Ron McGovney doesn’t think Lars Ulrich is the creator of Metallica.
“Imagine that your grandfather is the legend and creator of Metallica…” Rock History recently wrote on X, sharing a photo of James Hetfield with his grandson.
A user commented, “Lars created Metallica.” “Actually, Lars and James created Metallica. Equally. I know because I was there,” McGovney said in his response to the same user.
In March, McGovney shared memories of the band’s early days. He credited Ulrich for recognizing the band’s potential early on. McGovney also praised both James Hetfield and Dave Mustaine for their songwriting skills when asked who was better, saying, “Equal. Both are great songwriters.”
“Lars,” he also said calling the drummer ‘resident genius.’ “He saw the potential of the band that the rest of us were oblivious to.”
“I’ve been getting a lot of questions about who sang vocals when we played live when I was in Metallica. James Hetfield. That’s it,” Ron also previously wrote about the band’s early lineup and roles. “Dave Mustaine did talk in between songs because his guitar wouldn’t stay in tune. Dave sang backup vocals on ‘Killing Time.’ That’s it.”
Last year, Ulrich also discussed the leadership in Metallica with Club Random with Bill Maher. “I think we’ve managed to do it, but not without putting a lot of effort in,” the drummer said. “Not without you know first, you have to go to the trench warfare, and first, you have to go through the thing where for ten years every day that I would go down to the studio, I would put my battle armor on.”
The musician added, “I would go down to the studio, and I would be prepared to stand up for the one way that I believed in, you know, in me was the right way, and if somebody said, ‘How about we do it this way?’ then the battle armor would come on we would go at it.”
“Now in our band, yes, I’ll lead on something, I’ll lead on a song, I’ll lead on a direction, James will follow along, James will lead on something else, I’ll follow along,” Lars also said. “[I’ll say] ‘James, you take pole position on this one; I trust you, that’s the easiest way to break it down musically.'”
McGovney was the bassist of Metallica from October 1981 to December 1982.
Actually, Lars and James created Metallica. Equally. I know because I was there.
— Ron McGovney (@RonMcGovney) August 30, 2024
