When ex-band bassist Jason Newsted was let go, a plethora of talented artists auditioned for the role of Metallica bassist; among those musicians was that of Kyuss bassist Scott Reeder. For those who are not aware, Kyuss were a super bad ass stoner rock band (they formed in 1987 and disbanded in 1995).
In a past interview with Metal Hammer, Reeder spoke to his experience auditioning for Metallica. He spoke to his interactions with the band members, as well as when he learned that he didn’t get the gig. In talking about how he landed the audition with Metallica, Reeder shares the following:
“At some point after Jason was out, Lars was hanging out with my old [Kyuss] bandmate, Josh Homme, and asked him who he thought should be the new bassist for Metallica. Josh pointed him my way. Metallica and Kyuss had toured together in Australia back in ’93, so they were familiar with where I was coming from. Anyway, I was working outside at the ranch when Lars called. My wife brought the phone out and thought it was a prank call from Maynard from Tool! Nope – it was actually Lars!”
He continues:
“They flew me up a week or two after the call. We sat around a table and talked for a while, and finally James said, ‘Well, let’s fuckin’ play!’ They had me call ’em out – we did Fuel, Creeping Death, Master Of Puppets, Enter Sandman, The Unforgiven, Fade To Black… They had their Christmas party for the whole Metallica organisation while I was up there, so that was fun! They took over a bowling alley and raged! The next day, it was back to work on St. Anger overdubs. There was a certain song for which James asked us all for lyrical input… Everyone wandered off and scribbled down whatever lines or phrases came to mind. After a while we got together and presented it all to James. He gathered his thoughts, and cut his vocals right next to me on the couch in the control room! That was pretty crazy.”
Reeder is then asked when he learned that he did not get the Metallica bassist role – this is what he shares:
“The three guys called me together to let me off the hook a few weeks later. They hadn’t made their final decision yet – I suspect that they were clear that Rob was their frontrunner. Around a half hour after that call, I got a call from James, just making sure I was alright. I told him I was stoked to have even been considered! I said, ‘This was like the Metal Olympics or something, and I got the silver medal – it’s all good!’”
Even though it would have been cool for Reeder to land the gig, he was a good sport about Robert Trujillo getting the job! It is also really cool that James Hetfield reached out to him. Below we have included links that involve the late Cliff Burton, ex-Metallica bassist Jason Newsted, and current band bassist Robert Trujillo.
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