Dee Snider, the frontman of veteran rockers Twisted Sister, has revealed how he initially believed that Metallica were never going to make it in the music business.
We’ve all heard stories of how people underestimated famous bands. Maybe you saw an early Gang Of Youths show and wrote them off completely, or maybe you were Decca’s Dick Rowe, who turned down signing The Beatles, famously stating that “guitar groups are on their way out.”
Or maybe you were Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider, who revealed how he wrote off Metallica back in the day.
Back in July of 1983, Metallica released their iconic debut album, Kill ‘Em All. At the time, the band had no idea of just big they would become in just a matter of years, instead, they were more focused on heading out on a lengthy tour which would see them hit up North America and Europe over the next year.
During this tour, Metallica found themselves supporting the likes of Raven, Venom, and Twisted Sister, with the latter’s frontman recently revealing how wrong he was about the young rockers.
In an interview with Meltdown on US radio station WRIF 101.1 FM (via Blabbermouth), Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider revealed how he completely underestimated the future success of Metallica.
“This is a true story,” Snider began. “We’re on tour with Metallica, and we’re in Holland, and I’m standing on the side of the stage and I’m watching them doing their set. And I turn to my bass player and I go, ‘These guys have got a lot of heart, but they’re never gonna go anywhere.'”
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“Like I said, I’m brutally honest. I said that out fucking loud. What an asshole!” he continued. “I didn’t wanna be against them. I just said, ‘They’re so heavy.'”
“But they made people just accept how heavy they were, and that’s the great thing about Metallica.”
Check out Dee Snider’s interview with The Meltdown:
Of course, Dee Snider has been in the news a lot lately, attacking controversial politician Clive Palmer for ripping off the music for Twisted Sister’s ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’ as part of a new commercial.
Elsewhere in the interview, Snider touched on another legal aspect of rock music, explaining how Metallica’s famous lawsuit against Napster was poorly handled, ultimately attacking fans who might wish to try new music before they buy it.
“It’s like you go into a fruit stand and you’re thinking about buying some strawberries or some grapes,” Snider began. “Most fruit stands that I’ve been to will say, ‘Taste one,’ and they’ll let you taste a strawberry, and they’ll let you taste a grape.”
“And you go, ‘You know what? They’re not ripe yet,’ and you walk away. Or you say, ‘Wow! I really like those.’ At that point, you don’t steal the grapes or the strawberries — you pay for the strawberries. So, to me, sampling was a great thing.”
“It goes back to the ’50s when people used to go into record shops, and they would get to put on the record with a pair of headphones and listen to the music,” he continued. “So when you listen, you go, ‘I like this,’ and you buy it, or, ‘This sucks,’ and you don’t buy it, that’s cool. That’s fine.”
“I don’t think [Lars] explained [Metallica’s position] right,” Snider concluded. “But he got crucified.”
Check out Metallica’s ‘Seek & Destroy’:
