What 12 Other Metal Bands Think About Metallica

Metallica is one of the biggest metal bands of all time, so it makes sense that others talk about them heavily. Moreover, this group has built a reputation that is divisive to a lot of people because of their change of sound. This has resulted in different eras and discussions where other people, especially bands, get to talk about them and share their own takes on the matter.

There have been a lot of musicians who have voiced their opinions on Metallica. Most of them have been positive, but there are also some controversial opinions. It makes a lot of sense given the nature of the band, but also some of the clashes they have had throughout the years. Furthermore, this also serves to highlight the status of the band even to this very day in the metal industry.

1. Megadeth

We all know that for a long time, guitarist Dave Mustaine‘s relationship with Metallica wasn’t the best. This all stemmed from his departure from the Californian band in 1983. For a long time, there was a lot of controversy surrounding the relationship between the two bands, although it was more of a thing between Dave, James, and Lars. There were many back and forths that began with insults and ended with a good relationship in recent years.

Despite this, Mustaine has even declared that “Metallica got a big head start, and they did so on the back of what I helped create,” and added, “I think I wrote many of the songs that made you famous.”

2. Black Sabbath

Geezer Butler, legendary bassist and principal songwriter of Black Sabbath, is a fan of Metallica’s work. However, unlike much of the metal community, he doesn’t recognize the thrash band’s early albums as much.

“I mean, a lot of people think the earlier stuff is the true Metallica, but it didn’t really appeal much to me”. Butler has indicated that modern metal is a considerable departure from what Black Sabbath helped create and that the Black Album is “one of the few metal albums I could listen to from beginning to end. I really enjoyed listening to it”.

3. Iron Maiden

In this case, Bruce Dickinson focuses his opinion of Metallica on the rivalry between the two bands. The singer believes Maiden has a much more consistent career than Metallica, something people don’t usually stop to think about. “Of course we’re better than Metallica, people said, you can’t say that. I said, I just did. Then they started going, maybe he’s right”.

4. Judas Priest

On the other hand, Rob Halford has nothing but praise for Metallica. The Judas Priest singer focuses on the personal aspect rather than the musical, where his good relationship with the band members clearly stands out. “These guys are so real, beautiful, and caring. That’s what I love about them. There’s this nurturing they have, not only for each other, but for other bands they’re fans of. It’s a very real thing for Metallica”.

5. Exodus

Gary Holt recently told a story about Metallica that didn’t leave them in a very good light. Holt referred to a 1986 concert when Exodus and Metallica were playing in San Francisco. At that point, Kirk Hammett had already left Exodus for Metallica a few years earlier. Holt said, “We crushed Metallica and look, I’m not gloating, we crushed ’em, and they knew it”. He also added that James Hetfield told him, “that’ll be the last time you guys open for us”.

According to Holt, this continued until recent years, when they overlapped at a few festivals. It also shows the progress of Metallica, going from the Bay Area to fill entire stadiums all over the world.

6. Testament

Here are some comments focused mostly on the musical aspect. Steve Di Giorgio, bassist for Testament and many more notorious band, claims that the bass makes metal really heavy. Something we can all agree on. He also says that currently, the bass is gradually being relegated to an almost dispensable position.

For Di Giorgio, this started several decades ago and he finds Metallica a clear example of this. “It was happening before ‘…And Justice for All’, but that’s the famous example of the bass being turned off during the recording”. When considering his status as one of the greatest metal bassists of all time, this statement needs to be taken into account.

Anthrax

For his part, Scott Ian has very good things to say about Metallica. Anthrax and Metallica have had a relationship that dates back to when Dave Mustaine was still in the band. In fact, for him, Metallica helped pave the way for Anthrax to achieve the success they had.

Ian also left a comment that speaks a bit to Metallica’s mentality at the time. “Nobody was walking around saying Metallica is gonna be bigger than Iron Maiden someday. But everybody knew that they were ahead of the game”.

8. W.A.S.P

Following a similar line from Scott Ian, Blackie Lawless said he didn’t expect Metallica to become what it became. “Honestly, I don’t think anybody has the ability to look into a crystal ball and see that”. The W.A.S.P. frontman was a bit more specific, referring to James Hetfield in particular. “I mean, for me, Metallica is James. And I don’t say to slight any of the rest of the band but being a singer, I relate to the singer”.

It is also worth pointing out that W.A.S.P. toured with Metallica in 1986. He has spoken highly of the band in other moments, which is something that makes these words even more notorious. Furthermore, it highlights the degree of respect he has for this band as well.

9. Winger

This is a relationship that, similar to Metallica’s with Mustaine, was poor at the time but now seems to have improved considerably. People have to go back to 1992 when Metallica released the video for “Nothing Else Matters“.

“The irony is that before that happened, the ‘Black Album’ came out, and I called my drummer and said, ‘Man, you should check out the drums on this record. It’s really awesome!'” said Kip Winger. “Next thing I know, Lars has got a dart in my forehead”. That’s where the conflict between the two bands began. However, Winger acknowledged that recently “James Hetfield called me to apologize,” so that relationship seems to have improved.

This situation led to a lot of people mocking Winger. Back in 1992, Metallica was one of the biggest bands in the world and the video helped to damage that band’s image. It was certainly unfair and highlights the controversial behavior of Ulrich and Hetfield.

10. Motorhead

Here we go back in time to what Lemmy thought about Metallica. First, it’s worth mentioning that the members of Metallica are huge fans of Motorhead, to the point that Lars had a small fan club for the band when he was a teenager.

Lemmy said of the criticism leveled at Metallica for its shift in sound, “I don’t see any change in them… they’ve tried to change their music a bit, but you have to, if you’re gonna survive, explore different avenues”. So for the legendary Motorhead frontman, the change in the thrash metal band was a natural thing.

11. Slayer

Kerry King says he’s a metal fan who gets offended when a band he likes releases an album that’s not good. King said, “I may not have been super-stoked on it, but I never hated it the way a lot of people did,” referring to the Black Album. “It’s no ‘Master of Puppets‘, but it’s got some heavy s*** on it,” he added. He also said he was a big Metallica fan when they started, primarily because of Mustaine. “Me and Jeff (Hannemann) would go to Woodstock and pay money just to go see Metallica, because Mustaine would be up there ripping through everything”.

It goes without saying that Kerry King is a man who isn’t afraid to speak his mind. This is shown with Metallica and a lot of other topics throughout the years.

12. Alice in Chains

Despite the fact that the relationship between the two bands was sometimes rocky, Jerry Cantrell has good words for Metallica. Especially for James Hetfield, of whom he says, “Will he go down in history as a rock icon? He already has… he’s the godfather, man”. He also said of Metallica’s frontman, “What makes James such a great frontman is his physical presence. Nobody else commands the same kind of respect and attention without it being self-seeking or egocentric”.

This statement is also quite notorious after Metallica mocked late Alice in Chains singer Layne Staley when he was dealing with drug addiction while alive. It seems that both bands have managed to move past.