Josh Homme: The Amount of Shit Metallica Borrowed

Band Photo: Metallica (?)

In an era when METALLICA and PANTERA were the biggest metal bands in the world, legendary Palm Desert generator soldiers KYUSS were too metal for the grunge crowd and too rock for most headbangers. "We were totally against those bands," former KYUSS guitarist Josh Homme (currently the frontman of QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE) told Decibel magazine. "And really, the amount of shit that METALLICA borrowed from us is frustrating. It was strange."

KYUSS famously opened for METALLICA in Australia in 1993. METALLICA's soundman promised KYUSS they'd have a full PA during their set but quickly changed his mind after KYUSS plugged in and turned on. "We douched them," Homme laughed. "On a frequency spectrum, we were like a brick wall until you hit the high end — and then there was no high end. I mean, high end if not fun for anybody; you don't party with high end." Years later, Homme was playing with QUEENS at Slim's in San Francisco, high on escsasy and being interviewed about his METALLICA experience. "This guy I knew was making a movie about METALLICA, and I was trying so hard not to say something negative. I think I talked about the rider or something, and then I said meeting them was like meeting George Bush. My eyes must've been spinning."