ROBERT TRUJILLO Reflects On 'Weird' Way He Landed Bassist Gig In METALLICA

In the latest episode of "Trying Not To Die", the bi-weekly video podcast hosted by Jack Osbourne and Ryan Drexler, Jack sat down with Robert Trujillo for a conversation about METALLICA, Ozzy Osbourne, and one of the most remarkable careers in rock music. Robert reflected on his journey from the Los Angeles music scene to SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, Ozzy's band, and ultimately METALLICA, sharing behind-the-scenes stories from every chapter along the way. He also opened up about his close relationship with Ozzy, the lasting bond between their families, and the unexplained paranormal experiences that left a lasting impression on him.

Reflecting on his 2003 departure from Ozzy's band to replace METALLICA bassist Jason Newsted, as captured in the 2004 band documentary "Some Kind Of Monster", Robert said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "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. 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. 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.' 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. 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. 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."

Back in 2016, Robert told the "WTF With Marc Maron" podcast about his METALLICA audition: "It was a very surreal day for me. But when you get a gig like that, it's so… strange. Really, strange is the word. Because I remember going up there. I was late. I was always late back then."

He continued: "I'll tell you a quick story about the audition. Basically, it was a two-day audition. The first day of the audition, I was kind of just there to be a fly on the wall. [Producer] Bob Rock's there. The bass [for METALLICA's 'St. Anger' album] had already been recorded; Bob Rock recorded the bass. So I'm just hanging around. And Lars [Ulrich, METALLICA drummer] and James [Hetfield, METALLICA frontman] and Kirk [Hammett, METALLICA guitarist] kind of live in this bubble. They were just, like, 'Yeah, make yourself at home. Just hang out.' And I was just kind of hanging out in this big complex up north [in the Bay Area]. And I'm kind of lost, because no one's really completely communicating with me, and I'm just there. And, okay. So [they tell me], 'Come on in the control room,' and I'm just there. They're cutting tracks. And that's it; hanging around. Eleven o'clock rolls around at night, and Lars... We're in the parking lot. We're the last ones leaving. And Lars says, 'Hey, man, let's go get a drink. Let's go get a nightcap.' So I'm, like, 'All right.' And we go to the first bar, have a couple of cocktails, we go to the second bar, have a few more, go to the third bar. Then we end up at his house for more cocktails. By this time, it's five in the morning. I can't even drive to where I'm staying; it's impossible. And he even says, 'Here, crash out in my guest room.' So, at nine in the morning, four hours later, he's on the treadmill, this guy, and it's like he doesn't know me anymore. He's already sobered up. And he's on the treadmill. And I've got this crazy headache. And then he's, like, 'All right. Let's go. Let's go to the studio.' And I'm driving behind him. I couldn't even keep my eyes open. I get to the studio."

He went on to say: "This is when [the members of METALLICA] were going through this sort of therapy thing, [with] this guy Phil Towle, who was… what do they call it? Kind of a life coach, kind of a motivator, which was, at the time, I guess, good for the band, but I wasn't used to that. Here I am with a pounding headache. James has just gone through this whole thing where, of course, he's sober, and the last person he wants to see anywhere near his band is a drunk Mexican. That would be me. So I'm sitting at the table, and I've got the worst headache, [I'm] completely hung over. And I'm thinking, 'Lars did this to me, 'cause he was checking me out, to see if I could hang with him.' It was [a test]; it had to have been. He's a Viking, really. I'd go into the bathroom. I was throwing water on my face, slapping it, going, 'Oh, man, you've gotta… Hang in there. Hang in there.' 'Cause I really wanted to say, 'I can't do this right now, guys. I don't feel good. I really can't do this.'"

Trujillo added: "I stuck it out. I knew the tech, the bass tech, from back when SUICIDIAL TENDENCIES was touring with METALLICA, which would have been in 1993 on the 'Black Album.' So, Zach Harmon, who is now still my bass tech. I didn't have a bass, so [I went], 'Let's go grab a bass. Let's choose the amp setup.' So I kind of used that as my way to get out of this hangover situation."

Despite the fact that he was in no shape to perform to his usual standards, the audition went remarkably well. "We played 'Battery', and I think it helped me not be nervous," he recalled. "And that's what you see in the film, and everybody seems to think it was pretty slamming. But other than that, I was brain dead. If I could play, I was fine. But in communicating with Hetfield, 'cause he would come over to me and ask me questions, and I would come up with really stupid answers, because, literally, I was not all there."

He added: "When I watch 'Some Kind Of Monster', I see myself wearing this brown Armani t-shirt, which I would never own in my life. You know why? 'Cause it's not mine. It's Lars's. His wife at the time, Skylar, gave me that shirt, because the one I'd been wearing, which was probably pretty funky, was not happening."

Asked about the differences in the way he had to approach the material originally recorded by Newsted compared to the songs that were laid down by METALLICA's late bassist Cliff Burton, Trujillo previously told the "Talk Is Jericho" podcast: "A lot of the stuff that Bob Rock produced was a bit more… Obviously, groove is very, very important on those songs, like 'Black Album' songs. But then just really keeping it fairly simple in that style. With Cliff, we're talking about a little bit more aggro, but tight. So they are different styles. I still play with my fingers, even on the 'Black Album' material. But the great thing about… What I can say I'm pretty proud of being in METALLICA these years is being able to play, like, the 'Black Album' in its entirety — songs that were never played live: 'The Struggle Within'. There was about three songs on that album [that had never been played live]. And even 'Orion'… We play 'Orion' a lot now; it's kind of an active song in the set. And that was a song that hadn't really been played years before. And 'Dyers Eve', off the '…And Justice For All' album, that was a song that had never been played live as well. So the fact that, here we were, age 50, and we're attacking songs that hadn't been attacked… And in a lot of ways, I feel that that challenges us, and it actually makes this unit a better band."

Trujillo, who was born on October 23, 1964 in Santa Monica, California, tasted success as the bassist in SUICIDAL TENDENCIES and Ozzy's band. But in 2003, he successfully auditioned to replace Newsted in METALLICA.

METALLICA's much-loved former bassist Cliff Burton died in 1986 when the band's tour bus crashed travelling through Sweden on the "Damage Inc. Tour" in support of "Master Of Puppets".

Back in 2021, Trujillo humorously revealed in an interview that before he signed on as the bass player for METALLICA, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES would gobble up METALLICA's leftover dinners whenever they could during a joint 1993 tour. And even though the METALLICA members respected Trujillo's playing with SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, Hetfield admitted that when Robert's name came up during bassist auditions, he thought, "there's no way he's going to join us. He's too amazing, he's too spectacular."