Robert Trujillo says his bandmates couldn’t be more supportive of his various projects outside of Metallica.
As well as his work with the thrash giants, Trujillo has been working hard on his Jaco Pastorius movie and also performs and records with his funk collective Mass Mental.
And frontman James Hetfield and guitarist Kirk Hammett have both encouraged Trujillo’s Jaco documentary.
Trujillo tells Metallica’s So What blog: “I remember James sent me an iPhone photo that a friend of his took who happened to be at the Sweetwater Cafe event we had done for Jaco in Mill Valley.
“And he said it was really cool, which made me feel good. Why? Because he said his friend was there, and he said it was awesome. Rather than saying, you know, ‘What the fuck are you doing?’
“So that made me feel good, and the fact that Kirk actually came out and jammed with me that night. You know, it was really, really fun, and he helped me celebrate something that’s important to me, so that was really, really cool and encouraging.”
Trujillo also reports that drummer Lars Ulrich is a big fan of the bassist’s former band, Suicidal Tendencies.
He adds: “I think one of his favourite top 10 albums quite possibly might be The Art of Rebellion by Suicidal Tendencies, you know? He turned me back onto that album. I forgot about that record.
“And he was talking about the record, about this one song, and I didn’t know what one he was talking about because it had been so long. And then he put it on the PA system in the studio, and then I’m listening to Accept My Sacrifice going, ‘Oh, shit, yeah, that is good.’”
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Metallica are currently working on their 10th album and Trujillo is thrilled with how it is sounding so far.
“HQ is an active Metallica new album machine right now,” he says. “I can say James and I had a blast doing back-up vocals last week, it was probably the most fun I’ve had during this album cycle, I wouldn’t even call that work.
“It was just super fun blasting out those choruses. He had a big smile on his face and so did I, so that’s something that I’ll always remember because I don’t think I’ve ever done it on that level.
“We’ve done a couple things here and there, but that was a first for me, to be in the vocal booth with him. It was pretty cool. So I feel great.”
He continues: “The bass sounds are crushing. I would say they’re the best bass sounds that I’ve had with this band for sure, and already for me that’s a plus. I’m very proud of what producer Greg Fidelman has done with the sound of my instruments, and I’m also proud of the way I played. We’ve had fun.”
