One of the longest standing rumors is that the American heavy metal band Metallica, once considered - kicking out Lars Ulrich (the Danish drummer and one of the founding members of the thrash metal band Metallica).
The lead guitarist and songwriter Kirk Hammett, confirms in a new interview that the band actually talked about firing its drummer - Lars Ulrich.
Kirk Hammett stated, "You know, that was just an old rumor," "I think at one point or another, we were very annoyed at Lars Ulrich, maybe circa 1985 or something. We were not happy, and we might have complained something to someone. And then that person might have picked up on it and made it something a lot bigger than it actually was."
The lead guitarist is perhaps referring to the American musician who is best known as the rhythm guitarist of the thrash metal band Anthrax - Scott Ian, who has talked broadly about the plans of the band to split with Lars Ulrich after their shared 1986 concert dates.
Lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and late bass guitarist of Metallica - Cliff Burton, reportedly told Scott Ian that "they couldn't take being in the band with Lars Ulrich anymore and we're done putting up with him."
Scott Ian wrote in his autobiography 'I'm the Man', "I didn't ask why the Metallica were gonna kick out Lars Ulrich. I figured it was because they wanted a better drummer, but apparently there was also a lot of business-related stuff going on behind the scenes they weren't thrilled with."
However, bass guitarist Cliff Burton died in a tour bus accident in Sweden that year, and the stumbling band was forced to rebuild their lineup around a new bass player - Jason Newsted, who played with Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, and lead vocalist James Hetfield from 1986-2001.
