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Fully Vaccinated Former METALLICA Bassist RON MCGOVNEY On His COVID-19 Battle: 'It Felt Like The Flu To Me'

September 15, 2021

Former METALLICA bassist Ron McGovney, who is fully vaccinated, has tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

McGovney revealed his COVID-19 diagnosis in a tweet earlier today (Wednesday, September 15). He wrote: "This is day 3 of my COVID-19 journey. I feel much better today. Fully vaxxed people can still get Covid. It felt like the flu to me. The worst part is the loss of taste and smell. My favorite snack is honey roasted peanuts. If you can't smell or taste peanuts, something is wrong."

McGovney was a member of METALLICA during 1982 and appeared on the band's early demos. Tension between McGovney and then-METALLICA guitarist Dave Mustaine led to the bassist quitting the band and being replaced by Cliff Burton. He later told "Talk Is Jericho" that his exit from METALLICA wasn't upsetting to him because he was less into the band's thrash style, plus he was interested in being a motorcycle mechanic.

In a 2004 interview with AllMetallica.com, McGovney stated about his time with METALLICA: "All of the songs that are found on [METALLICA's debut album] 'Kill 'Em All' were written in my garage and we played all of them when I was in the band. We also did DIAMOND HEAD covers: 'The Prince', 'Sucking My Love', 'Am I Evil', and 'Helpless'. We covered 'Blitzkrieg' by BLITZKRIEG, 'Let It Loose' by SAVAGE and 'Killing Time' by SWEET SAVAGE. All of those songs can be found on bootlegs, but I have a practice tape of us doing some of those songs. I did do some arranging of the songs, but I was never credited with anything. I played at least 28 gigs with the band in the first year."

During the aforementioned "Talk Is Jericho" interview, McGovney said that Burton was always "really respectful of me for my tenure in the band" in the years after Ron left METALLICA.

"I remember at that Palladium show in '84, I had a pass but it was just like a sticker pass," McGovney shared. "And I wanted to go in the back and talk to them but [security] wouldn't let me in. Cliff saw me [and] he gave me his laminate. I walked back there and their tour manager said, 'Why did you give him that?' And Cliff said, 'He was the first bass player for METALLICA.'"

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