Think the raging intensity in heavy metal is all part of the show? Think again! Onstage brawls and headbutting egos pushed these bands to the brink. These are the tiffs behind the riffs.
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00:00Think the raging intensity and heavy metal is all part of the show?
00:04Think again.
00:05Onstage brawls and head-butting egos push these bands to the brink.
00:09These are all the tiffs behind the riffs.
00:12The Metallica and Dave Mustaine feud extends all the way back to the early days, when Mustaine,
00:16who later founded Megadeth, played guitar for the legendary San Francisco Meddlers.
00:21Tensions flared early on at a band practice when Mustaine's dog jumped up on bassist Ron
00:25McGoverney's car.
00:26So I took the Pitbull up to rehearsal when I was in Metallica, and it stuck its little
00:30teeny feet up on the car of the bass player.
00:33James kicked the dog, so I punched him in the face, and…"
00:35Mustaine was fired from the band on the spot, though he did return, only to be handed a
00:40one-way bus ticket, and fired again for good in April 1983.
00:44For years afterward, Mustaine and Metallica didn't miss a beat when it came to trading
00:48barbs in the press.
00:49In an interview with Revolver in 2022, though, Mustaine spoke about Metallica and Hetfield
00:54in particular, discussing how the feud was never personal.
00:57He admitted to liking the band members as people, and enjoyed his time playing with
01:00them.
01:01You know, I like James.
01:02You know, as long as I can take her leave.
01:06In a perfect world, Slipknot and Mushroomhead would be teaming up for masked metal mayhem.
01:11After all, they are two of the most famous mask-wearing groups in the genre, after GWAR,
01:15of course.
01:16Unfortunately, the similarities are where the drama started in the first place.
01:20In a 2018 interview with the ADHD podcast, Mushroomhead's former vocalist Jeffrey Hattricks
01:26claimed Roadrunner Records wanted to sign his band, but they turned down the offer as
01:30they were making more on their own.
01:32He hinted that Slipknot was Roadrunner's attempt at creating its own version of Mushroomhead.
01:37Speaking to Rock Sound magazine in 2002, Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor accused Mushroomhead
01:42of deliberately encouraging their hometown fans in Cleveland to throw objects at Slipknot
01:46onstage in the years prior.
01:49Taylor also promised violence against Mushroomhead when he went back to Cleveland.
01:53Hattricks copped to having been involved in the incident by helping to set up negative
01:56signs toward Slipknot, though claimed he was unaware of the extent to which it would escalate.
02:01The feud seems to have cooled down in recent years.
02:03Anyone foolish enough to put a mask on for all these years?
02:06I feel your pain, brother.
02:08Here's a free tip for all upcoming and young musicians.
02:11Be careful of what you say in an interview, especially about other bands, because it can
02:16lead to serious blowback later on.
02:18That's exactly what occurred between Avenged Sevenfold, or A7X, and the Dillinger Escape
02:23Plan in 2006.
02:25As reported by MTV, A7X vocalist M. Shadows kicked the hornet's nest by criticizing Dillinger
02:30Escape Plan's music in an interview, suggesting it was all noise and not real music.
02:35Expectedly, a swift response followed shortly afterward.
02:38Taking to their official MySpace page, Dillinger Escape Plan posted a sharp retort to Shadows'
02:43comments, writing,
02:44What about bands that make sh-tty noise and try to pass it off as Guns N' Roses?
02:48Additionally, Dillinger Escape Plan mocked A7X's stage names, adding,
02:52This guy and his merry band of musical clowns get more hilarious by the minute.
02:56The Dillinger Escape Plan disbanded in 2017, but the two bands never appeared to publicly
03:01resolve their feud.
03:02In January 2016, Pantera vocalist Phil Anselmo found himself in the headlines for all the
03:07wrong reasons.
03:09During a Dimebash concert, the singer made a Nazi salute and uttered,
03:13The footage made its way around the internet before Anselmo eventually released a video
03:18apologizing for his actions.
03:19I am a thousand percent apologetic to anyone that took offense to what I said.
