Which bassist performed on Metallica's The Black Album?

Jason Newsted performed bass on Metallica's The Black Album. He was Metallica's bassist during the album's recording and release in 1991.

Newsted joined the band after the death of founding bassist Cliff Burton in 1986. His first full Metallica studio album was ...And Justice for All, although the bass was famously low in that record's final mix. The Black Album gave Newsted a more audible role in the band's recorded sound.

He also contributed musical ideas to the album. Newsted wrote the main bass riff for “My Friend of Misery,” a track that began as an instrumental idea before receiving lyrics. That song became one of the clearest examples of his songwriting contribution during his Metallica years.

Newsted remained in Metallica until 2001. Robert Trujillo joined the band later, in 2003, so he did not perform on The Black Album. Cliff Burton, meanwhile, appears on Metallica's earlier records but died before the album was made.