On November 4, METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett was interviewed on the “Quinn & Cantara” morning show on Albany’s classic rock radio station PYX 106.
On whether there is any truth to rumors that METALLICA planned to fire drummer Lars Ulrich back in the mid-’80s:
Kirk: “You know, that was just an old thing, you know. I think at one point or another, we were pissed off at Lars, around maybe 1985 or something. We were unhappy and we might have grumbled something to someone. And then that person might have picked up on it and made it something a lot bigger than it actually was… To be completely honest, [Lars] has a lot of drive, and that’s a part of the reason why I love the man. His drive and his motivation is just so intense, you know.”
The story of METALLICA‘s alleged dissatisfaction with Ulrich gained credence back in 2009 when former METALLICA guitarist and current MEGADETH frontman Dave Mustaine revealed to Rolling Stone magazine that he was told by Ian that on the last METALLICA tour Cliff Burton was on before the bassist died, METALLICA was planning on kicking Ulrich out at the trek’s end. Mustaine said, “That’s what Scott told me. He said that when METALLICA got home, that James, Cliff and Kirk were going to fire Lars.”
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