Pepper Keenan, guitarist for the band Corrosion of Conformity, revealed the mix of shock and disbelief he felt when he was called to audition as a temporary member of Metallica in 1992. The invitation came after a serious accident on stage that took James Hetfield away from guitars, during a crucial period of touring.
On the same topic: Pepper Keenan details the shock of being chosen to replace James Hetfield in Metallica
The situation occurred when James Hetfield suffered severe burns due to a pyrotechnic incident, leaving him unable to play his instrument. Faced with the urgency, Q Prime, Metallica’s management team, began a search for a temporary guitarist so that the joint tour with Guns N’ Roses could continue, and it was in this context that Keenan, also on tour at the time, entered the scene.
The unexpected call to cover Hetfield’s post
The musician says that his phone rang around three in the morning, at his hotel, and on the other end of the line was the Q Prime team. He expressed his surprise at the accuracy of the call, questioning how they knew his location and which hotel he was staying at.
Keenan said the conversation indicated they were “exploring the ground” for the replacement. He questioned the proposal, highlighting the size of the stadium tour and Metallica’s intense harmony, asking if they really wanted “idiots” trying to be Hetfield. The answer was an affirmative “yes”.
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Secret preparations and meeting with Henry Rollins
Despite initial disbelief, Pepper Keenan accepted the proposal to audition for Metallica. Before leaving, he had a peculiar conversation with his tour companion, Henry Rollins, to explain the situation.
He received Metallica’s songs via fax to his hotel room. The next day, he flew to Denver, Colorado, to what he described as a “top secret bunker” where the audition would take place. The guitarist also confessed that he was uncertain about the seriousness of the proposal, aware of the daily loss of millions of dollars that the band was facing without playing.
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An intense encounter and surprising friendship
The experience in Denver was marked by the intensity of the environment, especially since James Hetfield was in the city receiving treatment at one of the best burn centers in the United States. Keenan felt the enormous pressure of having to learn a vast repertoire in a short time and with excellence, which led him to believe that the situation would not materialize for him.
The outcome, according to him, was that the band’s guitar technicians ended up taking over the instrumental parts while Hetfield focused on the vocals. However, the experience held an unexpected bonus for Keenan, who, years later, would audition to replace Jason Newsted in Metallica: he discovered that Hetfield himself had suggested him as a solution to the problem of 1992. “And we became friends after that”, said Keenan.