Metallica Fan Claims They Hear Bass on ‘…And Justice for All’, Reddit Tears Them Apart
One of the age-old complaints about Metallica's discography, aside from the snare on 2003's St. Anger, is that the bass on 1988's ...And Justice for All is basically inaudible. One fan, however, claims they can hear the bass, and Reddit is tearing them apart.
"I have the ability to hear the bass in Metallica's AJFA," the fan with supersonic hearing wrote as the title of the post on Reddit. There was nothing else in the description, it was just a general statement, and the comment section is quite entertaining.
"It’s not like it’s not there, it’s just low in the mix and mirrors James' [Hetfield] rhythm guitars," a logical user replied, which prompted the original poster to reply that listening with loud headphones is how they're able to hear it... which then led to some arguing.
But, onto the fun stuff.
"I legitimately cannot tell if these are shitposts or not anymore," someone commented.
"Yes. It’s called hearing," added another.
And, the comment that should be given the most points, or whatever the form of currency on Reddit is, reads, "I see dead people..."
Take that, Bruce Willis.
Check out the post here to see all of the comments for yourself.
On a serious note, ...And Justice for All was Metallica's first album with Jason Newsted, after the death of Cliff Burton in '86. Steve Thompson, who mixed the album, told us about the process of making it in an interview a few years ago. Apparently, Lars Ulrich wanted his drums to sound a certain way, but Thompson adjusted them to how he felt they should sound.
"The thing about Jason's parts, they were in perfect rhythm with James’ guitars. It was a great marriage that worked out great," the engineer recalled.
But, Ulrich didn't like the adjustments Thompson made on his drums, so he requested the original sound he wanted, and for Newsted's bass to be dropped. Of course, Newsted wasn't happy about this, and now it's essentially a meme within the Metallica community.