Former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted thinks anyone who disses Lars Ulrich's talents is a "fucking idiot." Newsted famously joined the thrash titans in 1986 shortly after Cliff Burton's death and played with them up until 2001, when he left acrimoniously during one of the most tumultuous periods in the band's history.
Since then, Newsted — also known for playing in Flotsam and Jetsam, Voivod and others — has never been one to keep his opinions about Metallica to himself, going on record calling "Enter Sandman" "corny" and revealing how baffled he was when he first heard St. Anger, the polarizing record Metallica made immediately following his departure.
Even so, despite any residual tensions that might exist between Newsted and his former bandmates, he recently took time during an interview on the "Let There Be Talk" podcast to defend Ulrich's drumming abilities and music business instincts — blasting anyone who considers the Metallica co-founder to be just an average drummer.
"Anybody that says that is a fucking idiot. They have no idea what they're talking about," Newsted said, as transcribed by Blabbermouth. "The depth of this guy, his foresight, his comprehension of what the hell was going on when he was 21, 22, 23. Seriously?
"So if he can't play the same fill as Dave Lombardo or whoever the fuck you pick for today, so what? Look at the scoreboard, motherfucker. Do not talk shit about that guy. He's way ahead of you in most things, I promise you that — I promise you.
"If we wouldn't have had him and his ability to anticipate, to predict, to know geography, to understand what country and what city and what did what at what time and all this stuff, no way Metallica would be what they were. No way! So you need to get ahold of yourselves because there's way more to it than just being able to hit a snare drum."
See the full interview below.
