Original Metallica bassist Ron McGovney – who was a member of the fold between October 1981 and December 1982 – was recently asked by a fan about his decision to leave the band.
The fan asked:
“Do you ever regret leaving Metallica and seeing them have overwhelming success?”, to which Ron replied:
“I would rather have privacy and freedom over money any day of the week.”
Ron previously said about this same subject:
“No [I don’t regret leaving Metallica]. It’s not a lifestyle that I could have survived. In many ways.”
Ron talked about 1984’s “Ride the Lightning,” writing:
“Lars [Ulrich, drums] brought a test pressing of ‘Ride the Lightning’ to my condo before the album came out. He told me that there was a ballad on the record. I didn’t believe him. He put on ‘Fade to Black’ and I was speechless. I am still speechless.”