Anthrax Guitarist Scott Ian Was “Blown Away” by Metallica

Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian recently talked about his thoughts and jealousy of Metallica back when he first listened to the legendary band. Guitarist Scott Ian appeared on the second episode of Anthrax’s new docuseries for the band’s 40th anniversary and spoke about their earlier days while also touching on his friend and boss Jonny Z, who introduced him to Metallica. There are many other musicians from various big bands in the video, too. For now, let’s check out Scott Ian’s first reaction to Metallica.

Scott Ian: “I was crazy jealous”

For the context, Ian talks about Jon Zazula (Jonny Z), who later becomes the boss of Megaforce Records. The guitarist reveals that the first time he heard Metallica was thanks to Zazula.

“[Jonny] was like, ‘Scott, I got this thing, wait ’til you hear it, it’s going to blow your mind! I got this demo from this band, from San Francisco, they’re called Metallica’… and he puts this f***ing tape in, and it’s just like… hearing the guitars, the song arrangements, the tightness of the band… I was blown away, and I f***ing loved it, and at the same time I was crazy jealous.”

It seems Jonny exactly gave Ian what he offered. Scott Ian loved the music.

“Who are these guys? How old are they? He’s like, ‘They’re the same as you guys. Same age!’ Everything about it was better than where we were at as a band at that point, y’know, and here’s Jonny, like our guy, telling us, ‘I’m bringing them to New York from San Francisco, and we’re gonna put them in the studio and make an album and get them a record deal!’ It was, like, What? What about us?”

They did not have to wait for that much though, as Zazula later helped Anthrax to release their debut album Fistful of Metalin 1984. In the video, Anthrax band members talk about the production process of their first set of tracks. We also see how Ross the Boss from Manowar helped them write Soldiers Of Metal in the second episode of ANTHRAX 40.

About Anthrax 40 for 40

This is a series of episodes that includes many musicians, former and latest members of Anthrax, and industry veterans that have experience working with the band. Scott Ian is just one of them. They talk about Anthrax’s legacy and earlier albums in every episode to crown their 40th anniversary. They will be releasing weekly new episodes about the albums in chronological order. On their official founding anniversary, June 18, they’re going to make a live stream to celebrate their 40th year. That live stream will cover the band’s whole career. You can check out Anthrax’s official website for more information. Here’s what they say about Anthrax 40:

“Each week beginning May 3, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and wrapping on the band’s official founding anniversary of July 18 Anthrax will offer “Anthrax 40 for 40,” a series of episodes that features former band members, fellow musicians, colleagues, and industry veterans sharing behind-the-scenes stories of working with the band, and what Anthrax’s legacy has meant all these years on.”