Newsted - _Metal_
(Chophouse Records, 2013)
by: Aly Hassab El Naby (4 out of 10)
You remember Jason Newsted, don't you? Really? He was Metallica's bassist from _...And Justice for All_ until 1997's _Reload_. What do you mean? Of course Metallica had a bassist on these albums. Anyway, he left Metallica in 2001 and after participating in various projects, he decided to start his own, (the creatively named) Newsted, which is the subject of this humble review. This is a metal project that has decided to (also creatively) name its first release _Metal_. It's a four track, twenty two minute EP on which Jason Newsted finally, after all these years, gets to be the centre of attention.

On _Metal_, Jason gets to handle the vocal duties in addition to his original craft of the bass guitar. I can't really say that I've came across any moment where his vocal performance captured by attention and had me wanting more. He does a fairly decent job at the mic, but that's it, really. It never gets any better than that. The level of musicianship is also nothing surprising. You'll get a couple of average guitar solos, but for the most part, the riffs are rather pedestrian, the arrangements are rudimentary and the structure is predictable. Jason dubs himself king of the underdogs on "King of the Underdogs", but I'm having a very hard time believing him.

_Metal_ is an EP that doesn't surprise me one bit. It sounds like a lot of other things that I'd rather go listen to instead. This is a very strange career move from a man who has been in the metal business for a very long time. These primitive riffs and recycled lyrics don't really merit his name at all. Maybe a bit more consideration would help before a full-length release comes to the surface.

Contact: http://newstedheavymetal.com/

(article published 2/3/2013)


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