Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian has described meeting Paul McCartney as like "being in the presence of a god."
He’s only encountered the Beatles icon once, but remembers being blown away by the experience. He also reports that spending time with Jimmy Page, Ronnie James Dio and Gene Simmons have a huge effect on him.
Ian tells Mulatschag: “I got to meet Paul McCartney one time. I didn’t have a conversation, but I shook his hand. It’s the closest I could compare to, like, gods that are walking the earth with us.
“Granted, I know they’re just humans that fucking bleed the same colour I do, but the shit they’ve done and they’ve experienced in their lifetimes, it just can’t be touched.”
He adds of Dio: “Ronnie was a guy who just made you feel great when you were around him. He always made sure to take care of everyone else around him first. He was just such a great host and such a lovely man and always had something great to say. And after you’d be with him, you’d just be, ‘Goddamn, I love being around that guy.’ You just felt better about yourself afterwards.”
In the rest of the interview, Ian describes his friendship with late Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell.
