INTERVIEW: The Danish record producer Flemming Rasmussen - about his work with Metallica.

by Jarrod McMaugh

The Danish record producer Flemming rasmussen about his work with Metallica. He was the producer on 3 of the greatest Metallica albums 

- Producer Of  - Ride The Lightning, Master Of Puppets and Justice For All

  

FWMT: Had you heard of Metallica, or listened to Kill 'Em All, before they worked with you?

FR: No I had never heard of the band before. They were looking for a studio with a good in-house engineer, and had heard the work I'd done with Richie Blackmore and contacted me.

FWMT: What was your favourite album of the 3 you worked on?

FR: It's hard for me to say. It's between "Ride the Lightning" and "Master of Puppets"

FHMT: Can you give us a critical review of the Metallica albums you worked on – what you like, what you don't like, anything you think could have been done better, and anything you think was ahead of its time?

FR: "Ride" was a blast. I didn't know the band, so we spend some time getting to know each other.We also had a huge problem with James's guitar sound, as the amp he used on "Kill 'Em All" had been stolen, so we tried almost every amp that was in Denmark at the time, till we got something we liked. All in all we spend a lot of time trying to create the Metallica sound, recording Lars' drums in a big empty backroom etc, and there was a sense of a common goal, we were working to achieve. All in all a pretty good album if you ask me."Master" was really focused. We knew what we wanted and, worked hard to get it, but it was very hard work. By this album we were pretty sure what Metallica should sound like, and got it almost right."Justice" was hard and a long tuff haul. I came in on the session after 10 month, and they had nothing on tape when I got there. So there was a lot of work to do and I had to be back in Denmark after 4 months. They wanted a dry upfront sound and we put a lot of work into getting the sounds. "Justice" have probably influenced all Metal albums since, with the sharp clickin' BD etc.

FWMT: What do you think of the work Bob Rock has done as producer?

FR: I like it. Metallica is a masterpiece.

FWMT: Were you disappointed you were not asked back to do Metallica?

FR: No - not at all. I knew pretty soon in advance they were trying to use another producer, but as that also was the case on "Justice" I was on standby for a month or so, till they were sure it would work out.

FWMT: Would you work with them again if they asked?

FR: Definitely Yes. We had a great time doing the 3 albums I did and it would be fun to do another album with the guys.

FWMT: Do you have any interesting anecdotes from working in the studio with Metallica?

FR: Lots, but I'll keep that to myself, at least until I'm not in the music business any more. People have to rely on me keeping what happens in the studio to myself.

FWMT: It is widely known that both Lars and James can be strong willed especially in the creative process, and especially with each other. Was it difficult working with any of the members of Metallica?

FR: No, not really. I had the advantage of being able to speak to Lars in Danish, and that gave us some degree of freedom, as nobody knew what we were talking about. But the conflict between Lars and James was not that big a problem, as they were on the way up, and that is so much funnier, than being in the top and fighting to maintain your position.

FWMT: what changes and progression did you notice in the band's writing and recording processes between Ride The Lightning and Master or Puppets, and between Master Of Puppets and . . . And Justice For All?

FR: Well - it was obvious that the Metallica song writing style got refined during the process. I think they probably couldn't evolve it further, and that's probably why they changed the concept for the Black Album. (One song one riff as apposed to the albums I did)."Ride" had one or two unusual songs, but some of the great classic is on that album also- so.

FWMT: What was it like coming into the recording process on . . . And Justice For All, was it stressful, what was it like without Cliff, and did it seem as if Jason had fully integrated into the band?

FR: No. It more like coming back to see old friends, and relatives. I flew over and sat down behind the desk and work started. 4 months later we had a finished album. As far as Jason's situation, he was clearly the new guy in the band. He did his bass work, and held a pretty low profile, but he did pretty good.It was of cause hard doing the "Justice" album without Cliff, but at the time I took over, the session was already 1 and a half month into the making, so we didn't have it present in our minds, except when we recorded "To live is to Die" which is a tribute to Cliff, and actually

Thank you Flemming for your time.