Newsted- Heavy Metal Music review

Jason Newsted has played in some of the most notorious and best bands of all time and needs no introduction. When his latest band, simply titled Newsted, announced their debut full-length would be releasing fans started begging for every little preview they could get their hands on. The record, Heavy Metal Music, is exactly that- good, solid, strong, powerful heavy metal. Don’t get me wrong, it does have its downsides, but the strengths far outweigh the weaknesses. Its clear Newsted has an 80’s thrash metal influence and background. With fast-cutting guitar riffs and piercing, growling vocals, it’s very reminiscent of Motorhead in their prime. When you throw Staind guitarist Mike Mushok into the mix, things are bound to go well, and to say they went well here is an understatement. Don’t expect to hear too many shades of Metallica, Flotsam and Jetsam or any of Newsted’s other past bands. When an artist starts a new band or side project, they make it a goal not to sound like their previous work most of the time. It usually happens that they do sound like that in some way, though, but that’s not the case here. Sure there are some minor similarities, but this is a completely new breath of life for Newsted. This may be some of his best work thus far, mainly because it’s his project. He created it, he formed it, he wrote the majority of it and he’s the main behind the beast. He’s not the “new guy” this time around, he’s not just a band member- he’s the frontman and he’s the leader. Heavy Metal Music is the perfect testament to what Jason Newsted is all about and will hopefully be his permanent home for the remainder of his career. Rating: 9/10