Jason Newsted discussed his recording with Devin Townsend upsetting Metallica bandmates James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich in a new Louder Sound interview.
“This was the very origins. I had just established the Chophouse in ’92, and by ’94 we had all the gear. Devin came down at the age of about 22 and was an absolute fucking maniac… dude, an hour-and-a-half of sleep a day for a whole week! And every time he would pick up a guitar you get, ‘Widdle widdle widdle,’ and you’re like, ‘Dude, where in the hell did that come from?! Now play it backwards!’
It was the first real project we took time to track in the Chophouse. It’s just drums and bass, Devin doing some mad guitar solo over the top, I go in and scream the vocal – done. Raw production, but an incredible accomplishment, because I always wanted my own studio. “The guys got wind of it and Lars said, ‘You gotta come up to the house.’
I didn’t really know what it was for, so I take my bass and go up there: ‘What’s up, guys?’ ‘Dude, you know you’re in Metallica now, don’t you? You can’t just be making music and sending out tapes to whatever fucker with whichever fucker. You do understand that, right?’ ‘Oh!’ I didn’t realise at all! I didn’t know about the politics; I was just sharing some metal with my friends! I pretty much broke down on that day in front of Lars and James. I was like, ‘I’m sorry, it won’t happen again!’ And that was the first time.”
Newsted said he has been in contact with Lars Ulrich in recent years, but finds it difficult to listen to Metallica’s new music. Newsted quit Metallica in the early 2000’s after tension regarding his side projects ahead of the recording of 2003’s St. Anger.