03:27One of the people in the heavy metal community who chimed in about the issue was Machine
03:31Head frontman Rob Flynn.
03:33Flynn posted an 11-minute vlog on Machine Head's YouTube channel where he discussed
03:36Anselmo and the wider topic of racism.
03:39He disputed Anselmo's initial defense about it being an inside joke, and talked about
03:43how the singer had used racial slurs in conversation with him.
03:47Furthermore, Flynn criticized the metal community for not taking a stronger stance and being
03:51more vocal about Anselmo's actions, believing if it were any other genre of music, there
03:56would be more significant backlash and attention.
03:59During an appearance on Trunk Nation with Eddie Trunk, Anselmo claimed Flynn had other
04:02motives for his video, and accused him of virtue signaling.
04:06I'd like to turn around and say, hey, what have you done to better your community, Robert?
04:14There are many warnings about mixing family and business.
04:18For Sepultura, it ended up being the catalyst for vocalist Max Cavalera's departure from
04:22the metal band in 1996.
04:24As revealed in Metal Hammer, animosity had been brewing in the band for over a year.
04:29Guitarist Andreas Kisser claimed that Cavalera had become distant from the group, which was
04:33also managed by Cavalera's wife, Gloria.
04:35Kisser claimed that Gloria wasn't doing her job as a manager and repairing the clear fractures
04:40in the band.
04:41As a result, a decision was made to part ways with her as management.
04:44The decision was further complicated by the fact that Max's brother, Igor, was also in
04:48the band and agreed it was time to let Gloria go.
04:51Max was disappointed in his bandmates, especially his brother.
04:54He added that he didn't understand the decision, since at the time, Sepultura was experiencing
04:58its greatest success as a band so far.
05:01In the end, he decided to depart the band he had co-founded.
05:05Cavalera continued without Max, replacing him with Derek Green.
05:08Eventually, Igor mended fences with his brother and left the band in 2006.
05:13While Max has said he wouldn't be opposed to a reunion and mentioned how he missed the
05:16friendships formed, Kisser expressed no remorse over how events transpired, saying,
05:21"'Do I miss being in a band with Max?
05:23No.
05:24Not at all.
05:25I don't know him today.
05:26I don't know the person he is.'"
05:28In heavy metal, Ronnie James Dio is remembered as one of the most influential vocalists of
05:32all time.
05:34In 2022, a documentary titled Dio, Dreamers Never Die was released, chronicling Dio's
05:39life and featuring commentary from his former band members.
05:43One notable absentee was guitarist Vivian Campbell, who played for Dio in the early
05:47days before joining Def Leppard.
05:50Appearing on the Let There Be Talk podcast, Campbell claimed Dio had walked back on a
05:53promise to increase Campbell's pay after their third album, and he was fired after raising
05:58the issue.
05:59It's less a matter of the money.
06:00I mean, yeah, it would've been nice to get paid for that, but it's more principled.
06:05I'm big on principle."
06:06Dio's widow, Wendy, explained to Q104.3 that Campbell wasn't interviewed for the documentary
06:12because of the animosity he still had towards her late husband, saying,
06:15"'Vivian is not in the movie because he's the only person I know in the world who says
06:19bad things about Ronnie, and even after he passed away.
06:23So that's why.'"
06:24In 2009, Godsmack joined Motley Crue on the CrewFest 2 tour, and reports soon surfaced
06:30that there were issues between the bands, specifically Godsmack frontman Sully Erna
06:34and Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx.
06:37Matters weren't helped when Erna admitted Godsmack's 2010 single, Cryin' Like a B----,
06:41was partially inspired by what had transpired on that tour.
06:44"'If there's gonna be some people that are gonna treat other people a certain way, then
06:48I'm gonna go out there every night and f---- crush you on stage.'"
06:52Sixx didn't let time heal old wounds, tweeting in 2014 that Godsmack allegedly begged to
06:56come on his show Sixx Sense to plug their new album, adding,
07:00"'Good luck touring phone booths.
07:02Who's cryin' like a b---- now?'
07:03In 2015, Erna clapped back at Sixx on the JASTA show.
