Ron McGovney (born November 2, 1963 in Los Angeles, California) is a former American musician, best known as the original bassist in the heavy metal band Metallica.
In June 1981, McGovney formed his first band, Leather Charm, with his childhood friend and roommate James Hetfield and guitarist Hugh Tanner of Hetfield's previous band, Phantom Lord. Tanner left Leather Charm to pursue a career in music management, and the subsequent lineup of the group featured guitarist Troy James and drummer Jim Mulligan. The group rehearsed a set of New Wave of British Heavy Metal covers and original material for a period of months, but Mulligan's departure later that year led to the band's demise.
Hetfield next began Metallica, a new project with drummer Lars Ulrich, late in 1981. With the addition of McGovney and guitarist Dave Mustaine early the next year, the first gigging lineup of the band was complete. After their first performance on March 14th, the band spent 1982 accruing a local following in the Los Angeles heavy metal scene. In this time, the group recorded several demos, including one from his own garage, Power Metal, and most notably the live No Life 'Til Leather. Additionally, a recording of "Hit The Lights" with McGovney playing bass was featured on a repressing of the Metal Massacre Vol. 1 album.
McGovney's time with Metallica was reportedly tumultuous, as he often clashed with Ulrich and Mustaine. McGovney felt his role was that of monetary and transportation provider, rather than a respected member of the band. He ultimately quit on December 12, 1982 due to these growing tensions. He was replaced by Cliff Burton. After leaving Metallica, McGovney became disillusioned with playing music and sold most of his equipment.
In June 1981, McGovney formed his first band, Leather Charm, with his childhood friend and roommate James Hetfield and guitarist Hugh Tanner of Hetfield's previous band, Phantom Lord. Tanner left Leather Charm to pursue a career in music management, and the subsequent lineup of the group featured guitarist Troy James and drummer Jim Mulligan. The group rehearsed a set of New Wave of British Heavy Metal covers and original material for a period of months, but Mulligan's departure later that year led to the band's demise.
Hetfield next began Metallica, a new project with drummer Lars Ulrich, late in 1981. With the addition of McGovney and guitarist Dave Mustaine early the next year, the first gigging lineup of the band was complete. After their first performance on March 14th, the band spent 1982 accruing a local following in the Los Angeles heavy metal scene. In this time, the group recorded several demos, including one from his own garage, Power Metal, and most notably the live No Life 'Til Leather. Additionally, a recording of "Hit The Lights" with McGovney playing bass was featured on a repressing of the Metal Massacre Vol. 1 album.
McGovney's time with Metallica was reportedly tumultuous, as he often clashed with Ulrich and Mustaine. McGovney felt his role was that of monetary and transportation provider, rather than a respected member of the band. He ultimately quit on December 12, 1982 due to these growing tensions. He was replaced by Cliff Burton. After leaving Metallica, McGovney became disillusioned with playing music and sold most of his equipment.
David Scott "Dave" Mustaine (born September 13, 1961, La Mesa, California) is the founder, main songwriter, guitarist, and lead vocalistfor the American heavy metal band Megadeth. Prior to Megadeth, Mustaine was the first lead guitarist and a co-songwriter of Metallica until he was fired from the band in 1983. In 2009, he was ranked No. 1 in Joel McIver's book The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists. Mustaine was also ranked eighty-ninth by Hit Parader on their list of the 100 Greatest Metal Vocalists of All Time. He is also the manager for the Canadian band "Baptized in Blood."
In 1981, Mustaine left Panic to join Metallica as the lead guitarist. Metallica's drummer Lars Ulrich had posted an ad in a local newspaper, The Recycler, looking for a lead guitarist. In his own words, Mustaine remembers his first meeting with James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich: "I was in the room warming up and I walked out and asked, 'Well, are you gonna audition?', and they said, 'no, you've got the job.' I couldn't believe how easy it had been and suggested that we get some beer to celebrate."
Mustaine's membership in Metallica would last less than two years. Brian Slagel, owner of Metal Blade Records, recalls in an interview: "Dave was an incredibly talented guy but he also had an incredibly large problem with alcohol and drugs. He'd get wasted and become a real crazy person, a raging maniac, and the other guys just couldn't deal with that after a while. I mean, they all drank of course, but Dave drank more...much more. I could see they were beginning to get fed up of seeing Dave drunk out of his mind all the time."
