BassPlayer 2017-01

Robert
Trujillo
Metallica
The Art Of
Simplicity
Robert Trujillo is calling from Guatemala
City, Guatemala, the latest stop on Metallica’s current South
American tour. Between gigs he’s doing press and answering
questions about songs from Hardwired … to Self Destruct, the
band’s latest CD. That isn’t so unusual—but this is Metallica,
and Trujillo hasn’t even heard some of the final mixes yet.
“I’m discovering the songs now,” he admits. “Some of the vocal
stuff is different from when I last heard it. Right up until the
last day of mixing, things are happening.” It may seem like a
strange position to be in, but new material is a closely guarded
secret for arguably the most successful heavy metal band of all
time—even if you’ve been playing bass for them since 2003.
Metallica formed in 1981 and spearheaded the thrash-metal
movement with classics Kill ’Em All [1983, Elektra] and Ride
the Lightning [1984, Elektra]. The band’s third album, Master
of Puppets [1986, Elektra], is one of the most successful and
influential pure thrash-metal albums of
all time. Unfortunately, original bassist
Cliff Burton—famous for his bell-bottom
jeans, fuzzed-out-wah-infused bass solos,
and virtuosic technique—was killed in a
bus accident while on tour in Sweden in
1986. That same year, he was replaced
by Jason Newsted. Newsted’s style was
more fundamental, but his root-noteheavy
aesthetic is one of the ingredients
that enabled Metallica to streamline its
sound and achieve even greater commercial
success. Metallica, often referred to as
the “Black Album,” debuted at #1 on the
Billboard 200 in 1991 and has since sold
over 30 million copies worldwide. Songs
like “Enter Sandman,” “The Unforgiven,”
and “Nothing Else Matters” appealed to
a wider audience, and Newsted’s chunky,
Spector-driven tone is prevalent throughout.
He left the band in 2001, citing private
and personal reasons.
In 2003, after recording St. Anger
[Warner Bros.] with producer Bob Rock on
bass, Metallica enlisted Trujillo, who had
initially carved out a niche for himself in
BY FREDDY VILLANO
Photograph BY Chris Schwegler / Atlas Icons
the ’80s as part of the Los Angeles-based
crossover thrash band Suicidal Tendencies.
He then launched the funk-metal
act Infectious Grooves in 1989, before
moving on to Ozzy Osbourne’s band in
the ’90s. Since replacing Newsted in 2003,
Robert has also launched Mass Mental,
his collaborative musical ensemble with
Armand Sabal-Lecco. And, just last year
he released Jaco, a documentary film he
produced about the life of Jaco Pastorius,
in association with Passion Pictures.
In terms of production, Hardwired
26 bassplayer.com / january2017