Steve Thompson, studio mixer for Metallica's album ...And Justice for All, answered one of heavy metal's biggest mysteries: where is the bass on the album?
In an interview with Loudwire, Thompson blames drummer Lars Ulrich for the decision and says he was unhappy with the final mix.
“Lars has a specific way in which he wanted his drums to sound. He would actually send me pictures of an EQ setup,” Thompson explained. “I chased everybody out of the room and I think they had [James] Hetfield in the room, and I changed the drum sound to be more what I was hearing, and then put on the bass and guitars and stuff like that.
“The thing about Jason [Newsted]‘s parts, they were in perfect rhythm with James’ guitars. It was a great marriage that worked out great.”
Once the mix was final, Ulrich quickly found an issue. “He says, ‘Stop tape. I’ve got a problem. What happened to my drum sound?’ And I basically said, ‘You were serious?”
Ulrich then instructed Thompson to turn the bass lower and lower until it was no longer audible. Unhappy with the direction of the project, Thompson even asked to stop working on Justice but was convinced to stay.
Watch him tell the full story below:
Original article by Sam Valorose at iHeartRadio