8 Times Metal Stars Were Disrespectful

Metal stars are known for their great music, their excessive lifestyles, and, yes, their feuds. These musicians are as controversial as they are talented, hence why they clash with others. There are also a lot of moments of disrespect, whether they are deserved or not. That has created some rather infamous stories throughout the years in the genre.

These metal stars have disrespected others, whether it’s out of spite, competitive nature, or simply superficial reasons. It is the nature of the beast in such a free-spirited genre. Musicians have no qualms about voicing their opinions and, sometimes, the results are not pretty. However, they do work as phenomenal anecdotes.

1. Ozzy Osbourne vs. Ronnie James Dio

Back in 1979, Ozzy Osbourne was a rockstar, possibly in the worst sense of the word. His actions and excess eventually tired the rest of the members of Black Sabbath and they fired the Birmingham singer. His replacement was none other than Ronnie James Dio of Rainbow fame.

The change in the band’s musical style was as expected with the “Heaven and Hell” record in 1980, generating polarized opinions about Black Sabbath. This was extrapolated to the protagonists themselves. There were a lot of comments and a lot of discussions aimed at one side to the other.

On the one hand, Sharon criticized the change in the band and claimed that it had taken the wrong path. Meanwhile, Dio had strong opinions about Ozzy as a composer and as a person which, according to him, he had firsthand knowledge for having met many people who worked with Ozzy.

The fact is that these are two of the most important metal stars in history and they were enemies for a large part of their careers.

2. Ritchie Blackmore vs. Ian Gillan

Deep Purple have always been a very talented band with strong personalities. This can lead to great work but at the same time there are clashes and problems between these personalities. In the world of rock and metal this is even common.

In 1973, shortly after the departure of Roger Glover from Deep Purple and one of the band’s biggest commercial successes, “Smoke on the Water”, Ian Gillan also left the band. Gillan would explain many years later that his departure was due to the more commercial approach that the band was taking, something that he did not agree with.Gillan also hinted that it was Ritchie Blackmore who was responsible for this change.

For his part, Blackmore considered the singer as someone who wanted to attract attention. These differences led to many bickerings throughout the decades although they seem to have been resolved in recent times. It is rather infamous that during Blackmore’s final tour with Deep Purple in 1993, he threw water at Gillan’s face. That was the end of the rope for the guitarist and promptly left the band.

3. Metallica vs. Alice in Chains

In this case, the situation was a bit strange and not very clear. The story goes back to the 90s when grunge was at its peak of popularity. At a Metallica concert, James Hetfield started making fun of Layne Staley, singer of Alice in Chains, and his drug addiction. Other members of the band joined in the mockery, which, by the way, was not well received by the public. From there, people started talking about this enmity between the two bands.

However, there is a version that says that Metallica was just joking and that they had a good relationship with the grunge band, although this has not been proven. The good relationship part, though, has been proven since Hetfield has performed live with Alice in Chains. It seems to be water under the bridge, although the entire situation is deeply bizarre.

4. Bruce Dickinson vs. Sharon Osbourne

This is the second time Sharon Osbourne is mentioned on this list of disrespectful metal stars. And it’s the last time (or maybe not). It seems that Ozzy’s wife is always connected to chaos when it comes to this business.

Time to go back to 2005, at Ozzfest, when Iron Maiden was booed and had objects thrown at them while they were playing. Sharon had said that the band had disrespected Ozzfest and incited the public to treat Iron Maiden in the same way. In fact, many years later, she confessed to having brought people to do so.

Both Sharon and Ozzy said that the problem was not with the band but with Dickinson, whom they accused of having complained about many things at the festival. Time passed and Dickinson himself calmed down the matter a lot. However, it is not very common to see someone like the Iron Maiden singer clashing with people in this manner.

5. Sammy Hagar vs. David Lee Roth

Sammy Hagar and David Lee Roth are two great metal stars with a common past in Van Halen. Each one had his time in the band, with his own style, something that polarized the fans, like Ozzy and Dio in Black Sabbath. In addition, both had good solo careers, developing a rivalry between them.

Although it could seem like a healthy rivalry, in reality, it was something that went beyond that. They could not stand each other, to the point of avoiding and avoiding each other if they coincided in some kind of event. The words of one towards the other were not very pleasant, in some cases insults in interviews.

Funny enough, both musicians agreed to do a tour together in the early 2000s. It was mayhem, with both musicians insulting each on the press on a regular basis. Moreover, Hagar was very vocal of his dislike for Roth in his autobiography. These two gentlemen have had a long history of clashing with people and this was perhaps their most popular feud not connected with Eddie Van Halen.

6. Rage Against the Machine vs. Limp Bizkit

In this case, the issue is one-sided. You see, at the MTV Music Awards in 2000, Limp Bizkit won an award for their video for “Break Stuff,” beating out Rage Against the Machine‘s “Sleep Now in the Fire”. This did not sit well with Rage Against the Machine‘s bassist Tim Commerford, who decided to stand on stage while Fred Durst and his band were receiving their award.

Commerford stood on a decorative palm tree on the stage and refused to come down. After that, he criticized and badmouthed Limp Bizkit on several occasions. Interestingly, Limp Bizkit continued to cover Rage Against the Machine and always showed respect for their music. It is one of the most bizarre examples since Fred Durst and his band haven’t hit back.

However, it is also a great sample of how disrespectful some of these clashes can be. Commerford had no reason to go this hard on Limp Bizkit. As mentioned earlier, though, it is the nature of the beast.

7. Dave Mustaine vs. Metallica

This is probably one of the most well-known stories of this type among metal stars. Here we go back to the beginnings of Metallica, in the early 80s, when the band decided to fire Dave Mustaine who, until then, was Metallica‘s guitarist. It was due to Mustaine‘s drinking and drug problems. Basically, they fired the worst of four evils, considering the other members’ own issues.

Although the origin has to do with a story between Mustaine‘s dog and Hetfield, everything ended in a conflict that led to the firing. For many years, Mustaine had offensive words against Metallica, something that in recent years has become an anecdote since now they all maintain a good relationship, at least publicly.

If anything, this is an example of a feud becoming a positive thing. It was thanks to Metallica firing Mustaine and the latter wanting to get even that Megadeth came to fruition. Therefore, the metal world had the pleasure of having two legendary bands instead of one. In that regard, the fans were the biggest winners of this clash.

8. Kerry King vs. Rob Flynn

Machine Head had a good relationship with Slayer in the 90s. In fact, they supported them for several concerts, something that gave them a lot of exposure. However, in the early 2000s, Kerry King, leader of Slayer, accused Machine Head of being sellouts. This is because, in the late 90s, Machine Head pivoted to the alternative metal sound, abandoning its thrash roots.

Although at first, the comments went unanswered, the time came when Robb Flynn could no longer hold back and responded to King. Flynn directly attacked King publicly, although a few years later he toned down the matter a bit and now it seems that it is a topic that has been left behind.

It is a running theme throughout most of these two musicians’ careers, though. They have a long history of feuding with other musicians. However, this is perhaps the best example since it’s two controversial musicians facing each other.