like, \u2018Dokken is no longer any good because they suck. They\u2019re has-been,\u2019 or \u2018So and so band player is no good anymore because they can\u2019t play for shit,\u2019 or \u2018So and so is no good anymore because he got kicked out of the band for doing too much heroin,\u2019 or whatever. That\u2019s a has-been. I chose my path, what I wanted to do. I made my own decisions throughout my own life. Therefore, I was successful the whole time. I played in Metallica for 15 years, and finished that 12 years ago. That was, that once was. That was good, but I have a whole new thing now. I am. <\/p>\n

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\u201cI\u2019ve always been, so has-been? Yeah. I have been in Flotsam, I have been in Echobrain, I have been in Ozzy, I have been in Voivod, and I have been in Metallica (laughs). Yes I have, and now I\u2019m in this band, and I\u2019m still alive. It doesn\u2019t bother me even one little bit about any of those kinds of comments, and please don\u2019t feel bad about saying anything like that. I\u2019m gonna tell you dude: life is pretty good. If I had stayed in Metallica, Metallica would no longer be alive. It would no longer be a band. People need to… There\u2019s one thing… I haven\u2019t said this to anybody else, but I\u2019ll say it to you. I saved Metallica when I entered their band, and I saved them when I left their band. Because I did both of those things, they\u2019re still around. I didn\u2019t do it by myself, so don\u2019t take it like that. It wasn\u2019t single-handed, or nothing. I\u2019m not taking credit like that. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just saying that because I live, because I breathe, and because of the decisions I made when I made them \u2013 to leave Flotsam to join Metallica, and to leave Metallica so that they could survive. I made those decisions as a man, and I\u2019m a bigger man than them because I was able to make those decisions. I have nothing against them or any of that kind of stuff, but I saved them twice and the fans of Metallica that don\u2019t realise that. It\u2019s just too bad for them, but that really is the truth though. If I had never left when I did, it would\u2019ve imploded. The band would be gone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Skyscraper\u2019\u2019s riff originated in the Rock Star Supernova project. \u201cI chose not to use the riff for \u2018Skyscraper\u2019 in the Supernova project because nobody showed any respect, and I\u2019m really glad that I didn\u2019t now,\u201d Jason acknowledges. \u201cIn that camp, the same way we were talking about it, it\u2019s exactly the opposite. That whole thing took place in Hollywood, the whole show and everything. In a place like that, all that people care about is getting the credit and the money for something. They only care about having their name real big on the back of the record, and getting the money for something that someone else did. I saw that right away in that band. \u2018My song\u2019s gotta be on there.\u2019 \u2018No, my song\u2019s gotta be on there.\u2019 \u2018I want the publishing.\u2019 \u2018No, I want the publishing.\u2019 \u2018I want the money.\u2019 I was like \u2018I\u2019m not gonna do that. I\u2019m not gonna put my song on there to compete just because you guys want money, and besides, you\u2019re not gonna play it good enough. You\u2019re not gonna show it the justice it deserves.\u2019 That\u2019s basically what it was. I wrote the riff a long time ago, but I never used it because it was just too metal for that band.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though harbouring misgivings in retrospect, the rhythmist nonetheless remains on cordial terms with his former Rock Star Supernova bandmates. \u201cI\u2019m still friends with them,\u201d he discloses. \u201cI\u2019m still friends with Tommy \u2013 I\u2019m still friends with all of the people. They know this about me. I said all of these things right to their faces, so this is no secret or anything (laughs). It\u2019s just that I come from a different place, and they come from a different place. That world that they come from is just false compared to ours. That\u2019s what I think. I think that they\u2019re posers compared to real metalheads, that\u2019s all. When I played with Tommy, I enjoyed it very much. For the couple of hours that we actually played, the rhythm section \u2013 him on drums and me on bass \u2013 was pretty fucking tough. I mean, it sounded pretty tough, but we never got to focus on it because we always had a million other things to do. He could never just concentrate on a song with me, so that just frustrated me because that\u2019s not the way I do things. If you come to practice then you focus on practice, and not have your phone on the drum set. It\u2019s just ridiculous. I don\u2019t have anything against them. They just run their lives differently than I do, and their professional careers differently than I do.\u201d<\/p>\n

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One would assume that \u201c fakey, Hollywood stuff\u201d like Guns N\u2019 Roses\u2019 Appetite For Destruction<\/em> (July 1987) or M\u00f6tley Cr\u00fce\u2019s Shout At The Devil<\/em> (September 1983) \u2013 to use Jason\u2019s own words \u2013 aren\u2019t present in his album collection. \u201cAppetite For Destruction<\/em> I definitely listened to when it came out, for sure,\u201d he concedes. \u201cIt was a very, very impressive record. Shout At The Devil<\/em>, not that much. The first M\u00f6tley record \u2013 Too Fast For Love<\/em> (November 1981) \u2013 was early enough in time that I still listened to those riffs, but by the time I got to their second record I was already too metal to listen to M\u00f6tley any more (laughs).\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Skyscraper\u2019\u2019s heart lies in 70s metal \/ hard rock, the vocalist contends. \u201cIt has really big guitar riffs, like happy, upbeat rock \u2019n\u2019 roll guitar riffs,\u201d he critiques. \u201cNot happy in the sappy way, but happy in the upbeat way. It has a great message, which just speaks of no war. Please no more war, basically. You\u2019ll have to hear it for yourself, but each one of the songs has a great meaning to me and I hope they have a great meaning to other people. There are no wasted words, or anything. I\u2019m very proud of those lyrics, so I hope everybody likes them.\u201d <\/p>\n

