We all know that Metallica famously squashed Jason Newsted's bass tracks on …And Justice For All in 1988. But it turns out Newsted's absence created a ripple effect that made metal bassist's lives a living hell through the 90s. According to bassist Di Giorgio – who was playing with Testament, Death, and Sadus at the time – the 90s were all about turning the bass down, which in turns made Di Giorgio strive to write even cooler lines.
"And then the '90s hit, and this new standard [had] come out of bass players being pushed down, pushed to the back, mixed out of there," said Di Giorgio in an interview with D'Addario and Co.
"It was happening before …And Justice for All, but that's the famous example of the bass being turned off during the recording. A combination of that album and then the time period and this style, the bass was getting to the point where it was like, embarrassing. That fueled me to play even more obnoxious and give it a reason to be back in the mix."
Di Giorgio also offered some encouraging words for young bassist, which essentially boils down to "kick some major ass."
"And I always encourage younger bass players — get your stuff down very well. You get in the studio, and your stuff is really exposed. And if it's not super clean, if it's super tight, you're gonna get pushed down. Bass just makes music heavier. And we play heavy metal, so it's the key ingredient to make the music heavy. You know, get your shit down good, make sure you come super prepared, then you can fight for those decibels."
Testament is celebrating their 1989 record Practice What You Preach with a handful of intimate US tour dates this April and May. The dates will feature Testament playing Practice What You Preach in full alongside some stories around the album, acoustic sets, and some deep cuts that you might not have ever heard before! Get your tickets here.
4/30 Tucson, AZ Rialto Theater
5/2 Tulsa, OK Skyline Event Center
5/3 Little Rock, AR The Hall
5/4 Wichita, KS Temple Live
5/6 Milwaukee, WI The Rave
5/7 Flint, MI The Machine Shop
5/10 St Louis, MO Delmar Hall
5/11 Indianapolis, IN Deluxe At Old National Centre
5/13 Brooklyn, NY The Warsaw
5/14 Wilmington, DE The Queen
5/15 Baltimore, MD Baltimore Soundstage
5/17 Pensacola, FL Vinyl Music Hall
5/20 Huntsville, AL Mars Music Hall
5/22 Austin, TX Empire Garage
5/25 San Diego, CA House of Blues
