Jason Newsted Is NOT The New Megadeth Bassist
After Megadeth part ways with the former bass player David Ellefson, there were rumors about Megadeth’s new bass player. One of that rumors was about Jason Newsted, former bass player of Metallica. Newsted’s wife strongly denied the rumors on her social media account.
Jason Newsted is Not Joining Megadeth
Megadeth part ways with David Ellefson a couple of days ago. Since that day, Megadeth’s new possible bass player was the focus of rumors. There were lots of speculations on who will be the next bass player for the heavy metal band. One of that claims was about Jason Newsted. Jason Newsted played the bass for Metallica from 1986 to 2001. These rumors about Jason Newsted joining Megadeth are denied by his wife, Nicole Leigh Smith. She posted a photo from her Instagram account answering those rumors and said:
“1. Jason is not joining Megadeth. Peace to them. Listen to metal.”
“2. Jason does not have social media accounts; this includes but is not limited to TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Onlyfans and Tinder. If you are receiving DMs from the Jason Newsted music account or any other account claiming to be Jason please know this is not Jason, and proceed at your own risk.”
Even though Jason Newsted and Dave Mustaine were never in the Metallica at the same time, those two shared the stage a couple of times. Mustaine was one of the originals members until he was fired by Lars Ulrich in 1983. Jason Newsted on the other hand started his Metallica career in 1986. Not during the Metallica period but they shared the stage in 2013. They performed the classic Metallica song “Phantom Lord” at Gigantour in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
David Ellefson and Metallica
Former Megadeth bassist Ellefson and Newsted have also an interesting background on that two bands. After Newsted left Metallica in 2001 when he and James Hetfield argued on Jason’s side project. According to an interview with Ellefson, he was considered to replace Jason Newsted. In that interview, Ellefson used told to story from his perspective.
“They didn’t call me. I know that there was a conversation about considering me. I know Lars and Dave had chatted, because were putting their short list together. And, to be honest with you…”I mean, look, Metallica are great, and I’m a fan of theirs and friends with them, and I would be there to be of service with them in whatever way, but they, I think, made their decision right around the time when Megadeth had disbanded in 2002.”
As we’ve said in our article about Megadeth’s former producer’s comments, David Ellefson is going to be a hot topic in the industry for a while. With his absence and Megadeth’s current calendar to take part in “The Metal Tour Of The Year” on August 20, it seems like they will announce the bassist in the following time.
