Before he joined Metallica in 2003, Robert Trujillo spent years playing, first, with Suicidal Tendencies and, later, with the original heavy-metal wild man himself, Ozzy Osbourne.
"Ozzy's been an important part of my life," says the bassist, who played on the Prince of Darkness' 2001 solo album, Down to Earth, as well as his latest, Patient Number 9. "I mean, it's safe to say, [if it wasn't for] Suicidal Tendencies and Ozzy Osbourne, I would've never got the opportunity to be in Metallica. You know what I mean? Ozzy's been a really important human being in my life, and I'm grateful for him."
But Trujillo's Ozzy fandom goes way back before he ever was a member of the heavy-metal godfather's solo band — back to the days when the singer was fronting a little, ol' Birmingham group called Black Sabbath. So we asked the bass player to pick his favorite Sabbath song — he didn't have to think long.
"War Pigs"
It's gonna always be "War Pigs" for me, because I love the vocal arrangement, the groove and the free-form sort of playability. … [Geezer] Butler and Bill Ward are just kind of dodging and weaving. It's almost like they're doing this dance as a rhythm section. And then you got Tony Iommi there and he's in it, too. It's almost like they're surfing together. You know, it's just such a powerful moment in rock & roll, those jams, and then how it all comes back together and it just breaks down.
Kirk [Hammett] and I have a cover band called the Wedding Band, and whenever we play that song, every single person is singing. … It's just the lyrics, the vocal melodies, the groove and the powerful statement that the drums are making: It almost feels like sort of jazz and metal 'cause it's swinging, you know, it has the balance. So "War Pigs" would have to be my favorite song. That's my jam.
