Jason Newsted Joined Voivod for Two Songs and It Kicked Ass

Jason Newsted has played for more bands than just Flotsam and Jetsam and Metallica. Aside from Echobrain (which was one of the main reasons he quit Metallica), also played for Ozzy Osbourne’s band, before hopping over to play with Voivod back in 2001.

More than 20 years after the fact, Newsted reunited with the Canadian thrash metal outfit last night to play a couple songs during their show at Revolution Live in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It was the first time playing with Voivod since he left the band in 2008.

Vocalist Denis “Snake” Bélanger introduced Newsted to the stage by praising Newsted’s drive as a performer.

“Like 20 years ago, in 2003, we had a different lineup. Of course, [late guitarist] Piggy was there — he’s still there somewhere… spiritual — but we had this guy on bass back in the days. Seriously, what can I tell you about this guy? It’s crazy. He has such a drive onstage and offstage. Such a modulator, such a music lover as well and he really helped us to go through all this.”

While this may just be a feel-good moment, we can’t help but wonder if this was a great way for Newsted to warm up for his upcoming show with Newsted, his solo metal project. That gig will take place this Saturday at the same venue, so it must have been good to scope out the venue ahead of time.

Newsted stuck around to play two songs, “Rebel Robot” and “Voivod.” You can check out fan-filmed footage of the performance below.