ANNIHILATOR's Jeff Waters reveals he was 'voted for' to stand in for JAMES HETFIELD in METALLICA

Published August 24 2024 at 14:11

Jeff Waters just updated his social media accounts with a very interesting story involving METALLICA:

"Cool METALLICA/Jeff Waters (ANNIHILATOR) story? Annihilator/Amerikan Kaos' JEFF WATERS: "Why not, eh?!

August 8, 92, Montreal. Metallica & GNR are on their infamous tour. A Pyro accident burns James Hetfield; luckily, he was ok. 17 days later, he rejoined the tour, singing-only, while tech John Marshall filled in on guitar for him. HOWEVER... here's a little-known, cool story.

Fast-forward to 2013 at the London, UK Golden Gods/Metal Hammer Award show. I was a guest, along with 55DP, Duff (GNR) and others, presenting awards and hanging out, honoring Motorhead and alot more. I arrived early, being a punctual Canadian, in a then, foreign land. There was a nice, fancy bar up in the back of the venue and I was told to go up there and relax, before the storm of Metal and Rock n Roll hit hard. I get up there and not a soul was there. I ordered a bottle of water and then looked around to find a seat. Out of nowhere, a "snarly" voice said "Hey, Waters, is that you?". I hadn't noticed anyone except the bartender but there was a guy sitting by himself, had glasses on and had a smile on his face. I walked towards him and (my exact words) "Holy shit, you're Jason Newsted!". So as a Tallica/Jason fan, I was pleasantly shocked... that stopped quickly, though, as his next words were "WTF happened to you, back when James got burnt in 92?". I had no idea what he meant and asked him to explain. I then sat down beside him and he told me something pretty cool that i WISH I 'd known! He said that, back when James had ben injured, they had a band vote as to who should temporarily replace him on guitar. I said to Jason "ya?"!. Jason said "we voted to get you but you never called us back". 

Needless to say, I was in shock. C'mon. It is fkn Metallica. 

Turns out, Jason said that one of their managers had called MY management office (i had 2 managers at that time, as did Metallica) and they wanted me to do it. Jason said that their mgmt. was told MY mgmt. would get back to them... they never did! Now, after a short time, I figured out that MY mgmt. was likely worried that i might join Metallica and they would lose their "hold" on me OR that maybe the run with Metallica might lead to me realizing that things were NOT right, regarding finances, mgmt., etc... Maybe they had no idea that James was irreplaceable! Either they didn't realize who he was OR it was the fear that I might realize that my business was not being run well! So now back to 2013 in London: Jason said "we were all pissed that you never got back to us." WOW! I was stunned and kept apologizing to Jason! He shook his head in disbelief that a manager would have not seen the benefits to even just having that on an artist's resume! haha! I told him, if he ever talks to the guys, to please tell them that MY MGMT. NEVER TOLD ME THAT YOU CALLED! WOW!!! So there ya go. Hope the other 3 Metallica dudes hear this! I wonder if that would have changed anything or would have been simply a fun and honorable, temp-job!" 

Jeff Waters"

In more recent news, on April 26th, 2024 Metal Department released the debut album from AMERIKAN KAOS, "Armageddon Boogie".

AMERIKAN KAOS is the secret love child of Jeff Waters, which he had been working on since 2019.

Amerikan Kaos marks a significant shift in the musical journey of Jeff, the mastermind behind the renowned metal band Annihilator. With a career spanning decades and numerous albums, Jeff embarks on a new project that promises to blend a variety of musical influences, transcending the boundaries he experienced with Annihilator.

Amerikan Kaos was born from Jeff's lifelong passion for diverse music genres, ranging from blues, punk, thrash, and heavy metal to pop, classical, and jazz. The global shutdown provided the perfect opportunity for Jeff to delve into this creative endeavor, aiming to explore beyond the familiar territories of Annihilator.

The main challenge for Jeff was to create a unique sound, distinct from his influences and past works. The idea of writing music outside the thrash and heavy metal domain was daunting yet exciting. The project began to take shape with an eclectic mix of songs, each reflecting different musical styles, from pop to heavy metal, and everything in between.

Jeff's vision for Amerikan Kaos expanded into a trilogy, each album showcasing different styles and featuring diverse line-ups and vocalists. This ambitious plan stemmed from his desire to write across multiple genres without being confined to a single style.

Album 2 will be released in March of 2025.

#jeffwaters   #annihilator   #amerikankaos   #armageddonboogie   #hardrock   #metaldepartment  #rockkommander #metallica