Former Metallica bass player Jason Newsted is celebrating having been given the all clear after undergoing treatment for throat cancer.
Newsted, 63, was diagnosed with the condition in 2025 and went through laser surgery before being told he was clear of cancer just a few weeks ago.
The experience has led to him replacing his fondness for alcohol and marijuana with home-made lemonade as part of a new "clear-headed" lifestyle.
He tells Let There Be Talk (transcribed by Blabbermouth): "So one week from today, it'll be a year. May 8 of 2025, I underwent a procedure for throat cancer.
"And so they took a bunch of shit outta here and then they went in with lasers this way and took a bunch of shit out. So the cavern inside my head is different than it was, but we got it early. And I got my 'free and clear' about three weeks ago. So I beat it.
"I promised myself I was going to rest, and that was the first time I've done that in my life. I'm usually just on or off. And so I promised myself I was gonna take the gravity off and lay down for the right amount of hours.
"And there's no way, with my arrogant, spoiled ass that I would've stopped smoking weed, that I would've stopped drinking, that I would've stopped doing all the things.
"But the great spirit got my attention and said, 'That's not good right now, man.' And so it pulled me off it. And so now I'm more clear-headed than I've been in my entire adult life.
"And so there's blessings within everything. The lemonade I'm making this summer, bro, mmm. Sweet. Ooh."
Newsted is preparing for a summer North American tour with Jason Newsted & the Chophouse Band, kicking off in July.
