James Hetfield Speaks Up on Metallica’s ‘Justice’ Production, Addresses Remix Calls to Make Bass Audible

“Who gives a shit, man, really?”, the frontman says.

During a conversation with So What, Metallica singer/guitarist James Hetfield talked about the infamous production of the band’s 1988 album “…And Justice for All” and the effort’s distinctive lack of bass guitar frequencies.

Asked if bassist Jason Newsted ever approached him and Lars Ulrich about the bass being buried in the mix, James replied:

“He probably did. I don’t know what my answer was then, but it was kinda done. I mean, I will say, it was not all about, ‘Fuck him. Let’s turn him down.’ That’s for sure

“We wanted the best-sounding record we could make. That was our goal. We were burnt. We were frigging fried. Going back and forth. Playing a gig. No earplugs, no nothing. You go back into the studio, your hearing is shot.

“If your ears can’t hear any high-end anymore, you’re gonna turn it up. So we’re turning the high end up more and more and more and all of a sudden, low end’s gone. So I know that played a bigger part than any hazing or any ill feelings towards Jason, for sure. We were fried. We were burnt.”

The musician added:

“We wanted it tight. We wanted it fucking tight. That’s what we wanted. We wanted the snare, we wanted the guitar, we wanted everything upfront and in your face and really tight.

“And we thought we got it. And, you know, we kinda know what we want to sound like. Can we sit behind a desk and make it happen? No. We ask people to do it, and they do it. So [mixer Steve Thompson] did his job. He’s got nothing to apologize for or point fingers at.

“No one’s to blame for ‘something.’ It is a piece of art. It happened and it ended up the way it is for a reason, and for reasons we were just talking about. We were burnt.

“We’re traveling, we’re playing a gig, our ears were fried. We were not sleeping. He doesn’t need to defend himself. He was a part of an awesome album in history, so I think he should be… maybe be a little easier on himself.”

Addressing the fans’ repeated calls to remix the album and make the bass guitar more audible, James said:

“All this [bass discussion] is after the fact, and it’s, like, who gives a shit, man, really? And why would you change that? Why would you change history? Why would you all of a sudden put bass on it?

“There is bass on it, but why would you remix an album? You can remaster it, yes, but why would you remix something and make it different? It’d be like… I don’t know.

“Not that I’m comparing us to the Mona Lisa, but it’s, like, ‘Uh, can we make her smile a little better?!’ You know?! Why?”