Neil Turbin says he was mentioned as a possible singer for Metallica when he was recording Anthrax's debut album.
Turbin, who these days fronts Deathriders, recalls his time in the studio laying down vocals for Fistful Of Metal in 1983 when, he says, he impressed Metallica’s then manager Jon Zazula.
Fistful Of Metal – which was the only Anthrax album on which Turbin appeared – is this year celebrating the 30th anniversary of its release.
Zazula was apparently especially blown away by Turbin’s singing on the track Metal Thrashing Mad.
Turbin tells The Metal Voice: “I knocked it out of the park. I think on that particular song, I remember being in the studio, and I know that Jonny Z was listening to these songs while we were up in the studio.
“And I think at that point there were some interesting comments made. He managed Metallica at the time and he talked about’ ‘Oh, maybe we should get to sing for Metallica,’ or something like that. I’m like, ‘No, that’s alright, thanks though.”
But Turbin stopped short of claiming he was offered the job with Metallica, who at the time were recording their own debut album Kill ‘Em All.
Turbin adds: “I guess he must have been impressed with something in the studio. There was just some talk, he was just thinking out loud. I’m not saying I was offered any gigs.”
Turbin says he made next to no money from his work with Anthrax, claiming he was “kept out of the loop” when it came to business decisions and that he never felt as if he was part of the band.
