Top Ten Bands that Have Fired One or More of Their Members

It's not easy being in a band...there can be many disagreements among bandmates, drug habits can get out of hand, creative differences, etc. Sometimes this can even lead to a band member getting fired! Here are some famous rock and metal bands that have fired one or more of their musicians.
The Top Ten
1 Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were a Heavy Metal band formed in Birmingham, England in 1968 by guitarist and songwriter Tony Iommi, singer John "Ozzy" Osbourne, bassist and main lyricist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward... read more

Ozzy Osbourne was fired from Black Sabbath due to his serious drug addictions beginning to affect his singing.

2 The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. The first settled line-up consisted of Brian Jones (guitar, harmonica), Ian Stewart (piano), Mick Jagger (lead vocals, harmonica), Keith Richards (guitar), Bill Wyman (bass) and Charlie Watts (drums)... read more

Guitarist Brian Jones was fired in 1969 because of (again) drug use. He never kicked his drug habit and tragically died a month later.

3 Van Halen Van Halen was an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. From 1974 until 1985, the band consisted of guitarist Eddie Van Halen, vocalist David Lee Roth, drummer Alex Van Halen, and bassist Michael Anthony.

Bassist Michael Anthony was fired for unknown reasons. He was replaced by Eddie Van Halen's then-16-year-old son Wolfgang.

4 Slayer Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California, formed in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. They rose to fame with their 1986 album Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the big four of thrash metal bands, the others being Metallica, Megadeth, and Anthrax... read more

Drummer Dave Lombardo was kicked out of Slayer, much to the disappointment of fans, after it was rumored that he had started claiming the band's management was stealing money from the band.

5 AC/DC AC/DC are a Australian hard rock band, formed in November 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young, who continued as members until Malcolm's illness and departure in 2014 . They were fronted by Bon Scott until his untimely death due to alcohol poisoning in 1979, after which they hired Brian Johnson... read more

Yes, AC/DC had a lead singer before Bon Scott. His name was Dave Evans, and he was fired because the band thought he was "too glam."

6 Metallica Metallica is an American Heavy/Thrash Metal band formed in 1981. The original lineup was James Hetfield (Vocalist and Rhythm guitarist), Dave Mustaine (Lead Guitar), Lars Ulrich (Drums), Ron McGovney (Bassist). The group came into mainstream from their Self-Titled album and the hit single "Enter Sandman"... read more

A lot of Megadeth fans say they don't understand why Metallica is more popular. Honestly, I think it's surprising that Megadeth got as big as they did. Getting fired from a previous band doesn't sound like a very promising start.

Infamously fired their original lead guitarist, Dave Mustaine (who later found fame with Megadeth), for being a drunk and having anger issues.

Funny is that if they had never kicked out Dave, Megadeth wouldn't have existed.

7 Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles formed in 1985. The classic lineup, as signed to Geffen Records in 1986, consisted of vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKagan, and drummer Steven Adler. Apart from hard rock they are also... read more

They fired (or kicked out) drummer Steven Adler because his heroin addiction was starting to interfere with his playing. Axl also kept firing his hired musicians during the recording of Chinese Democracy.

8 Hawkwind Hawkwind are an English rock band and one of the earliest space rock groups. Formed in November 1969, Hawkwind have gone through many incarnations and they have incorporated different styles into their music, including hard rock, progressive rock and psychedelic rock.

Before hitting it big with Motörhead, Lemmy Kilmister was the lead singer of a progressive rock band called Hawkwind. He was booted out after he was charged with possession of drugs.

9 Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English Heavy Metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. The most critically acclaimed period for the band was from 1983-1989. With vocalist Bruce Dickinson, bassist Steve Harris, lead guitarist Dave Murray, rhythm guitarist Adrian... read more
10 Slipknot Slipknot is an American metal band formed in Des Moines, Iowa in 1996. The band is best known as one of the pioneers of the New Wave of American Alternative Metal during the late 1990s - 2000s and are distinguishable by the band's clothing choices, consisting of black/red jumpsuits and horror inspired... read more
The Contenders
11 Mötley Crüe Mötley Crüe is an American metal band formed in Los Angeles, California on January 17, 1981. The group was founded by bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, lead vocalist Vince Neil and lead guitarist Mick Mars.

In the 90s, they fired their original lead singer Vince Neil and replaced him with John Corabi. Fans weren't too happy about it, and the band soon rehired Vince after only one album with Corabi.

12 Trivium Trivium is an American Heavy Metal band from Orlando, Florida, formed in 1999. Their frontman, Matt Heafy, lead guitarist Corey Beaulieu and Bassist Paulo Gregoletto are the band's most consistent members and have appeared in every album since... read more
13 Disturbed Disturbed is an American alternative metal/nu-metal/hard rock band from Chicago, Illinois. The band comprises vocalist David Draiman, bassist John Moyer, guitarist Dan Donegan, and drummer Mike Wengren. They are known for songs like "Down With the Sickness" and "Stricken".
14 Mushroomhead Mushroomhead is an American nu metal band from Cleveland, Ohio. Formed in 1993 in the Cleveland Warehouse District, the band is known for their avant-garde sound which includes influence from heavy metal, art rock and electro-industrial and their imagery which features masks and costumes as well as... read more
15 Styx Styx is an American rock band from Chicago that formed in 1972 and became famous for its albums released in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Singer Dennis DeYoung was booted out due to health problems.

16 Alice In Chains Alice in Chains is an American grunge/alternative metal band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1987 by guitarist and songwriter Jerry Cantrell and original lead vocalist Layne Staley.
17 Korn Korn is an American nu-metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993. The band's current lineup includes founding members Jonathan Davis, James "Munky" Shaffer, Brian "Head" Welch, and Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu, with the addition of Ray Luzier, who replaced the band's original member, David... read more
18 Breaking Benjamin Breaking Benjamin is a American post-grunge/alternative metal/rock band formed in 1998. The bands members all changed in the time between 2010 to 2014, with the exception of Ben Burnley (Vocals). The Ex-Members included Chad Szeliga (Drums), Aaron Fink (Guitar) and Mark Klepaspi (Bass)... read more

Benjamin Burnley, the lead singer, fired all of the original members in 2011. Due to a lawsuit he filed, accusing them of releasing a remix of Blow Me Away with Valora for their greatest hits album - which Burnley didn't agree to and didn't appreciate - Breaking Benjamin demos and b-sides were released on that 2011 greatest hits album. The lawsuit was settled in 2013 when Benjamin won and maintained the rights to his band. New members were added in 2013 to replace the old ones. Benjamin was against the idea of a greatest hits album during the early 2010s and wanted a hiatus from the band at the time.

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