Did you know that Robert Trujillo is only two years shy of being in Metallica for as long as Jason Newstead, the dude he replaced? There are young Metallica fans out there who only know Trujillo as the band's bassist. It's crazy to think that Trujillo joined Metallica almost 13 years ago, because it feels like just yesterday to me.
But that audition is something Trujillo will never forget, because he was incredibly hungover. Classic Rock transcribed a section of Trujillo's interview on Marc Maron's podcast, WTF, where the bassist recalled how hammered Lars got him the night before his audution:
“I wake up at 9am and see Lars on the treadmill. It’s like he doesn’t know me any more. He’s already sobered up. I’ve got this crazy headache so he’s like, ‘Lets go to the studio.’
“This was when they were going through therapy, and had a life coach called Phil Towle. Here I am with a pounding headache, James is now sober, and the last thing he wants anywhere near his band is a drunk Mexican.
“So I’m sitting at the table completely hungover and thinking, ‘Lars did this to me’ – because he was checking me out to see if I could handle it. This was a test.”
“I played Battery and everyone thought it was pretty slamming, but other than that I was brain-dead. People were asking me questions and I was giving stupid answers.”
I guess playing hungover is the ultimate test for Lars, and Trujillo passed the initiation. No word on if Lars made Trujillo go into a bathroom with him, though.
Listen to the full interview with Robert Trujillo on WTF here.
