Jason Newsted Takes Credit for Metallica Cutting Hair

Metallica took a lot of heat for chopping their hair off for the 1996 album ‘Load.’ Turns out, it was Jason Newsted’s idea!

Talking with The Metal Hammer podcast, the former Metallica bassist said that he cut his hair in 1992 to make airport security and dating models easier.

Newsted also said that the rest of the band eventually saw what he was doing and followed suit. “I did my shave thing for a while, the Newsted, the sides clean, did that for a while, and then James slowly did it, and then Kirk slowly did it, so they both did it, all three of us had that at one point,” Newsted explained.