THE BEAST

THE SMASHING PUMPKINS frontman Billy Corgan just dropped a wild, never-before-told story about the time he shut down PANTERA over their complaints about METALLICA’s controversial Load and Reload albums—and their reaction might surprise you!

During a recent appearance on SiriusXM's Metal Ambassador podcast with Jose Mangin, Corgan revealed that he once told the PANTERA guys to stop whining about METALLICA’s direction and focus on being the best metal band on the planet.

“They were having a huge moment in their career, and I was backstage with them one day. One of those mid-'90s METALLICA albums—might have been Reload—had just come out, and there was all this talk: ‘What’s METALLICA doing? Are they still metal? They’re wearing makeup now?’”

Corgan said the PANTERA guys weren’t trash-talking METALLICA, but they were clearly confused and questioning the band's new sound. That’s when he decided to step in—with zero hesitation.

“I literally said, ‘You know what? Shut the fk up.’ And they looked at me, like, ‘Did you just tell us to shut the fk up?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, shut the f**k up.’ The room went completely silent.”

What happened next? Did PANTERA throw him out? Start a fight? Call him crazy?

Nope. Instead, they actually listened.

“I said, ‘Forget METALLICA for a second. Right now, YOU are the best metal band on the f**king planet. Stop worrying about METALLICA. Just focus on PANTERA. METALLICA will work it out.’ And they did, right?”

At that point, Corgan said the band got the message—but not without giving him a little grief in return.

“They kind of looked at each other like, ‘Oh, okay, he’s complimenting us.’ And then it was like, ‘Alright, drink this horrible poison, you f**king alternative weirdo.’”

Corgan might have been trying to set the record straight back in the day, but years later, PANTERA frontman Philip Anselmo made it crystal clear—he wasn’t a fan of METALLICA’s Load era at all.

In a 2019 interview with Metal Hammer, Anselmo was asked which album he thought shouldn’t exist, and he didn’t hold back:

“I would have to say Load by METALLICA. I mean, it’s a terrible record, man. I just don’t get it. If you’re gonna put out a record like that, just do a f**king side project or something, ya know?”

Ouch.

Even today, METALLICA’s Load and Reload albums remain some of the most divisive releases in metal history. But one thing is clear—Billy Corgan knew that PANTERA was at the top of their game, and he wasn’t about to let them waste time worrying about anyone else.

What do YOU think? Was Corgan right to call them out? Or was Anselmo right all along? Sound off in the comments!