In a recent interview with Wired In The Empire, Biohazard vocalist Billy Graziadei shared a story about Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich.
The rocker recalled his encounter and revealed that Ulrich didn’t recognize him at first. “Some friends of mine had some spot in Manhattan. And it was a pretty happening spot. But I’m outside talking to the security dudes and the owners, and we’re all young kids; they’re buddies of mine. So, Lars walks up. He’s got maybe an entourage of, like, 10 people. And one of the owners says, ‘Hey, yo, you know Lars. Can you introduce us?’ I’m, like, ‘Yeah, no problem.’ So Lars walks by, and I’m, like, ‘Yo, what’s up, bro?’ And he looks at me, kind of nods his head and says, ‘Yeah, hi,’ and walks right past me. So as New Yorkers, my buddies were busting my balls. They’re, like, ‘You don’t know him.’ I’m, like, ‘I do know. And he f*cking knows me.'”
He went on to explain how he reintroduced himself to the drummer: “So I rushed. I walk in the club. I walk up the stairs, VIP. And I pushed through to him and his people. And I sit right down next to him. I’m, like, ‘Yo. What the f*ck? You know who I am.’ I said, ‘You made me like an idiot in front of my buddies.’ I said, ‘You know me. Billy from Biohazard.’ He goes, ‘Oh, I didn’t recognize your hair.’ I’m, like, ‘It’s always blonde, dude. That’s my thing.’ It’s like Dimebag with his red beard. So, to make a long story short, he kind of motions over to one of his friends. She comes and sits next to me. She’s, like, ‘What band do you play with?’ I said, ‘Biohazard.’ She said, ‘Oh you guys are f*cking heavy. Cool.’ Blah blah blah. That was it.”
Graziadei recalled the call he received from his manager: “The next morning I get a call from my manager, Scott Koenig, rest in peace. He said to me, ‘Hey, I heard you bumped into Lars last night.’ And I’m, like, ‘Oh, here he goes. He’s gonna bust my balls.’ And so I started telling the story. And I was cool with Lars. I just basically stood up to him and said, ‘Hey, you know me. Don’t act like you don’t know me, especially in front of my friends in New York, who, they’re gonna bust my balls.’ So sure enough, I started telling the story.”
The band eventually ended up getting an offer to tour with Metallica: “He interrupts me and he said, ‘Well, I don’t know what happened or what you said or how you handled it, but they wanna take you on tour.’ And I pretty much dropped the phone, and I was, like, ‘Yo, what?’ I picked the phone up. ‘They wanna take us on tour? F*cking Metallica?'”
Biohazard recently announced that they are heading to the studio to record a new album. This upcoming release will be the follow-up to their 2012 album ‘Reborn in Defiance’ and the first new release since Evan Seinfeld rejoined the band in 2022.
Last month, Biohazard guitarist Bobby Hambel confirmed in an interview that he and his bandmates would be entering the studio ‘in a couple of weeks’ to begin working on the new album. “After playing together — what is it? — f*cking year and a half, I think we’re ready to lay it down, to start puking out some more f*cking stuff,” Hambel said. “It’s happening, too. It’s heavy sh*t, too.”
The first reunion show featuring Graziadei, Hambel, Schuler, and Seinfeld took place on May 26, 2023, at the Milwaukee Metal Fest at The Rave/Eagles Ballroom in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
