Before Robert Trujillo joined Metallica, he performed with bands like Suicidal Tendencies, Infectious Grooves, and even stars like Ozzy Osbourne. But in 2003, he decided to take a chance and audition for Metallica. At the time, he was still performing with Osbourne. But having a feeling, he decided to jump ship and go on the road with the heavy metal band. And it seemed to work out as, in 2009, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted him as part of Metallica. Taking a trip back to where it all started with Metallica, Trujillo recalled how guilty he felt for leaving Osbourne.
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While receiving a $1 million signing bonus and getting a chance to perform with Metallica, Trujillo could only think about Osbourne. And as if knowing something was up, the musician received a call from the Prince of Darkness. “Ozzy never called me. You’d always hear from someone from the management team or maybe Sharon might call. And I get this call from him – ‘Hey, Rob … let’s go on the road, man. I’m ready.’ … I hadn’t heard from Metallica [and] I wasn’t working.”
With Osbourne wanting to get back on the road, Trujillo answered another phone call around the same time. “I get a call from Lars [Ulrich], saying, ‘Hey, we want you to come up here and we want to talk to you.’ So I’m like, ‘OK, they’re not telling me I got the gig.’ … They’re the kind of guys that would have you fly up there to tell you you didn’t get the gig. Like, ‘We just wanted to tell you in person.’”
Robert Trujillo Wanted To Talk To Osbourne Family In Person
Although getting an offer, Trujillo tried to make it work for Metallica and Osbourne. He explained, “I don’t even know why I said this … I was always trying to be loyal to Ozzy and Sharon … I was, like, ‘Well, I don’t think I can do those dates. But when I finish my commitment with Ozzy I’ll jump on board.’ And I remember Lars goes, ‘We respect your loyalty. It’s very honorable. But this train is leaving … you’ve gotta jump on board and jump on with us.’”
Trujillo quickly made arrangements to speak with the Osbourne family about his decision to join Metallica. Meeting with Sharon Osbourne, he said, “‘Yeah, I’m gonna join Metallica.’ … It was just heavy … it’s hard when you’re losing a team member. … So it was difficult – but I also felt that I needed to be there in person to tell him and tell her.” He continued, “Usually when that happened in the past, it could get pretty ugly with anybody. I mean, you’re leaving a team, and it’s not good. Like I said, my life changed. All of a sudden I was a part of a new family.”
Thankfully, the Osbourne family understood Trujillo’s decision to expand his career and had no ill feelings toward the guitarist, who became the longest-serving bassist for Metallica.
(Photo by Astrida Valigorsky/Getty Images for Metallica)
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