Top 10 Confessions and Quotes from Metal Musicians

The Top Ten
“I’m not a great singer” - Dave Mustaine (Megadeth)

He never wanted to be a singer. He wanted Shawn Harris of Diamond Head to sing for Megadeth, but when Harris declined and he couldn't find anyone else, he just sang himself. I like his singing voice, especially on the first four albums when he sang higher.

"Glam stands for Gay Los Angeles Metal" - Dave Mustaine (Megadeth)
"We wanna thank Jethro Tull for not putting out an album this year" - Lars Ulrich (Metallica)

A quote from his Grammy speech, 1992.

Lars said that because in 1988 or 1989, Metallica's album '…And Justice for All' lost out to Jethro Tull in the Best Metal Album category. It was unfair and shameful because Jethro Tull are not even a metal band.

YouTube source: Awesome Metallica rips Jethro Tull wins Best Metal Performance 1992 Grammys

"Death is a once in a lifetime opportunity" - Marc "Xenoyr" Campbell (Ne Obliviscaris)
“I fly airliners and in my spare time I sing a bit” - Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden)
"We got married on 4th of July (to be easier for Ozzy to memorize it)" - Sharon Osbourne

I don't remember if Sharon Osbourne was on the Ellen DeGeneres show or some other talk show.

“I banged Bruce Dickinson’s Wife” - Nikki Sixx (Mötley Crüe)

He talks about Dickinson's first wife in the '80s - it was a short marriage.

Nikki Sixx didn't know it was Dickinson's wife. He learned about that later.

I don't really believe Nikki Sixx is a metal musician because, for me, glam metal is actually hard rock. But I included it because Bruce Dickinson is a metal musician.

Source: A Howard Stern interview about Nikki's book, 2007.
YouTube: Nikki Sixx Talks About Bruce Dickinson & Wife

"All television gives you is somebody else's life to watch" (Geoff Tate, Queensryche)

This is a quote from a larger text.

"Yeah, it's about participating in life rather than watching it. Television is so dictatorial, telling you what to do. It numbs you and doesn't require you to engage your imagination. You just lapse into a kind of narcosis, sitting and watching. I'm advocating getting out and feeling life: experience the sun, feel its warmth on your skin, feel the rain. Go sailing, hiking, jogging. Feel, experience, share with each other. All television gives you is somebody else's life to watch."

“I’m not a singer” - James Hetfield (Metallica)

During a rehearsal in Portugal, James Hetfield tried to sing Dio's song "Heaven and Hell" (Black Sabbath), which starts with "Sing me a song, you're a singer." James didn't sound good and said, "I'm not a singer." This happened when Dio passed away in May 2010, and Metallica wanted to perform something.

YouTube source: Metallica - Tribute to Dio Jam (Tuning/Attitude Room in Lisbon, PT 2010)

"[When I was] in Iron Maiden, I was a young boy; I didn't know how to sing. I had no voice." - Paul Di'Anno

He said that in 2015. That's how he sees himself as a singer.

Paul didn't have the polished vocal technique of Bruce Dickinson, but he certainly had a voice. A powerful voice.

The Contenders
“You can’t say it all with just four notes” - Ritchie Blackmore on B.B. King

OK, Ritchie Blackmore's observation is correct, and other musicians were aware of B.B. King's style too.

But Ritchie Blackmore was the bad guy who said that. Yeah, Ritchie Blackmore has upset a lot of people along the way.

"Let's put it this way: I did not get in trouble every time I drank, but every time I got in trouble, I'd been drinking" - Dave Mustaine (Megadeth)
"Although I have always been the clown of the class it didn't work out very well with the girls" - Tobias Sammet (Edguy, Avantasia)

But forming a metal band at 14 did work out very well with the girls!

"We are with more aluminum" - Alice in Chains, on whether they are a heavy metal band

Yep, Alice in Chains are right. I never believed they were metal. Aluminum is not from the group of heavy metals.

This is a quote from a Sam Dunn interview for Metal Evolution series, in answer to his question "Are you a heavy metal band?" (source: Metal Evolution, Grunge episode, 2011)

"I drive like I drum - madly" - Cozy Powell (Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Whitesnake, MSG)

Cozy Powell is a great and fast drummer (very underrated). My favorite song is probably "A Light In The Black" by Rainbow.

Proof that he really did drum and drive madly:
1. He set a world record for the most drums (400) played in under one minute, live on television (BBC).
2. He raced for Hitachi on the UK saloon car circuit.
3. This is the saddest part - he died in a car accident while driving at 104 mph (167 km/h) in bad weather in 1998, at the age of 50.

R.I.P. Cozy!

"I still feel like a drummer that likes to sing" - Todd La Torre (Queensrÿche)

He said that in 2013 when he was already a lead singer for Queensrÿche. But he was a drummer for 24 years, and he admitted that "my dream was always to be a famous rock drummer."

"We are taking great benefit from the performance of our loyal fans who really sing throughout the whole concert. That also makes my job a little easier" - Hansi Kürsch (Blind Guardian)
"[Record companies] need to start realizing that they have got to come in as partners of the bands instead of being the pimps and we’re their whores. That’s the way that artists have been treated for far too long" - Jon Schaffer (Iced Earth)
"Enslaved are really nice talkative alcoholics" - Tim Charles (Ne Obliviscaris)
"Pop and metal aren't friends. Each knows exactly where the other lives and tries to keep its distance. They choose different streets, neighborhoods, zip codes" - Dave Mustaine (Megadeth)
“When I was in employment as a regular line pilot, I used to take unpaid leave to go on tour with Iron Maiden. I got lucky - they let me off" - Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden)
"During the performance of a 'clean falsetto' air stream runs up the spine and finds an almost straight way out to my nostrils. My jaw region is relaxed; I could even chew gum." - Hansi Kürsch (Blind Guardian)
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