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Former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted recalled his final audition for the band back in 1986. Newsted got the chance of a lifetime after the 1986 death of beloved bassist Cliff Burton following a horrific bus accident on the road.

Newsted recalled the night he made the final cut, telling Metal Hammer, “Just to be amongst them was very special. I went in totally prepared and confident. That evening, it was the third day that I played with the boys, I think I stayed overnight in San Francisco for the first time. That third night, they had ‘the elders’ come in for their blessing. So (Lars Ulrich‘s father) Torben Ulrich, the Burtons, a couple of the crew guys, people that had been there from the get-go. . . We got through about six tunes: ‘Master (Of Puppets),’ ‘Fade To Black,’ ‘(For Whom The) Bell Tolls,’ the masterpieces!”

He went on to remember, “So I am just composing myself for a second, putting my bass down, turning off Cliff’s amp — I’m playing f***ing Cliff’s amp, dude! Jan (Burton, Cliff’s mother) comes walking in the room by herself, and she grabs me, and gets my attention. She says, ‘Great job, son,’ and I’m like, ‘Oh f***!’ She embraced me, and it seemed like it was quite a while, and she said, ‘You’re the one, you must be the one. Please be safe, we love you,’ and she gave me a kiss. That was 35 years ago, and I’ll never, ever forget it.”

Drummer Lars Ulrich told us a while back that he remembers Metallica’s early days fondly even if they’re a little hazy: “It was an exciting time and kind of all a little bit surreal. And yes, most of the memories are sort of living in an alcohol-fueled daze, but between the four of us — if the four of us were sitting here we could probably put about 25 percent together each for that puzzle (laughs) and give a somewhat complete picture of what went on.”