In a new interview with Bass Player, Chris Wyse discussed his audition for Metallica and suggested that the band struggled to decide between him and Rob Trujillo, reflecting on the impact he may have had on their choice.
While discussing his musical journey with the Cult, Wyse mentioned producer Bob Rock believed he would be an ideal fit for the band. When asked whether Rock helped him get the audition for Metallica after Jason Newsted left the band in a follow-up question, the bassist replied:
“Yeah. But the thing with that was Metallica had pretty much figured out that they wanted to go with Robert Trujillo. Bob said, ‘Hey, there’s another guy who can play with his fingers and do all the Cliff Burton stuff.’ The guys in Metallica had heard that Cult record; they liked my tone and were into my playing so they say, ‘Yeah, this guy has something. Let’s have him come in.'”
Inside Wyse’s Audition For Metallica
The rocker continued, sharing the details of his Metallica audition:
“I was there for several hours. I was very comfortable because of Bob and his engineers, all of whom I knew and had worked with. I knew I could play all the finger stuff like Cliff, and maybe even add some stuff that would be new and fresh because of my crushing tone. They wanted Robert – but after me, they took a few weeks, so I must have made an impression on them because they had to think about it.”
Reasons Behind Wyse Not Joining Metallica
Discussing why he wasn’t ultimately chosen for Metallica, Wyse speculated it might have been due to perceptions of his age and experience. Despite this, he felt confident in his abilities.
Later, Kirk Hammett reached out to Wyse, suggesting he might be interested in joining Ozzy Osbourne’s band since Trujillo was leaving to join Metallica. However, in another twist, Jason Newsted ended up taking the position with Ozzy.
Trujillo officially joined Metallica on February 24, 2003, two years after Newsted’s resignation. His relationship with the band dated back to the early ’90s when his band Suicidal Tendencies supported Metallica on tour.
