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Metallica are set to release a super deluxe box set of their 1997 album ReLoad on Friday, June 26th. Heavy Consequence recently caught up with the band’s former bassist Jason Newsted, who discussed the box set and the fan reaction to Metallica’s Load/ReLoad era.
Newsted is about to hit the road for his first proper tour with his group Jason Newsted & The Chophouse Band, who play a mix of cover songs and originals. The outing (consisting of headlining shows and support dates on Blackberry Smoke’s tour) runs from a July 1st gig in Northampton, Massachusetts, and wraps up with a two-night stand at the legendary Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee on July 24th and 25th (pick up tickets via Ticketmaster or StubHub).
Get Jason Newsted & The Chophouse Band Tickets Here
As for the ReLoad box set, Newsted had the honor of doing the official unboxing of the release, and as he told us, it stirred up a bunch of memories.
“It takes a few years to put that kind of a thing together,” Newsted tells us in the video interview. “I purposefully do not look at anything. I know it’s happening. I see the stuff go by and the progress of things, but I don’t look at it. Then when I get to open it, it’s… just as a fan. I’ve been out [of Metallica for] 25 years. I was in for almost 15, been out for that much longer.”
He adds, “I hadn’t listened to that record for a long time… I think it’s 27 or how many ever years that I had heard it in its entirety… I just put that thing on, and it transported me… The portals that it opened as each song came… these certain spots that I remember working on… they start coming back like muscle memory. Then I picture where we were when we were doing it, picture recording the thing, picturing playing it for the people…. My point is, I was able to get that far away from it by doing all the other things that I do, and then finding its reward when I go back and appreciate it in that way.”
When Metallica released the albums Load and ReLoad in the ’90s, the reaction by fans was divisive to say the least, with the band being labeled “Alternica” for their new short haircuts and emo-looking vibe, a sharp contrast to their long-hair days of the ’80s.
Looking back, Newsted understands the initial reaction by longtime Metallica fans at the time, saying he would probably have responded similarly if his favorite band had done the same.
“When you have a following, an army that’s so loyal, like, ‘That’s my fucking band,’ wearing a Metallica shirt three days a week… and then all of a sudden it’s not that anymore, and [the band] looks like whichever guy on MTV… with the blond tips. Yeah, people are going, ‘What the fuck?’ I understand it. Absolutely, man. If Black Sabbath would’ve cut their hair or something, dude, I would [have said] ‘What the fuck?’ That would’ve been tough. I do understand that part of it.”
He goes on to say, “What I like is the timelessness and the strength of those songs. As people matured and went into their deep cut listening, they realized the quality and caliber of the music is still the same, is still retained, maybe even more refined no matter how long your hair is.”
Newsted concludes, “After all the work that we did together, after all the songwriting those guys did, after all the shows that we did together to bring that to the people like that, it’s going to be a certain caliber. There’s no way we would put it out to the people if it wasn’t, right? It just sometimes takes folks a minute to understand where we’re at. I don’t like change either… So maybe it takes a while for us to accept the change.”
Catch Jason Newsted on the road with the Chophouse Band, and pick up Metallica’s super-deluxe box set of ReLoad via Amazon or the Metallica online store. Watch our video interview with Newsted above.
Jason Newsted & The Chophouse Band Tour Dates:
07/01 – Northampton, MA @ Iron Horse Music Hall
07/02 – Albany, NY @ Empire Underground
07/03 – Lititz, PA @ Mickey’s Black Box
07/05 – Wayne, PA @ 118 North
07/06 – Alexandria, VA @ The Birchmere
07/09 – Wilmington, NC @ Greenfield Lake Amphitheater ^
07/10 – Durham, NC @ Durham Performing Arts Center ^
07/11 – Charlotte, NC @ Ovens Auditorium ^
07/12 – Charleston, SC @ Charleston Music Hall
07/15 – Lewiston, NY @ Artpark ^
07/16 – Utica, NY @ Saranac Brewery ^
07/17 – Farmington, PA @ Timber Rock Amphitheater ^
07/18 – Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall ^
07/20 – Grand Rapids, MI @ Pyramid Scheme
07/21 – Newport, KY @ Southgate House Revival
07/22 – Knoxville, TN @ Open Chord
07/24 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium ^
07/25 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium ^
^ = supporting Blackberry Smoke
