JASON NEWSTED Still Talks To LARS ULRICH, Would Be Down To Jam With Him

Jason Newsted seems to be coming back to the heavier side of things lately. The last truly heavy music we heard from Newsted was from his self-titled project that existed between 2012 and 2014, though he recently said The Chophouse Band's upcoming record would feature some pretty heavy stuff.

Now in an interview with Metal Hammer, Newsted reveals he still talks to his former Metallica bandmate Lars Ulrich quite a bit. Newsted adds that he'd be down to jam with Ulrich sometime, and that he's one of the only projects he'd say yes to at this point in his life. He also mentions that he hasn't really heard much new Metallica since he quit the band, aside from a little of St. Anger… which he didn't like.

"Never. I heard the one where they made the video in prison [St. Anger]. I heard one song with my dad while we were riding in the car in Michigan, because the radio is still pretty wed to Metallica, and it went on for fucking ever. It was eight minutes on the radio, and I went, 'What the fuck are they doing?' No disrespect, but I didn't get it.

"It was maybe harking back to the longer songs and the aggression and the tempo. And that stuff takes a lot of energy to play, and with James going up and down the fretboard like that, no one can touch it. I have a lot of respect for that thing, but I am quite a distance away from that type of music now.

"I still like my heavy songs, but I sing for real now. I play the bass right up high, sing those backing vocals way up high. I still love Sepultura and stuff… but it really isn’t the way that I used to. I’d be happy to join them to do that stuff if they wanted me to. I still talk to Lars a fair bit, and I send him my stuff and he’s always super-supportive. I really appreciate it, and I respect his opinion. If he called me and asked if I wanted to throw down, I’d say yes, but I’m not sure if I’d say yes to anyone else.”

So who knows – maybe we'll get to hear some Newsted-meets-Ulrich material in the future? In the same portion of the interview, Newsted does note that he has a lot of respect for Metallica's frantic playing style, "but I am quite a distance away from that type of music now."