Watch: Ex-METALLICA Bassist JASON NEWSTED Joins VOIVOD On Stage In Fort Lauderdale

Canadian metal innovators VOIVOD were joined by their former bassist Jason Newsted during their May 16 performance at Revolution Live in Fort Lauderdale, Florida for two songs: "Rebel Robot" and "Voivod". Fan-filmed video footage of his appearance can be seen below (courtesy of Sonic Perspectives).

Newsted previously joined VOIVOD on stage in June 2013 at Hellfest in Clisson, France and in June 2016 at Slim's in San Francisco, California.

Newsted joined VOIVOD in 2002 and served as producer for the metal legends' self-titled album in 2003 on the Chophouse Records label (in association with Surfdog Records).

Longtime friends and pioneers of metal music, Newsted and VOIVOD vocalist Snake (a.k.a. Denis Belanger),guitarist Piggy (a.k.a. Denis D'Amour) and drummer Away (a.k.a. Michel Langevin) first began working together at Newsted's Chophouse studio in 1995, intent on keeping the music alive between busy touring schedules. However, with Newsted's departure from METALLICA in January 2001, he was free to join VOIVOD as a full-fledged member and would remain involved with the group until 2008.

Jason recently announced plans to reactivate his NEWSTED project for a May 20 concert at Revolution Live in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Newsted, who plays bass and sings in the project, will be joined at the gig by original NEWSTED members Jesus Mendez Jr. (UNDERLORD) on drums and Jessie Farnsworth (UNDERLORD) on guitar, along with new guitarist Humberto Perez.

According to Newsted, the setlist for the Revolution Live concert will consist mostly of newer songs that NEWSTED fans have not heard before. Describing the material as "quite punk," he explained to the "Let There Be Talk" podcast: "I put together this kind of MOTÖRHEAD-flavored thing about a year and a half ago and wrote these MOTÖRHEAD-flavored songs on bass as the first instrument. I took the main three Philthy Animal drum beats and just picked that one and make a song and pick that one and make a song, and go around a couple of times and write that many songs. So I wrote some fun songs. And now we mix those in with 'Soldierhead' and 'Heroic Dose' and the ones from the videos that people know, but mostly playing new songs. And they are way less complex — way less complex than FLOTSAM [AND JETSAM], METALLICA or even the [early stuff from] the NEWSTED band or ECHOBRAIN certainly. Just real punk rock, straight ahead like MOTÖRHEAD — a lot of fast stuff, a lot of double bass. Most of them are pretty quick. It's just fun, though — fun as fuck."

Back in February 2014, Newsted canceled an appearance at Australia's Soundwave festival with NEWSTED, citing "private and personal circumstances." The cancelation followed more than a year of intense touring and promotional activity surrounding the release of NEWSTED's "Metal" EP and follow-up album, "Heavy Metal Music", both of which were positively received by the critics and fans alike.

STAIND guitarist Mike Mushok, who joined NEWSTED in March 2013 and played on "Heavy Metal Music", told "The Jasta Show" in a 2019 interview that Jason ultimately pulled the plug on the band because it wasn't financially viable for him to continue playing.

"Heavy Metal Music" sold nearly 8,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 40 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD was made available in August 2013 in North America via Chophouse Records/Collective Sounds and in Europe through Spinefarm Records.

Jason left METALLICA back in 2001 but was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, along with guitarist/vocalist James Hetfield, drummer Lars Ulrich, guitarist Kirk Hammett, and the man who replaced him, bassist Robert Trujillo, in 2009.