Billy Corgan is at it again, this time insinuating that legendary rock band Metallica has ripped off one of Smashing Pumpkins’ songs.
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In a recent appearance on the Everblack podcast, Corgan claimed that the 1997 Metallica song “Fuel” sounds very similar to Smashing Pumpkins’ 1995 song “Tales Of A Scorched Earth”. Though, Corgan did say he did not believe James Hetfield and the rest of the band would go out of their way to rip him off intentionally.
You can listen to both songs below and come to your own conclusion:
The comment about Metallica came about when Corgan was asked why he and the band never performed “Tales Of A Scorched Earth” live before. Before the “accusation” came up, Corgan prefaced his comment by saying he loves James Hetfield “as a person” and also loves Metallica.
“James [Hetfield] is probably the greatest riff writer outside of maybe Tony Iommi,” said Corgan in the Everblack podcast interview. “James has written some of the greatest, most amazing riffs, and he’s still writing them. But if you listen to ‘Tales of a Scorched Earth’ and you listen to that Metallica song, ‘Give me fuel, give me fire, give me that which I desire…’ Now, which song came first?”
For context, “Tales Of A Scorched Earth” came out about two years before Metallica’s “Fuel”.
“Now, I don’t think James would rip anything off from me, but the first time I heard [“Fuel”], I was, like, ‘that’s awfully close,’” Corgan said.
Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan Admits to Ripping Off Metallica in the Past
Outside of his comments on the similarities between the two songs, Corgan was nothing but complimentary toward Hetfield. Just as well, he actually admitted to stealing some of Metallica’s music in the past.
“My father used to say, ‘Look, there’s only 12 notes,’” Corgan said. “So, that’s the great thing. We all rip each other off, and if it works, great. I’ve got no problem with that. I mean, I’ve certainly ripped Metallica off plenty, so…”
Corgan seemed to know that his comments were a little bit controversial, as he went on to poke fun at music journalists (like me) who would cover this particular interview.
“But I love me some James,” Corgan continued. “And I’d love somebody trying to get a troll headline out that, some clickbait out of that.”
Photo by Franklin Jacome/Agencia Press South/Getty Images
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