Corrosion of Conformity frontman and guitarist Pepper Keenan recently looked back on his famous audition for the vacant bass player position in Metallica. During a new appearance on the “Talk Louder” podcast, hosted by veteran music journalist “Metal Dave” Glessner and vocalist Jason McMaster, the musician discussed his mindset during the highly publicized tryouts following the departure of Jason Newsted.
Pepper Keenan was among a select group of high-profile heavy hitters invited to jam with the thrash legends, alongside notable names like Twiggy Ramirez (ex-Marilyn Manson and A Perfect Circle) and Scott Reeder (ex-Kyuss). The coveted spot, of course, ultimately went to former Ozzy Osbourne and Suicidal Tendencies bassist Robert Trujillo.
When asked if he would have been truly satisfied playing bass in Metallica and potentially stifling his own creative output, he admitted that the collaborative possibilities were the biggest draw for him.
“Yeah, that’s been asked a bunch of times. I would’ve been the bass player for Metallica. And even James [Hetfield said], like, ‘Man, I don’t think you’d have made it.’ The exciting part of that would’ve been the tag-team writing s**t. I would’ve loved to bang heads with Hetfield f**king writing s**t. And that was a weird thing as well,” Keenan shared.
Knowing the stiff competition, the guitarist playfully tried to leverage his vocal abilities against the eventual winner.
“It was between me and Trujillo. And once Trujillo stepped in there, I was, like, ‘Well, you know how this is gonna go.’ I kept telling them, ‘Well, he can’t sing worth of s**t,’ hoping that would gimme some legs, but no,” he added.
Back in 2003, James Hetfield publicly discussed the audition process, which was famously captured on film for the band’s “Some Kind Of Monster” documentary. Speaking to the U.K.’s Kerrang! magazine, the frontman explained his final decision:
“[Pepper]’s a good player and a solid guy. I had such high hopes for him. But when it came to jamming with the band, I knew that it wasn’t going to work. It just didn’t feel right.”
Despite the missed opportunity, Pepper Keenan assured fans in a 2005 interview with Straight.com that trying out for the biggest metal band in the world caused no friction with his Corrosion of Conformity bandmates.
“No, no, no, no — nope,” he said at the time. “What are you gonna say to somebody about that, man? Would you tell him, ‘No, don’t do it.’ Hey, come on!”
Meanwhile, Corrosion of Conformity is currently celebrating the release of their massive new double album, Good God / Baad Man, which officially dropped on April 3 via Nuclear Blast.
The record was produced by Grammy Award winner Warren Riker (known for his work with the Fugees, Down, and Cathedral) and features striking cover art by renowned New Orleans artist Scott Guion. Recording sessions took place across several unique locations, including Blak Shak Studios in Riffissippi, Dockside Studios in Maurice, Louisiana, and the Miami, Florida home studio of Bee Gees legend Barry Gibb.
