In a recent sit-down with The Allison Hagendorf Show, Fozzy’s Chris Jericho opened up about the influence of Metallica on his life and career.
Jericho recalled that in 1984, a recommendation led him to purchase a Metallica album:
“Then, here comes Metallica. That was in ’84; the first album I bought was ‘Ride the Lightning.’ And that kind of changed everything, too.”
This wasn’t just another album for Jericho — it was transformative. He touched upon the contrast between the down-to-earth appearance of Metallica members, who bore more of a resemblance to him, than the glam look of other bands:
“I went downtown, took the bus, and I bought Raven’s ‘All for One’ and Metallica’s ‘Ride the Lightning.’ I remember looking at the back, like, ‘These guys got zits on their faces, they look like me! This does not look like Mötley Crüe! I like these guys (the Crüe), I mean, I would like to look like those guys, but unfortunately, I look like these guys,’ — Lars with a shitty mustache and sh*t.”
But more than the visuals, it was Metallica’s sound from the early 80s that set them apart from their contemporaries and left a mark on Jericho:
“So, I put on that record player, and ‘Fight Fire with Fire’ starts with like a mandolin, like kind of a block piece. I was like, ‘What is this?’ And then ‘Fight Fire with Fire’ starts, and I remember just listening to it. You got to remember Metallica in the early 80s, everybody plays Metallica. You go to the hockey game, it’s Metallica.
[Back] then, nobody, nobody played that fast and that heavy. Motörhead was heavy, but this was fast, heavier, and meaner. I was like, ‘Holy sh*t, this is f*cking crazy!’ And that was kind of the end of that stage, and ‘Now let’s go into thrash metal and get into that side of the coin’ as well.”
As the frontman of Fozzy, Jericho often draws parallels between his band’s sound and that of bands like Metallica and Black Sabbath.
For the recent news, Fozzy’s new single ‘Spotlight‘ was released on October 19. The music video for the song is set to drop on October 26, with hints of a drone-based visual spectacle.
They are also actively touring, with their ‘Spotlight On North America’ Tour running from October 19 to November 6, 2023. Fans in McHenry and Joliet, IL, can catch them live on October 22 and 23, respectively.
Meanwhile, Metallica, the band that played a role in Jericho’s music appreciation, continues their M72 tour with an upcoming performance on November 3 in St. Louis, Missouri.
You can watch the interview below.
