More than two years after the departure of bassist Jason Newsted, Metallica [ tickets ] has picked veteran metal bassist Robert Trujillo to fill the vacancy.

"We've taken a long time to find the right bass player for us," founding members James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich and Kirk Hammett said in a statement released on Monday (2/24). "Obviously being a good player is important, but it was also very important that whomever we found would fit in as a family member, a brother with a huge vibe. We wanted a fourth band member, not just a new bass player."

The three musicians went on to say that they've been "huge fans of Rob since the early '90s when he was a part of the legendary hardcore/metal band Suicidal Tendencies [ tickets ]."

"I am so f-----g excited to be a full unit again", the always-loquacious Ulrich said. "The last two years of just being the three of us have taught me so much about myself, about James and Kirk and about Metallica. And to welcome Rob into Metallica in 2003 after all the growth and soul searching we've been through for the last two years, feels so f-----g awesome. Being at full strength again is at this moment indescribable.

"We're f----n' bristling with new energy, new respect, new vibes and a huge f-----g appetite for everything Metallica is. Having Rob here, and him choosing to become a part of our family, will enable us to get to yet another level.”

Hetfield added, "When Rob came to San Francisco the first time and jammed with us, we all felt this incredible magic between the four of us. It was just something that we could not describe. We all just knew it. [Longtime Metallica producer] Bob Rock told us right after the jam that it sounded like a 747 jet taking off. He brings an awesome new strength to the band, and makes us step up."

The now-defunct Suicidal Tendencies toured with Metallica in 1994, during which time Hetfield, Ulrich and Hammett "were impressed by Rob's roaring bass style and his very cool and unique vibe onstage," Ulrich said.

Suicidal members Trujillo and frontman Mike Muir also founded the '90s-era, funk-metal outfit Infectious Grooves [ tickets ]. Since 1996, Trujillo has been a member of Ozzy Osbourne [ tickets ]'s band. He also played bass on former Alice in Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell's second solo effort, last year's "Degradation Trip."

"I am very stoked, excited and look forward to my new journey with my Metallica brothers," Trujillo said in a statement. He gave a nod to the Osbourne clan, as well, adding that "Ozzy, [wife] Sharon, [guitarist] Zakk, [drummer] Mike Bordin, all the team and family members mean the world to me."

Trujillo steps into the slot that Newsted abruptly vacated in January 2001. Newsted, who was the group's second bassist, cited "private and personal reasons, and the physical damage that I have done to myself over the years while playing the music that I love" at the time of his departure.

Newsted replaced original Metallica bassist Cliff Burton in 1986 after Burton was killed when the group's tour bus crashed during a European tour.

On June 10, Metallica will release "St. Anger," its first new studio effort since 1997's "Reload." Rock, the group's producer since its self-titled 1991 album, played bass during the recording sessions.

Metallica will back "St. Anger" with its Summer Sanitarium Tour, a festival show that will also feature Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, Mudvayne and the Deftones.