Metallica’s Rob Trujillo: ‘When I First Heard the Name Pantera, I Thought, ‘What’s Up With This Band?”

“That was back in the day when you would connect and bond with other bands.”

Metallica bassist Rob Trujillo recalled being baffled by Pantera’s name the first time he heard about the Texan metal institution, admitting he had no idea how “badass” and “energized” they were.

The relationship between Metallica and Pantera goes back a long way — some “400 years ago” when the thrash giants were still touring “Ride the Lightning”, as Lars Ulrich recently put it.

After getting acquainted with the late Abbott brothers, Lars & Co. immediately developed a friendship with the hell-raizing Texans which resulted in some massive jams and many nights of hard partying.

As the “newcomer” who’s “only” been in Metallica for the past 20 years, Rob Trujillo was introduced to Pantera in a different way, when he was still playing with Suicidal Tendencies.

In a new interview with Shannon Gunz of SiriusXM’s Ozzy’s Boneyard, the bassist recalled how, on its own, the name of Pantera didn’t sound all that promising to him the first time he heard about it (via Blabbermouth):

“Originally, when I heard the name Pantera, I automatically was, like, ‘Wait. What’s up with this band?’, having no idea how heavy and badass they were and energized on stage.

“It was an important moment for me, because it was one of my earlier tours with Suicidal Tendencies.

“And also [that was] back in the day when you would connect and bond with other bands. If there were ever days off, you were hanging together. And we would share music and listen to different cassettes and kind of vibe with…

“I remember Phil had the first demo tapes that I ever heard of… I think it was Exhorder; then you had the [Red Hot] Chili Peppers demo; and then you had Mr. Bungle — all these eccentric, kind of crazy alternative bands, ranging from super heavy to alternative kind of funk metal and all that. So it was an exciting time to be on that tour with Pantera.”

Metallica and Pantera will have the chance to tour together again on this year’s “M72 World Tour”. Check out upcoming tour dates here.