BOB ROCK Says METALLICA Fans' Petition To Dump Him Was 'Hurtful' To His Kids

September 18, 2006

Producer Bob Rock recently told Reuters that he feels "20 years younger" after his split with METALLICA, whose albums he had produced since 1991.

The Canadian producer parted company with the metal titan earlier this year and is now devoting his energies to other artists and a return to his own recording career.

According to the 52-year-old Rock, "My life is now about my wife and kids, and recording other bands."

Rock first teamed with METALLICA for its self-titled 1991 album (aka "The Black Album"). The Elektra set debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and stayed on the chart for 281 weeks. Rock helmed METALLICA's subsequent albums, through 2003's "St. Anger".

A behind-the-scenes look at that tumultuous project was featured in the following year's unflinching documentary "Metallica: Some Kind of Monster". A petition that some 1,500 fans signed subsequently was posted online calling for METALLICA to dump Rock, claiming he had too much influence on the band's sound.

"The criticism was hurtful for my kids, who read it and don't understand the circumstances," Rock says. "Sometimes, even with a great coach, a team keeps losing. You have to get new blood in there."

But METALLICA co-manager Peter Mensch argues that Rock "nursed METALLICA out of almost complete collapse on that record. Bob is one of the five best producers on the planet. But it was time to shake things up."

Read the rest of the article at Reuters.

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