Megadeth were one of the most popular rock bands of their time but despite their success, the band’s former guitarist Marty Friedman has revealed he was jealous of Metallica.
On an episode of podcast Speak n Destroy, Friedman revealed that Metal wasn’t well known in the early 80s, and barely anyone in Hawaii knew what it was.
“At that time, even in the mainland [US], no one knew who the Scorpions were, Judas Priest, or any of those bands [Marty lived in Hawaii at the time] – it was a niche market.
“There were some maniacs who knew that stuff and that was it, but in Hawaii, forget about it. There was really nothing – and not only that, but there was just no one who cared in the slightest about what we were doing.
When Friedman spotted Metallica’s album in a record store in Hawaii, he thought it was awesome but also had a tinge of jealousy.
“I thought [Metallica’s] music was so uncommercial, that these guys would never in a million years get a record deal. I just liked it too much, so there was no way – I mean, what was on the charts back then, Duran Duran and stuff like that, right?
“I never ever dreamed that it would ever come out. I mean, if it did come out, it would come out on some indie thing…
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“When I saw the record in an actual record store – in Hawaii no less – I’m like, I just could not freaking believe it. And I’m like – it was the coolest thing ever.
“It kind of made me think, ‘Well, if this happens, then maybe someday I might have a shot of getting out of the complete underground.’
“Because nothing was more underground than Metallica at that time, they were just doing underground better than anybody else at the time – or at least in my particular taste.
“I was just blown away – I was shocked, I was happy. I was a bit jealous because up until that point, we were kind of in the same circles.
“There was also a little bit of jealousy going on because what they were doing, it wasn’t like – at least from the listeners’ standpoint, it wasn’t like there were label people or management or anyone telling them, ‘Do this, this is trendy, try this…’
“It sounded like they were doing whatever the fuck they wanted to do – and cool shit – and it was getting out there.”
