Rob Trujillo recently opened up about the circumstances surrounding his 2003 decision to leave Ozzy Osbourne’s band and join Metallica. He shared the story in an interview on Jack Osbourne’s channel.
The bassist revealed that the transition was far from straightforward. He described an unusual 48-hour window in which both Ozzy Osbourne and Metallica’s Lars Ulrich reached out to him simultaneously.
“Well, [me joining Metallica] was similar [to how I landed the gig with Ozzy] in that it took a while before I knew what was going on. And in these situations, decisions like that, they don’t always just sort of happen overnight,” Trujillo said. “There might be like three months and you’re, like, ‘What’s going on?’ And I know it took some time with your dad [Ozzy]. I don’t know why, but it took a minute, and then it took a minute again with Metallica. And that could’ve been because they were working on records and just life, business, and all that.”
Trujillo went on to describe the remarkable timing of the two offers arriving almost back to back.
“But your dad had called and said… Maybe he knew something I didn’t know, because he called and said that he was gonna go on the road and do Ozzfest and, ‘Let’s go.’ And I was, like, ‘Yeah, let’s go,'” he continued. “And then like the next day Lars [Ulrich, Metallica drummer] called and said, ‘Hey, we want you to come up to San Francisco. We gotta talk to you.’ So it’s just kind of weird how in those sort of 48 hours, there was two of the most powerful individuals in hard rock looking for me.”
He also addressed the difficult choice he faced, noting his desire to honor his commitment to Ozzy before making the move.
“And I remember going up and saying… They were like, ‘Hey.’ They gave me the gig and I said something like I wanted to make sure that I took care of your dad and went on tour and fulfilled my commitment. And they were, like, ‘Well, the train’s moving and it’s moving fast.’ ‘Cause Metallica had a new album coming out and all that,” Trujillo said. “So it was just one of those rare moments where there’s two incredible things happening at the same time, and you have to make a decision for the future. And that was sort of that. But again, in a weird way, things happen at the same time, and you can’t explain why. Like I said, your dad actually called me. Your dad didn’t call me every day. And then Lars called me, so it was that kind of a situation.”
Trujillo ultimately chose to join Metallica, replacing bassist Jason Newsted, a position he has held ever since.
What many fans may not realize is just how competitive and drawn-out the process behind that decision truly was — and how close Trujillo came to never being in the running at all.
Metallica spent roughly three months auditioning a significant number of musicians before settling on Trujillo. The entire process was filmed and documented, later appearing in the band’s 2004 documentary Some Kind of Monster. Trujillo was not warned in advance that cameras would be rolling during his audition, adding an unscripted authenticity to the footage that fans would eventually see.
The audition itself spanned two days. The first day was largely observational — Trujillo described it as being a “fly on the wall.” The second day shifted into full performance mode, with the band jamming on tracks including “Battery,” “Sad But True,” “Whiplash,” and “For Whom the Bell Tolls.” Guitarist Kirk Hammett played a key role in bringing Trujillo into consideration. The two had crossed paths years earlier when Trujillo toured with Suicidal Tendencies, a band that had shared stages with Metallica.
The urgency Metallica expressed during the offer was not without reason. The band was deep into the recording of St. Anger, their eighth studio album. Producer Bob Rock had already laid down the bass tracks himself in the absence of a permanent bassist. Trujillo was stepping into a band mid-album cycle, with a major release and touring commitments already on the horizon.
When Metallica extended the offer, they made it impossible to refuse in more ways than one. The band handed Trujillo a $1 million advance on the spot. The gesture underscored both their confidence in him and the weight of the moment. It remains one of the most talked-about details of his recruitment.
Before Metallica, Trujillo had built a formidable reputation across multiple projects. He first gained widespread recognition as the bassist for crossover thrash band Suicidal Tendencies, a role he held from 1989 to 1995. He simultaneously contributed to the funk metal outfit Infectious Grooves. His tenure with Ozzy Osbourne further cemented his standing as one of rock’s most versatile and in-demand bassists — a reputation that ultimately put him at the top of Metallica’s list when they went looking for Newsted’s replacement.
