Jason Newsted has revealed that he was diagnosed with throat cancer last year and underwent a procedure on May 8, 2025 to treat it. In a conversation on Dean Delray’s Let There Be Talk podcast, the former Metallica bassist said the condition was caught early and that he was given the all clear roughly three weeks before the interview. He summed up the moment simply: he was “free and clear” and said, “So I beat it.”
Newsted described the treatment as invasive but effective, saying doctors removed tissue and then used lasers during the procedure. He explained that “the cavern inside my head is different than it was,” but stressed that early detection made a huge difference. The message from Newsted was not one of fear, but of relief and gratitude that the cancer had been caught before it could become something worse.
He also said the diagnosis forced a real change in how he lived. Newsted told Delray that he promised himself to rest for the first time in his life and admitted the experience pushed him to stop smoking weed, stop drinking, and step away from the habits that had defined his routine for years. He said the result was a new kind of clarity, adding that he feels more “clear-headed” now than he has in his entire adult life.
There is also a practical upside to his recovery: Newsted is set to return to the stage this summer with Jason Newsted & The Chophouse Band. The group’s first-ever North American headlining run will include eight headlining shows and 10 dates supporting Blackberry Smoke, beginning on July 1 in Northampton, Massachusetts, and running through a two-night finale at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium on July 24-25. Newsted said the project is where he can place his energy effectively now, and described The Chophouse Band as a continuation of his role as an ambassador for American music.
For longtime fans, the update lands with extra weight because Newsted has always been one of metal’s most durable and level-headed figures. He left Metallica in 2001 and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the band in 2009, but this new chapter is less about legacy and more about health, recovery, and getting back to doing what he loves. After a year that could have gone very differently, Newsted’s story ends here with a victory worth hearing.