On one occasion, Mustaine brought his dog to rehearsal; the dog jumped onto the car of Metallica bassist Ron McGovney and scratched the paint. Hetfield allegedly proceeded to yell at Mustaine's dog and kicked it in anger, to which Mustaine responded by physically attacking Hetfield and McGovney and verbally abusing Ulrich. Mustaine was fired following the altercation, but the next day, Mustaine asked to be allowed back in the band and was granted his request. Another incident occurred when Mustaine, who had been drinking, poured a full can of beer down the neck and into the pick-ups of Ron McGovney's bass. When McGovney tried playing it, he received an electrical shock which he claims 'blew him across the room and shocked the hell out of him'. McGovney then told Mustaine and Hetfield to leave his house and left the band shortly after.
On April 11, 1983, after Metallica had driven to New York to record their debut album, Mustaine was officially fired from the band because of his alcoholism, drug abuse, overly aggressive behavior, and personality clashes with founding members Hetfield and Ulrich, an incident Mustaine refers to as "no warning, no second chance". The band packed up Dave's gear, drove him to the Port Authority Bus Terminal, and put him on a Greyhound bus bound for Los Angeles. It was on this bus ride that Mustaine scribbled some lyrical ideas on the back of a muffin wrapper, which would later become the song Set The World Afire from the 1988 Megadeth album So Far, So Good... So What!
During his time in Metallica, Dave Mustaine toured with the band, co-wrote four songs which appeared on Kill Em All, and co-wrote two songs which would eventually appear on Ride the Lightning. Mustaine has also made unverified claims to have written parts of "Leper Messiah" from Master of Puppets. He also recorded several songs with the band including the No Life 'Til Leather demo tape. A few of the songs he wrote with Hetfield and Ulrich went on to be re-recorded by Metallica. The most well-known of these is "The Four Horsemen" from Kill 'Em All, which Mustaine wrote as "The Mechanix" and later released on his debut album with the original lyrics as "Mechanix".
In 1981, Mustaine left Panic to join Metallica as the lead guitarist. Metallica's drummer Lars Ulrich had posted an ad in a local newspaper, The Recycler, looking for a lead guitarist. In his own words, Mustaine remembers his first meeting with James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich: "I was in the room warming up and I walked out and asked, 'Well, are you gonna audition?', and they said, 'no, you've got the job.' I couldn't believe how easy it had been and suggested that we get some beer to celebrate."
Mustaine's membership in Metallica would last less than two years. Brian Slagel, owner of Metal Blade Records, recalls in an interview: "Dave was an incredibly talented guy but he also had an incredibly large problem with alcohol and drugs. He'd get wasted and become a real crazy person, a raging maniac, and the other guys just couldn't deal with that after a while. I mean, they all drank of course, but Dave drank more...much more. I could see they were beginning to get fed up of seeing Dave drunk out of his mind all the time."
On one occasion, Mustaine brought his dog to rehearsal; the dog jumped onto the car of Metallica bassist Ron McGovney and scratched the paint. Hetfield allegedly proceeded to yell at Mustaine's dog and kicked it in anger, to which Mustaine responded by physically attacking Hetfield and McGovney and verbally abusing Ulrich. Mustaine was fired following the altercation, but the next day, Mustaine asked to be allowed back in the band and was granted his request. Another incident occurred when Mustaine, who had been drinking, poured a full can of beer down the neck and into the pick-ups of Ron McGovney's bass. When McGovney tried playing it, he received an electrical shock which he claims 'blew him across the room and shocked the hell out of him'. McGovney then told Mustaine and Hetfield to leave his house and left the band shortly after.
On April 11, 1983, after Metallica had driven to New York to record their debut album, Mustaine was officially fired from the band because of his alcoholism, drug abuse, overly aggressive behavior, and personality clashes with founding members Hetfield and Ulrich, an incident Mustaine refers to as "no warning, no second chance". The band packed up Dave's gear, drove him to the Port Authority Bus Terminal, and put him on a Greyhound bus bound for Los Angeles. It was on this bus ride that Mustaine scribbled some lyrical ideas on the back of a muffin wrapper, which would later become the song Set The World Afire from the 1988 Megadeth album So Far, So Good... So What!
