For somebody who spent years inside one of the biggest bands on earth, Jason Newsted doesn’t sound interested in writing a greatest hits version of his life.
Former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted has revealed he’s been quietly working on his memoir for roughly five years, and if the current draft is any indication, fans shouldn’t expect another standard rock autobiography.
Speaking with Spin, Newsted said the project has already grown into something substantial:
“I’ve actually been working on it for about five years. I’ve got 130 chapters. Some are one page and some are five pages. It’s that kind of a read. More internal things and photos and fun vibe told a page at a time.”
Rather than revisiting stories that have circulated for decades, Newsted says he’s approaching the book from a more personal angle:
“I don’t do any kind of beaten-to-death redundancy with stories that have already been told a whole bunch of times.”
The memoir won’t be built around controversy
“I’ll do my view on a couple things that people might not have known about a certain famous gig or a certain famous event or award show or something, but I don’t go over and over all the shit that everybody’s already told.”
“A lot of more inside personal things and stuff. No mudslinging or that shit. None of that stupid drug story stuff or anything other than factual things about painkiller addiction.”
The timing is notable given Newsted’s recent return to public life, earlier this year he revealed he had undergone surgery following a throat cancer diagnosis last year and received the all clear in April (2026) after keeping the experience private while recovering.
Alongside the memoir, Newsted also revealed he has additional creative projects waiting in the wings, including completed poetry, lyric and illustration collections (per Blabbermouth).
Before any of those arrive though, it sounds like the memoir comes first, and after 130 chapters, it doesn’t sound like he’s rushing it.
MORE IN News
