Jason Newsted was interviewed by the South Florida Sun Sentinel to promote his upcoming Fort Lauderdale concert and was asked about Lars Ulrich’s comment from 2021 about how he has come to understand why the former Metallica bassist left the band in 2001.

Newsted responded on if he was looking for a more creative outlet: "I haven't changed my goals or quest, whatever you want to call it. I've always kept playing with whoever wants to play, you know? The caliber has risen over time, certainly, but that's been my mentality before I was ever in the big band or anything. I kept playing many, many projects while I was still touring with Metallica, and through all those years that never stopped."

"Newsted was an extension of that when it started 2012 and we took it around the world, 22 or 24 countries. That same mentality and that same drive has always existed. So that's kind of what Lars is maybe talking about. I always wanted to keep my fire going. And then when I'd come back to play with [Metallica], I would maybe be that much more ready and happy about doing it. I'm feeling more fulfilled if I'm able to do my thing with my boys over here and then get back to the big guys getting super loud. That was cool for me. When I was not able to find the balance anymore, maybe that's what he is speaking of."

Sonic Perspectives has posted fan-filmed footage of the last two songs from Voivod's live performance at Revolution Live in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on May 16, where they were joined by former Metallica and Voivod bassist, Jason Newsted.

Watch them perform "Rebel Robot" and "Voivod" below:

Newsted, the band, are back for an exclusive North American appearance. The band's first show in the US in nearly a decade is scheduled for Saturday, May 20 at Revolution Live in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Alongside singer/bassist Jason Newsted, the show will feature original members Jesus Mendez Jr. (drums) and Jessie Farnsworth  (guitar), and new guitarist, Humberto Perez.

Tickets for the concert are on sale now here.

Back in February, Consequence reported that Jason Newsted revealed that he’s working on two new “heavy” projects.

Speaking with Gator 98.7 FM’s “Gator Garage”, Newsted opened up about his latest musical endeavours and his return to heavy music. After re-tooling his long-running bluegrass-based group The Chophouse Band to feature elements of metal, Newsted is now going full-on heavy with two new as-yet-unnamed projects.

“I’m kind of stepping back into the heavy now,” Newsted said. “So the last couple of weeks I’ve been auditioning guitar players for a heavy project. I’m back on bass and singing with a metal drummer - double bass - you know, getting loud again. So I’ve got a couple of irons in the fire. I’m putting two new projects together right now - but loud.”

Read more at Consequence, and stay tuned for updates from Newsted.