Recording sessions for consequential EP Metal<\/em> took place in Central Valley, California, \u2018Soldierhead\u2019, \u2018Godsnake\u2019, \u2018King Of The Underdogs\u2019, and \u2018Skyscraper\u2019 embellishing the outing. \u201cIt\u2019s a little, tiny farmhouse in the middle of a cornfield with an awesome studio inside, and nobody would ever know,\u201d Jason imparts. \u201cI actually watch the cars go by on the freeway, and I see these kids go by sometimes with long hair and stuff. I\u2019m like \u2018If they knew we were in here making this music, they would freak out,\u2019 because we\u2019re out in the middle of the country man. We\u2019re in the middle of nowhere, and it\u2019s so great for making music because there are no distractions. We can focus completely on the music, and I like it very much. It\u2019s not a fancy place. It just gets the job done, just like us. We\u2019re not fancy; we just get the job done.\u201d<\/p>\n

The name Metal<\/em> isn\u2019t open to confusion. \u201cThat\u2019s right, yeah,\u201d the frontman concurs. \u201cMy plan is that all three of the different offerings of songs will be titled something different to make up the final title at the end. You\u2019ll be able to get the whole album on vinyl. It\u2019ll be a whole title that is made up of the other titles. You\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jason\u2019s label Chophouse Records oversaw Metal<\/em>\u2019s issue, and will oversee subsequent Newsted offerings. \u201cThe final product \u2013 the album in May \u2013 will be distributed properly,\u201d he explains. \u201cWe\u2019ll be doing four songs every eight to ten weeks. There\u2019ll be new songs, and at the end of those three periods \u2013 two months, two months, two months, and then that six-month period \u2013 that\u2019s when the whole thing will be put together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Previous to Metal<\/em>\u2019s release, the four-stringer\u2019s last issued output was May 2011 single \u2018Out Of My Mind\u2019. Charity single \u2018Out Of My Mind\u2019 was the debut from supergroup formation WhoCares, which additionally consisted of vocalist Ian Gillan (Deep Purple \/ ex-Black Sabbath), guitarist Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath), guitarist Mikko Lindstr\u00f6m (HIM), drummer Nicko McBrain (Iron Maiden \/ ex-Trust), and late keyboardist Jon Lord (ex-Deep Purple) during that incarnation. \u201cI got the call from Tony, and I was in the mountains in Montana,\u201d Jason recalls. \u201cThere was this British voice over the phone asking me to play on the song. I thought it was somebody playing a prank on me, but it wasn\u2019t. He asked if I would play on a song, and I was really pretty amazed that he knew my name let alone that he asked me to play bass. That was a very surreal, special moment for a heavy metal kid, your great teacher calling and saying \u2018Okay, I wanna see what you\u2019ve learned now.\u2019 The teacher\u2019s calling you. What will the student play? It really felt like that very much. It was just an honour, man. You can imagine. It was just a very, very special feeling. I\u2019m honoured.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Metal stylings will be a common thread throughout future Newsted material. \u201cIt\u2019s just the old school stuff, it really is man,\u201d the composer reiterates. \u201cIt\u2019s just that. On those particular four songs, it\u2019s just what it is. It\u2019s straight ahead metal; some of it\u2019s a little bit slower and some of it\u2019s faster, but it\u2019s all heavy. I\u2019ll be sharing a little bit of different styles as we go through this thing to make the final album, but it\u2019ll all be heavy music. We\u2019ve got a couple of months, so there are gonna be more songs coming up. We\u2019re working on the second batch right now, so I can\u2019t really say much about these newest ones other than they\u2019re gonna come later. They\u2019ll be the two of the one-two punch. That\u2019s all that I can really tell you right now, because it\u2019s too early to say too much. I\u2019ve gotta keep it in check (laughs).\u201d<\/p>\n

Touring plans lie in the pipeline. \u201cWe have a lot of managers, promoters and things that have come to try to help us, so we\u2019re trying to work out some things for the festivals in 2013 and get some proper shows,\u201d Jason informs. \u201cI\u2019m only gonna take it out if it\u2019s worth it, if it makes it look good. If there are some good shows and some good gigs offered, I\u2019ll play for the people.\u201d<\/p>\n

On March 4th, 2013, the bassist will reach the milestone of a 50th birthday. \u201cI\u2019m gonna be the strongest 50 that anybody was, man,\u201d he reasons. \u201cI\u2019m gonna be faster and tougher and stronger than I was at 40, so that\u2019s where it\u2019s at. The calendar goes by and that\u2019s all great and everything, but in my heart I am still a 19-year-old metalhead. That\u2019s kind of how it is, and I just try to deal with… I\u2019ve had some trouble with my shoulders over the last decade. I\u2019ve had surgery, surgery, surgery, and therapy, therapy, therapy, and painkillers, painkillers, painkillers, and all that shit. I had three surgeries; the first one was in 2004, the second one was in 2005, and the third one was in 2006. I did the Rock Star Supernova project in between surgeries (laughs). Now I\u2019m back. It took a long time for me to come down to earth from Metallica, and to get my neck and shoulders back in action. I had to work for a long, long time to build my muscles back again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Metal<\/em> was released digitally on January 8th, 2013 and subsequently in CD format on the 15th, all via Chophouse Records.<\/p>\n

Interview published in January 2013.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEWSTED – Metal\u2019s Soldierhead Anthony Morgan January 2013 Jason Newsted Across four nights on December 5th, 7th, 9th, and 10th of 2011, Metallica performed at The Fillmore in their hometown of San Francisco, California. Celebrating 30 years since their inception, the audiences exclusively consisted of fan club members as well as an array of guests. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,480],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9424","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-features","category-newsted"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9424","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9424"}],"version-history":[{"count":37,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9424\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13106,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9424\/revisions\/13106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9424"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9424"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}