Mexico’s Alpha 91.3 FM radio station asked Metallica’s Rob Trujillo if he could pick an artist from any genre to cover a song from the band’s latest album, ’72 Seasons’; which artist and song would that be? Trujillo’s pick was an ‘icon powerhouse’ much like Metallica; here’s what the bassist said:
“I would say, let’s see, what would be a really powerful song? I mean, I would love to hear [the] ’72 Seasons’ [title track]… This is going to sound crazy. What if ’72 Seasons’ was covered by Slayer? That would be pretty cool. [Laughs] No one would expect that. But I would love it.”
His song pick was the title track from their latest album, but the bassist’s band choice might have surprised some fans considering their rivalry. He added:
“I always feel like some people say there’s a competition [between Metallica and Slayer]… And maybe it’s because I came into the band later. I view it as more as two signature sort of icon powerhouses that had this energy back in the early ’80s really strong. But what if the classic Slayer lineup covered a song like ’72 Seasons’? That would be pretty cool.”
Even though Rob might not have been familiar with the competition between the powerhouses, Metal Blade Records founder Brian Slagel shared with Metal Hammer last year that the guys always kept tabs on each other, stating:
“Metallica and Slayer were never very close. They were competitive. I was friends with both bands, and Metallica would ask me, ‘What are Slayer doing? What are they writing?’ And the Slayer guys would ask me, ‘What are Metallica doing?’ It was, ‘Who’s faster? Who’s heavier?'”
You can watch the interview below. You can also listen to ’72 Seasons’ below.
