Jane’s Addiction bassist Eric Avery reveals what shocked him about 2003 Metallica audition

Eric Avery onstage with jane's Addiction in 2024, and Metallica in 2002 — (Image credit: Jeff Hahne/Getty Images | M. Caulfield/WireImage)

Jane’s Addiction bassist Eric Avery has reflected on the time he auditioned to join Metallica.

Avery, 59, tried to join the heavy metal superstars in 2003, following the exit of longtime bass player Jason Newsted in 2001. He was ultimately unsuccessful, with the role going to Robert Trujillo, who still mans the low end in the band to this day.

However, in a new interview with Bass Player, Avery suggests he never thought he’d get the job. “I was basically looking for a story to tell the grandkids,” he says.

He adds that his biggest champion was fellow famed alt-rock bass player Flea, from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. “It was Flea who first planted the idea that I might actually get the gig. I was talking to him a few days before I went to audition, and he was like, ‘Well, why wouldn’t you get the gig?’ I said, ‘I'm not that guy. I’m not Metallica’s new bass player.’

“Flea was like, ‘Why not? They write rad music, and you're a great bassist.’ Up to then, I hadn’t really even considered it. I was just looking at it as a chance to go play Master Of Puppets with Metallica for an afternoon.”

Moving on to the audition itself, Avery says he was shocked by how grassroots and garage rock the atmosphere was. “They flew me up and gave me the red-carpet treatment, which was really charming. When we started playing, I was shocked that it was just guys with amps facing each other as if we were in a garage. It was like hearing Metallica as if they were playing in their garage and we were all 20. We played through Master Of Puppets, For Whom The Bell Tolls and Fuel. It was a lot of fun.”

Footage of Avery auditioning to play in Metallica can be seen in the 2004 documentary Some Kind Of Monster. Trujillo, Pepper Keenan (Corrosion Of Conformity), Danny Lohner (Nine Inch Nails), Scott Reeder (Kyuss) and more are also seen jamming with the band. Trujillo revealed in a recent interview that he stayed up drinking until 5am with Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich before his audition.

Jane’s Addiction recently entered a hiatus, following singer Perry Farrell punching guitarist Dave Navarro onstage during the band’s North American tour last month. Their longtime bass/guitar tech Dan Cleary said in a recent interview that the alt-rockers are “over with” after the altercation.

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Louder’s resident Gojira obsessive was still at uni when he joined the team in 2017. Since then, Matt’s become a regular in Metal Hammer and Prog, at his happiest when interviewing the most forward-thinking artists heavy music can muster. He’s got bylines in The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, NME and many others, too. When he’s not writing, you’ll probably find him skydiving, scuba diving or coasteering.