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FOUND: 2 | Mind Blowing Facts

“I went for a guitar commission with a carload of basses! I laid them all out on the floor, and he went, ‘Okay, let’s make a guitar’”: Ken Lawrence reveals how he became luthier to James Hetfield and made some of his coolest Metallica guitars

How did a specialist in custom-built bass guitars end up making some of the Metallica frontman's most-famous electrics? As it turns out, with a twist of fate and his Mesa/Boogie connection

MusicRadar

“He took a bass to Jason Newsted. James kept flipping it back and forth, studying it… Then he asked if we could meet”: How Ken Lawrence came to build some of James Hetfield’s most iconic guitars – including one using wood from Metallica’s former home

The luthier specialized in bass guitars before he met Hetfield via Mesa/Boogie. It would land him his most challenging but rewarding collaboration

Guitar World

“I auditioned for a guitar commission with a carload of basses! I laid them all out on the floor, and he went, ‘OK, let's make a guitar’”: James Hetfield's luthier on how he went from crafting basses to becoming the Metallica guitarist's go-to axe maker

And why we have Doug West from Mesa/Boogie to thank for Ken Lawrence and Papa Het's now-iconic link-up

Guitar World

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“I don’t think Metallica wants to say I am an original member”: Why Metallica’s forgotten guitarist believes he isn’t considered the heavy metal legends’ OG guitar player

Lloyd Grant jammed with Lars Ulrich and helped record an early demo of Hit the Lights – but isn’t recognized as an original member of Metallica

Guitar World

“Please tell the bass players of the world to go easy on me. I did my best to represent you well!” Bob Rock made bass history on Metallica’s St. Anger – quite a feat, since he “never really played bass” before

Producer Bob Rock on making St. Anger, the legacy of Cliff Burton and why he used Loverboy’s bass guitar on every track

Guitar World

“Jason and I were always battling for the same space in the mix”: The controversial mixing of Metallica’s …And Justice for All wasn’t a hazing of Jason Newsted. This is James Hetfield’s explanation

The band's first album with Newsted, ...And Justice for All was marked by the band's increasingly progressive and technically intricate bent – and barely audible bass parts

Guitar World

“If it wasn’t working, I could see the point of changing. But we were more successful than ever. It was incomprehensible”: The tumultuous story of Sepultura’s Roots album and their bitter split

How Sepultura made their most important album – and how it tore them apart

Metal Hammer

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“Cliff was the strongest of the four of us emotionally”: Lars Ulrich on how Metallica recovered from the death of bassist Cliff Burton

And how they chose Cliff’s replacement among 60 candidates

MusicRadar

“There was a very real chance that James wouldn’t be coming back. And all that time we spent waiting was horrible”: The tumultuous inside story of Metallica’s St Anger album

In 2003, Metal Hammer flew to New York to interview Metallica ahead of St Anger. We found a band who were bruised, battered but defiant

Metal Hammer

“I was just looking at it as a chance to go play Master Of Puppets for an afternoon”: Jane’s Addiction bassist Eric Avery reveals what shocked him about 2003 Metallica audition

Avery auditioned to replace Jason Newsted in Metallica, but the role ultimately went to Robert Trujillo

Metal Hammer

“Lars called me, and you’re on a shortlist”: Former Megadeth bassist David Ellefson was in the running to replace Jason Newsted in Metallica

Megadeth’s David Ellefson was shortlisted to join Metallica in 2003 – and he found out because Dave Mustaine told him

Metal Hammer

“We end up drinking until 5 in the morning. I wake up with the worst hangover of my life, and now I’ve got to play with Metallica”: How a late-night drinking session with Lars Ulrich almost ruined Robert Trujillo’s Metallica audition

Robert Trujillo was announced as Metallica's new bassist on February 24, 2003, following a two-day try-out for the metal giants

Guitar World

“Being crazy is being free, man. Completely free!”: the unhinged story of System Of A Down’s Hypnotize, the last album they might ever make

In 2005, System Of Down released their fifth, and possibly final, album Hypnotize

Metal Hammer

"The first time I saw him, James and I had gone to the Whisky a Go Go in '82. We saw Cliff play, and just absolutely lost our minds.": Memories of Metallica's lost bass titan Cliff Burton as band launches virtual exhibit

The first of four planned exhibitions includes interviews, photos, early recordings, letters and more

MusicRadar

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MusicRadar

“There’s only maybe a half-dozen of those on the planet, if that”: Jason Newsted is selling dozens of stage-played basses and vintage guitars in his official Reverb shop – including a 3-string Music Man StingRay and a one-of-one 10-string Alembic

Newsted's garage sale re-revisited will be officially open online on 24 July

Metal Hammer

“Just like anyone who plays, you find your favourites and the others need to go!” Metallica legend Jason Newsted is selling 60 of his guitars and basses

Newsted’s instruments, including the bass that recorded classic Metallica track Until It Sleeps, will be available from July 24

Guitar World

“You'll have to be a straight badass just to carry it let alone play it – I want to see what someone can do with it”: Jason Newsted is selling the 10-string Alembic bass used on Metallica’s Black Album tour – and more than 60 other instruments

The musician has collected some rare, weird, and wonderful instruments over his 40-year career, now he’s teamed-up with Reverb to get them into the hands of new players

Guitar World

“They had spoken to me also. Who knows what was going on in their minds?” Michael Anthony says he and ex-Metallica bassist Jason Newsted were both approached for the failed Van Halen reunion

Newsted turned heads in 2022 when he claimed he was in line to join a Van Halen reunion tour – but now Anthony has revealed he was in the running for it, too

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Guitar World

“There aren’t many bassists that could do this job. Playing with Metallica is the most demanding gig there is”: Robert Trujillo reflects on the legacy of Jason Newsted and Cliff Burton

If you know your Metallica history, you’ll know that Robert Trujillo is the fourth player to fill the Metallica bass role

Guitar World

“They were waiting for him to state his place in the band. When the reaction didn't come, that was the way the album turned out”: Metallica producer offers a theory for Jason Newsted’s inaudible bass on …And Justice For All

Flemming Rasmussen explains why the band – who were mourning the loss of Cliff Burton at the time – decided to dial down Newsted on his maiden Metallica record

Metal Hammer

“They did it to get some kind of reaction from Jason”: Metallica producer explains why there’s no bass on …And Justice For All

Flemming Rasmussen offers his theory on why Metallica didn’t have any audible low end in 1988

Metal Hammer

“Metallica can play 60 more Lulus. They’ve earned the place to do whatever they want”: how Jason Newsted escaped the shadow of metal’s biggest band to forge his own career

In 2013, Jason Newsted released Heavy Metal Music, the debut album by his band Newsted –proof that he was at ease with his own past

MusicRadar

"At first, based on the music and the riff, the band and their management thought it could be the first single… then they heard James’ lyrics": When Metallica and Bob Rock changed tack and gambled with Enter Sandman

Via some riff editing from Lars Ulrich

Metal Hammer

Does anyone else remember that time Metallica played a secret show as a Ramones cover band?

In 2002, Metallica (plus fill-in bassist Bob Rock) took the stage at a San Francisco dive bar and played songs by one of punk’s most prestigious bands

Metal Hammer

“We were living with cockroaches, writing crazy concept albums and touring the planet”: how prog metal visionaries Voivod invented a whole new genre

Canadian prog metal icons Voivod released their classic second album Rrröööaaarrr on this day in 1986. Drummer Away looks back on a career like no other

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