When I last caught up with Jason Newsted this spring he had just issued the Metal EP with his new band Newsted. While Newsted isn’t known for his vocal abilities, he’s a monster bassist, a huge metal fan and foremost a guy whose heart and soul is deeply rooted in metal.
Newsted enlisted Staind guitarist Mike Mushok who had added a new dimension to the Newsted sound. If you weren’t a fan of Jason Newsted’s vocals on the Metal release then it’s unlikely that Heavy Metal Music will change your mind. I’d have to question anyone’s allegiance to the genre if they didn’t absolutely enjoy this album because it’s very much a thrash influenced effort. Heavy Metal Music isn’t a perfect album by any means; the pair of clunkers on this album, “As the Crow Flies” and “Above All,” simply don’t go anywhere and frankly could have been tossed out altogether. But it’s tracks like “Long Time Dead” and “Soldierhead” that make Heavy Metal Music worth owning. Newsted has wrapped up the Gigantour with Megadeth this summer and chances are very good that he’ll continue touring deep into 2014. Pick up Heavy Metal Music, it’s quite good.
