Jason Newsted initiated into Metallica with pranks

Jason Newsted initiated into Metallica with pranks

When Jason Newsted joined Metallica to become their new band played a couple of epic pranks on him. They started in Japan, just a little over a week after he joined the band.

The first prank was initiated by Kirk Hammett, while on a night on the booze. Hammett threw a huge glob of wasabi into a dish. He egged on Newsted to try some special Japanese 'mint ice cream'.

Newsted recalls in an interview with Loudwire "I was so hammered". He adds “If it was ice cream, it would have melted [but] I’m like, ‘Okay.’ I took a freaking spoonful — I couldn’t use chopsticks yet — and ‘Fuuuuuuuu————kkkk!”

The other prank was put on Newsted just after his freak out on the wasabi “I look up and I don’t know anybody at the table. Everybody’s gone, but the table is full,” Newsted says. “[The waiter] brings the bill. I was making $500 a week, but the bill comes and it’s got zeros like 0000000000. They [Metallica] were f-cking with me. They were watching me from upstairs somewhere.”

Metallica Merchandise

Newsted's first gig with Metallica

In a recent interview with Loudersound Newsted talks of his first-ever gig with Metallica. “I was nervously excited, anxious mostly. And I did not have any lack of confidence in myself. I knew that I knew the songs, and I knew that I had the energy, which was required a lot back in those days to play in Metallica. It was very physical and very athletic, and I had that. But one thing I do remember – I’m not sure if I’ve ever told this story. I used to have these two pinky rings, custom-made skull things. One had a diamond in the eye and one had a ruby in the eye.

"I only kept one on, because you can’t play [with two] – I even have to wear my wedding ring around my neck because I can’t be smacking my strings with it. So, we’re on the way down and I couldn’t get the ring off. My girlfriend at the time was going down with me and she’s trying. I’ve got one of our stage-hand guys who is showing me to the stage and he’s helping. We can’t get that fucking ring off! I’m ripping, dude. I’m all jacked up and I’ve been playing so much that my hands are swollen and the ring is just fucking with me! I gotta get this off, dude!

"I finally just rip it off and all this flesh comes with it – crunch. So that first time going on stage with Metallica, [I was] nervous enough already, but that ring added a little something else.”