In a recent interview, Anthrax’s Scott Ian shared his reaction when Metallica informed him they had fired Dave Mustaine back in 1983.

Ian was the latest guest on Billy Corgan's The Magnificent Others podcast. During the episode, they discussed the early years of the thrash metal scene, which led to the topic of Mustaine’s firing from Metallica, as Ian witnessed the event in New York City.

At that time, Metallica was holed up in a shabby rehearsal room, allowing Ian ample opportunity to observe how the band operated, picking up influences that would later shape Anthrax.

“I showed up that day, I walked in, it was like early afternoon and Cliff Burton was standing outside smoking a cigarette… I said, ‘What’s going on?’ ‘Oh, not much. We fired Dave. He’s on a Greyhound back to California.’ And Cliff was a very dry ball-buster, so I said, ‘Oh yeah right. Sure’,” Ian recalled.

The Anthrax guitarist initially thought Burton’s comment was a joke, especially since Metallica had a show scheduled just days later. He and Burton exchanged a few words before the bassist suggested Ian confirm with James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, who confirmed it was true.

“I was like, ‘What the fuck?’ Oh my god. Was this a long time coming?’ They were like, ‘We’ve been thinking about it pretty much since we got to New York’,” Ian continued.

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The rocker expressed concern about Metallica’s decision since Anthrax had upcoming shows booked with them, but Ulrich and Hetfield reassured him that they had already hired Kirk Hammett from Exodus to replace Mustaine.

Ian met Hammett the following day, and the rest is history.

Check out the full conversation below.

How Did Scott Ian React When Metallica Informed Him of Dave Mustaine’s Firing?

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