10 Things You Didn't Know About Metallica
5. Geddy Lee was supposed to be their producer
During their ‘80s tenure, Metallica had some of the best sounding records of their thrash brethren. While the band dropped the ball a bit with And Justice for All, the work of Flemming Rasmussen and Michael Wagener on albums like Master of Puppets and Ride the Lightning have still held up as some of the best sounding metal songs of all time.
Though the band eventually worked with huge producers like Bob Rock and Rick Rubin, there was another musician the band was eyeing in the early days.
Rather than having Rasmussen turn the knobs for them during the Ride the Lightning, the band was in talks with having acclaimed Rush bassist Geddy Lee oversee production duties. The actual idea behind this feels like a match made in heaven, with Lee’s prog metal mindset working well with Metallica’s epic tracks, along with the eclectic taste of bassist Cliff Burton.
Both parties were eager to begin production with each other, but it was not to be as Lee had to commit to Rush’s touring schedule and next album cycle. Lee has said that he still loves the record that the band made, but the thought of having Metallica under the wing of a band like Rush is one of metal’s greatest ‘what-if?’ stories.