Armored Saint vocalist John Bush who is also known as the voice of Anthrax between the years 1992 and 2005 – was asked by 69 Faces of Rock about being asked to join metal legends Metallica back in the early ’80s. He replied (via Blabbermouth):
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“I think that at the time, James [Hetfield] was still uncertain whether he wanted to be the singer. It was before [1983’s] ‘Kill ‘Em All.’ He was unsure.
“They asked me. But at the time, Armored Saint — Joey [Vera], Gonzo, Phil [Sandoval] and myself, we’ve known each other since we were eight years old. Armored Saint was starting to do really well on the LA club circuit, and we were all friends – best of friends.
“Metallica was doing well too, but I don’t think anybody envisioned what was going to happen. For me to leave my band of friends to join some other band, it didn’t make sense to me.
“I didn’t want to do it. Certainly, I was grateful and honored, but I always say, ‘I was not meant to be in Metallica. That was not my destiny.'”
You can check out John rocking “The Four Horsemen” with Metallica in the embedded player below.
Asked about his current relationship with Anthrax, John replied:
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“It’s fairly distant. I just saw [bassist] Frank Bello the other night in New York. He came to our [Armored Saint] show. It was great seeing him. I jumped offstage, gave him a hug. We talked a lot after the show.
“Me and Frankie were very close. I was very close with all those guys when I was in the band. I see Scott [Ian, guitar] periodically because he lives in LA. I probably see him the most. I don’t have much communication with Charlie [Benante. drums].
“But I treasure my years in Anthrax. I think we made some great records. I’m really proud of them. It’s just, time goes on, and life goes on. I believe that Joey should be in the band. I think he’s right for being in Anthrax.”