07:07He claimed he had no issues with the other members of Motley Crue, but he found Sixx's
07:11ego to be out of control, saying,
07:13"'I'll say it straight out.
07:14I never met a bigger f----- d---- in my life than Nikki Sixx.'"
07:18Appearing on That Jamieson Show, Godsmack drummer Shannon Larkin said the issue boiled
07:22down to big egos.
07:24Finch and Disturbed don't share many musical similarities.
07:28Finch ventures more into the post-hardcore emo territory, while Disturbed is an amalgamation
07:32of hard rock and heavy metal.
07:34Even so, it is easy to see how they could complement each other on a festival bill,
07:38as there might be some overlap in the fanbases.
07:40Unfortunately, Finch didn't seem to be in agreement here.
07:43Per an MTV report, the issue between the bands began in 2002, when Finch guitarist
07:48Randy Strohmeyer spoke to Mean Street magazine about Disturbed and their frontman David Draymon.
07:54Strohmeyer criticized their music and threatened to kill Draymon.
07:57It all came to a head onstage, as Finch prepared to play their set at the 2004 Rolling Rock
08:02Town Fair.
08:03Strohmeyer and Disturbed guitarist Dan Donegan tussled, and the brief scuffle became a full-blown
08:07melee when other members of Finch, Draymon, and Disturbed's manager stepped in.
08:12Fortunately, security stopped the chaos, and Finch's set continued.
08:16When Marilyn Manson appeared on the music scene, Nine Inch Nails maestro Trent Reznor
08:20took the musician and his band under his wing.
08:23Reznor had a hand in producing Marilyn Manson's EP, as well as his first two albums.
08:28Manson explained to Alternative Nation that drugs were the root cause of the initial fallout
08:32between Reznor and himself, as he claimed to have stopped doing them while Reznor continued.
08:37He also purported that Reznor smashed a drive that he believed contained the masters for
08:40Antichrist Superstar, and the two didn't speak afterward.
08:44In 2021, parts of Manson's autobiography, The Long Hard Road Out of Hell, resurfaced
08:49online, suggesting he and Reznor had assaulted a woman.
08:53Through Pitchfork, Reznor released a statement, saying,
08:55"...I have been vocal over the years about my dislike of Manson as a person and cut ties
08:59with him nearly 25 years ago.
09:01As I said at the time, the passage from Manson's memoir is a complete fabrication.
09:06I was infuriated and offended back when it came out and remain so today."
09:11In 2002, Joey Jordison made a splash with a band that wasn't named Slipknot.
09:15Murder Dolls announced their arrival on the music scene with a mix of heavy metal, punk
09:19rock, and horror-influenced lyrics.
09:22Despite the band's success, including a cameo appearance on Dawson's Creek, a rabid fan
09:26base who would also shave their eyebrows like the band members, and concerts with Alice
09:30Cooper and Rob Zombie, the group went on hiatus in 2004 and returned in 2010.
09:36The only two constants in the band's lineup during both iterations were Jordison and vocalist
09:40Wednesday 13.
09:42Jordison's passing in 2021 all but ended the possibility of another reunion.
09:46However, in 2022, former members AC Slade and Eric Griffin launched an official Murder
09:51Dolls website and announced an event in remembrance of the 20-year anniversary of the album Beyond
09:56the Valley of the Murder Dolls.
09:58Wednesday wasn't pleased, taking to his Instagram account to state that the band had been started
10:02by him and Jordison, who created everything Murder Dolls related.
10:06He added that anything else wasn't official or legitimate.
10:10Slade responded on Instagram, explaining how the business of the band had been abandoned
10:13years earlier, and he had obtained the official licensing rights and assets for Beyond the
10:17Valley of the Murder Dolls from Warner Bros.
10:19Slade invited all the former members to join the celebration and make use of the platform.
10:24Via Instagram, Wednesday declined Slade's offer, accusing him of stealing the trademark,
10:29since neither he nor Jordison were aware it had lapsed.
10:32I'm just in a position where it's like if I if I reply to anything else, we're going
10:35to be spending all of our days talking about who's right and who's wrong.