Author Benedetta Baldin – 6.5.2026<\/p>\n
Many fans were taken aback when Jason Newsted decided to leave Metallica<\/a> in 2001, as per theprp<\/a>. His side projects being suppressed by the band\u2019s camp, his burnout from the band\u2019s busy schedule at the time, and the perceived outsider status he had to deal with\u2014from a lack of writing credits to the notorious burial of his bass on \u201cAnd Justice For All\u201d\u2014have all contributed to the narrative surrounding his departure for decades. Returning this spring as a bit of an open book, Newsted has now set out to explain that, although those factors were important, his own battles with addiction also had a big impact on his departure.<\/p>\n In a recently released episode of Dean Delray\u2019s \u201cLet There Be Talk\u201d podcast, Newsted made these revelations. Newsted discussed his struggles with addiction in addition to his fight with throat cancer. Given that James Hetfield has spent two stints in rehab and Metallica was formerly known as \u201cAlcoholica\u201d due to their unrelenting alcohol use, Newsted wasn\u2019t the only band member who overindulged. Newsted was open about his personal battles with addiction and how these contributed to his departure from the group. Additionally, he says that when he tried to take time away from the band\u2019s hectic schedule to deal with his problems, the band opposed him.<\/p>\n One thing I want to straighten out, or just comment on.. the\u00a0Echobrain thing. That was another project that I took to a certain level. I had had 40 projects in the Chophouse to a level of recording, composition, rehearsal, that kind of thing. This one was just more promising, and I took it to a different place. But it\u2019s not the reason I left\u00a0Metallica.<\/p>\n The reason I left\u00a0Metallica\u00a0is because I was a horrible addict. I was way up against myself, and if I didn\u2019t get some kind of help, I was going to die. And so I just said, \u2018You guys, can I have a minute? Please give me a minute.\u2019 And they said, \u2018No.\u2019 I said, \u2018I would rather live than be in your band. I love being in your band. I think it\u2019s kind of obvious. I wear your shirt every fucking night.\u2019 So it\u2019s like, you know, \u2018I wear our shirt every night. I fly my colors every night. I meet every fucking person that wants to meet and represent us for all the fans every fucking night. Don\u2019t tell me I\u2019m not committed. Don\u2019t tell me I\u2019m not loyal. Don\u2019t tell me. I\u2019m always the first one in and last one out. I\u2019m not saying the words. It\u2019s fucking history.\u2019 It\u2019s real.<\/p>\n You can\u2019t give me that minute to get my head straight again. Then I have to go. Not that I don\u2019t love you, and certainly not that I\u2019m not committed to this band.\n<\/p>\n Although the Metallica camp\u2019s opposition to Newsted\u2018s intentions for his Echobrain has long been mentioned as a major contributing cause, Newsted clarified this in this conversation.<\/p>\n Echobrain\u00a0was a thing that I ventured into, our subject for the day, our theme for the day: Adventuring, discovering new things. Giving yourself a chance to see what\u2019s in there. When you do a painting, step back from it and go, \u2018I didn\u2019t know that I had that in me.\u2019 You know? That\u2019s the best reward of all, no matter if somebody buys it or not, I don\u2019t give a shit. It\u2019s about, the song comes out and I\u2019m like, \u2018Dude I have that in me? Where the fuck did that come from?\u2019 That\u2019s the riches.<\/p>\n So, if you can\u2019t give me a minute to get myself to what I thought you appreciated me for, then [I\u2019m gone.] But it\u2019s not because of\u00a0Echobrain. It\u2019s just that\u2019s the music that was happening at the time.\n<\/p>\n Upcoming shows:<\/p>\n July 1 \u2013 Northampton, MA\u00a0 @ Iron Horse Music Hall<\/p>\n July 2 \u2013 Albany, NY\u00a0@ Empire Underground<\/p>\n July 3 \u2013 Lititz, PA @ Mickey\u2019s Black Box<\/p>\n July 5 \u2013 Wayne, PA @ 118 North<\/p>\n July 6 \u2013 Alexandria, VA\u00a0 @ The Birchmere<\/p>\n July 9 \u2013 Wilmington, NC @ Greenfield Lake Amphitheater*<\/p>\n July 10 \u2013 Durham, NC @ Durham Performing Arts Center*<\/p>\n July 11 \u2013 Charlotte, NC @ Ovens Auditorium*<\/p>\n July 12 \u2013 Charleston, SC @ Charleston Music Hall*<\/p>\n July 15 \u2013 Lewiston, NY @ Artpark*<\/p>\n July 16 \u2013 Utica, NY @ Saranac Brewery<\/p>\n July 17 \u2013 Farmington, PA @ Timber Rock Amphitheater*<\/p>\n July 18 \u2013 Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall*<\/p>\n July 20 \u2013 Grand Rapids, MI @ Pyramid Scheme<\/p>\n July 21 \u2013 Newport, KY @ Southgate House Revival<\/p>\n July 22 \u2013 Knoxville, TN @ Open Chord<\/p>\n July 24 \u2013 Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium*<\/p>\n July 25 \u2013 Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium*<\/p>\n *Supporting\u00a0Blackberry Smoke<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Author Benedetta Baldin – 6.5.2026 Many fans were taken aback when Jason Newsted decided to leave Metallica in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":414955,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[156,46902,4938,157,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-414954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-jason-newsted","tag-metallica","tag-music","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/414954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=414954"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/414954\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/414955"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=414954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=414954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=414954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}