Pepper Keenan Almost Joined Metallica | Music News

Music News Today | 2 Min News | The Daily News Now! · Aug 4, 2026 · 1m

Pepper Keenan reveals a wild late-night call from Metallica in 1992—after James Hetfield’s pyro accident, they asked him to fill in on guitar for their stadium tour. He joked about teaming up with Sepultura, secretly flew out to Colorado to rehearse, but ended up being passed over for John Marshall. Decades later, when Jason Newsted left, Keenan auditioned for bass—cranked up and played a St. Anger track so hard it shocked the band. Despite never joining, he and Hetfield remain close friends, proving how deep metal’s circles run—even when the gig doesn’t happen. Listen in comfort:Get a…