During his time in Metallica, Dave Mustaine toured with the band, co-wrote four songs which appeared on Kill Em All, and co-wrote two songs which would eventually appear on Ride the Lightning. Mustaine has also made unverified claims to have written parts of "Leper Messiah" from Master of Puppets. He also recorded several songs with the band including the No Life 'Til Leather demo tape. A few of the songs he wrote with Hetfield and Ulrich went on to be re-recorded by Metallica. The most well-known of these is "The Four Horsemen" from Kill 'Em All, which Mustaine wrote as "The Mechanix" and later released on his debut album with the original lyrics as "Mechanix".
Jason Curtis Newsted (born March 4, 1963 in Battle Creek, Michigan) is an American bassist known for his work with Metallica, Voivodand Flotsam and Jetsam. Joining Metallica in 1986 after Cliff Burton's death, Newsted remained a member until 2001, making him the band's longest-serving bassist. After he left Metallica, he continued with his project Echobrain, played with Ozzy Osbourne and joined heavy metal band Voivod. Newsted uses the pseudonym Jasonic, which serves as both his alias in Voivod and the name of his music publishing company. He is also the founder of the Chophouse Records studio and label based in California.
Following the death of Metallica's bassist Cliff Burton in September 1986 on the Europe leg of the Damage Inc. Tour, Metallica began a search for a new bassist. Newsted auditioned for the part along with roughly 39 other musicians and in winning the role, his first live performance with Metallica was at the Country Club in Reseda, California. Newsted was often subjected to pranks and ridicule which increased as time went on. His debut with Metallica was on its extended play The $5.98 E.P.: Garage Days Re-Revisited. This was followed by his first studio album with the band, ...And Justice for All, which was subject to controversy and criticism for its poor production - among other issues, for its murky bass sound. Newsted claims this was further hazing on the part of Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield, although both Ulrich and Hetfield claim they were also disappointed with the production of the album. In addition, they claim that most/all of Newsted's bass lines closely followed the rhythm guitar lines to the point of being indiscernible from each other.[citation needed] Nonetheless, the album reached number 6 on the Billboard200 and projected the band to higher success.
Newsted performed on ...And Justice for All (1988), the self-titled Metallica (1991), which is the best-selling Metallica album to date and made Metallica a world-known band, Load (1996) and ReLoad (1997). The live concerts Live Shit: Binge & Purge and Cunning Stunts were produced in 1993 and 1997 respectively, and S&M in 1999. Newsted also played bass on the song "I Disappear" in 2000.
During his time in Metallica Jason played the bass guitar and also sang backing vocals on numerous Metallica songs. During the tours after 1991 Jason often sang parts of "Creeping Death", "Whiplash" and "Seek and Destroy". He is known for his bass solo which included parts of "My Friend of Misery" and bass parts from his former band, Flotsam & Jetsam.
During a meeting between Metallica members in January 2001, Newsted, who was unhappy with the direction Metallica was taking, proposed that the band should take a year-long hiatus, and Newsted would use that time to focus on his side-project Echobrain. When the other band members objected, Newsted decided to quit the band. And on January 17, as plans were being made for the band to enter the recording studio for the St. Anger album, Newsted announced his departure. Newsted's statement revealed his departure was based on "private and personal reasons and the physical damage I have done to myself over the years while playing the music that I love." During a Playboy interview with Metallica, Newsted revealed intentions he wanted to release an album with Echobrain. Hetfield was against the idea and said, "When someone does a side project, it takes away from the strength of Metallica." Newsted countered his statement by citing Hetfield's contributions to other musical outlets. Hetfield replied, "My name isn't on those records. And I'm not out trying to sell them" and pondered questions such as "Where would it end? Does he start touring with it? Does he sell shirts? Is it his band?".
