JASON NEWSTED Is Still 'Open' To Performing Old METALLICA Song With DAVE MUSTAINE

Former METALLICA bassist Jason Newsted says that he is still "open" to perform a classic METALLICA song with MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine on stage at one of the remaining shows on this summer's Gigantour.

Newsted, who quit METALLICA in February 2001, is the frontman of a new band, simply called NEWSTED, which is taking part in this year's edition of Gigantour, the critically acclaimed package festival founded in 2005 by Mustaine.

Speaking to Artisan News at yesterday's (Tuesday, August 6) NEWSTED signing session at Looney Tunes in West Babylon, New York, Jason was asked if there was still the possibility that the much-rumored jam was going to materialize.

"We're at the end of Gigantour now; we've been [on the road for] about a month," he replied. "And what you're speaking of is a rumor that started that we were gonna play some old METALLICA songs, or maybe an old METALLICA song together — Dave Mustaine and myself. But it was mostly created by kind of rumor and agents and managers and things like that early on when we were putting together the structure of this tour, that 'maybe you and Jay can play a song.' It was never something that I said or that Dave said, it was [something] that managers said to us, and now Dave and I have spoken of it. But the way that this tour is going, it's just kind of crazy and we haven't gotten to that point yet. So we've traded lyric sheets, we've traded downtuned versions of 'Phantom Lord' and 'Metal Militia' to try to figure out what song we're gonna play, but it has never come to fruition, and we only have a few shows left. So I'm not sure if it actually ever is [going to happen]."

He continued: "I'm open to jam with anybody whenever anybody wants to jam — I think that's not really a secret or nothing — so if the dude calls out 'Phantom Lord', I'll sing or play bass guitar or whatever he wants; that's all fine. But I'm just not sure it's going to happen. As a fan, jamming with Dave, coming from back here… 'Cause I was a fan of Dave before we were brothers and peers and stuff like that. So, man, if he wants to jam, I'm open to that, of course."

Mustaine previously hinted that he would invite Newsted up on stage to perform a song Dave co-wrote during his short tenure with the band.

Addressing his followers on Twitter, Mustaine wrote: "If I play a song I wrote in @Metallica w/@JasonCNewsted, which should it be?"

Mustaine then listed the following METALLICA tracks for fans to choose from:

* Ride The Lightning
* The Call Of Ktulu
* Metal Militia
* Phantom Lord
* Jump In The Fire
* The Four Horsemen

Mustaine, who was one of the original members of METALLICA, was fired from the band by drummer Lars Ulrich in 1983. He was replaced by Kirk Hammett and went on to form MEGADETH and achieve worldwide success on his own.