Settle down, Newsted fans, it’s just for one gig. Kirk Hammett confirmed the rumor that bassist Jason Newsted will reunite with Metallica for a one-off performance at their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Blabbermouth reports Hammett cited the band’s fear of repeating the drama at Blondie’s Hall of Fame induction a couple years ago.
“Jason Newsted will be there, and he will be playing with us at one point,” Hammett said. “We went as a band when Black Sabbath was being inducted, and at that time Blondie was also being inducted that night. And there was so many politics and so much drama that, you know, we collectively said to each other, ‘We don’t want any of that,’ because it kind of, it puts a really bad, sour note on the whole celebration itself.”
The reunion will mark the first time Newsted has played with Metallica since he left the band in 2001 to pursue his other band Echobrain. He was a member of the band for fourteen years.