Newsted says he has never regretted leaving the band. "I tell you very honestly, one billion percent, I have never regretted leaving Metallica. It was the right thing for everyone. It was the right thing to do for the camp, that’s it. I’ve never told anyone that I wanted to go back or anything like that, not once. I made up my mind. It was not an easy thing to do, but it was something I had to do. I thought about it very much before I pulled the trigger and because of that, I have never looked back. The past is where it's supposed to be." It was stated in the film Some Kind of Monster that there was a rumor for Newsted to possibly rejoin the band, but it was proven false.
On April 4, 2009, Newsted joined Metallica for its induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. He also performed three songs at the event, "Master Of Puppets","Enter Sandman", and "Train Kept A-Rollin'" with Hetfield, Ulrich, Hammett, and Trujillo, and Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Joe Perry, Ron Wood, and Flea.
Following the death of Metallica's bassist Cliff Burton in September 1986 on the Europe leg of the Damage Inc. Tour, Metallica began a search for a new bassist. Newsted auditioned for the part along with roughly 39 other musicians and in winning the role, his first live performance with Metallica was at the Country Club in Reseda, California. Newsted was often subjected to pranks and ridicule which increased as time went on. His debut with Metallica was on its extended play The $5.98 E.P.: Garage Days Re-Revisited. This was followed by his first studio album with the band, ...And Justice for All, which was subject to controversy and criticism for its poor production - among other issues, for its murky bass sound. Newsted claims this was further hazing on the part of Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield, although both Ulrich and Hetfield claim they were also disappointed with the production of the album. In addition, they claim that most/all of Newsted's bass lines closely followed the rhythm guitar lines to the point of being indiscernible from each other.[citation needed] Nonetheless, the album reached number 6 on the Billboard200 and projected the band to higher success.
Newsted performed on ...And Justice for All (1988), the self-titled Metallica (1991), which is the best-selling Metallica album to date and made Metallica a world-known band, Load (1996) and ReLoad (1997). The live concerts Live Shit: Binge & Purge and Cunning Stunts were produced in 1993 and 1997 respectively, and S&M in 1999. Newsted also played bass on the song "I Disappear" in 2000.
During his time in Metallica Jason played the bass guitar and also sang backing vocals on numerous Metallica songs. During the tours after 1991 Jason often sang parts of "Creeping Death", "Whiplash" and "Seek and Destroy". He is known for his bass solo which included parts of "My Friend of Misery" and bass parts from his former band, Flotsam & Jetsam.
During a meeting between Metallica members in January 2001, Newsted, who was unhappy with the direction Metallica was taking, proposed that the band should take a year-long hiatus, and Newsted would use that time to focus on his side-project Echobrain. When the other band members objected, Newsted decided to quit the band. And on January 17, as plans were being made for the band to enter the recording studio for the St. Anger album, Newsted announced his departure. Newsted's statement revealed his departure was based on "private and personal reasons and the physical damage I have done to myself over the years while playing the music that I love." During a Playboy interview with Metallica, Newsted revealed intentions he wanted to release an album with Echobrain. Hetfield was against the idea and said, "When someone does a side project, it takes away from the strength of Metallica." Newsted countered his statement by citing Hetfield's contributions to other musical outlets. Hetfield replied, "My name isn't on those records. And I'm not out trying to sell them" and pondered questions such as "Where would it end? Does he start touring with it? Does he sell shirts? Is it his band?".
Newsted says he has never regretted leaving the band. "I tell you very honestly, one billion percent, I have never regretted leaving Metallica. It was the right thing for everyone. It was the right thing to do for the camp, that’s it. I’ve never told anyone that I wanted to go back or anything like that, not once. I made up my mind. It was not an easy thing to do, but it was something I had to do. I thought about it very much before I pulled the trigger and because of that, I have never looked back. The past is where it's supposed to be." It was stated in the film Some Kind of Monster that there was a rumor for Newsted to possibly rejoin the band, but it was proven false.
On April 4, 2009, Newsted joined Metallica for its induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. He also performed three songs at the event, "Master Of Puppets","Enter Sandman", and "Train Kept A-Rollin'" with Hetfield, Ulrich, Hammett, and Trujillo, and Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Joe Perry, Ron Wood, and Flea.
