FWMT: Thank you for your time Brian. Firstly, congratulations on the 20th anniversary of Metal Blade records in 2002. It must feel great being the owner of such a well-known independent label with such an important history of bringing unknown bands to the public.

Thanks! I love music and enjoy bringing new bands to everyone.

FWMT: From your Metal Massacre series, where there any bands you wished you have been able to record that you were never able to?

Sure, both Mercyful Fate and Motley Crue were due to be the early Metal Massacre's but had to drop off at the last minute. Both those would have been great.

FWMT: Are there any bands you did record from the Metal Massacre series, or currently on your label, that you believe should have been more successful?

Oh sure, many. Armored Saint I really thought should have been much bigger. Fates Warning, while they have had a great career should have been bigger as well I felt.

FWMT: You have been a friend of Lars for a very long time. Just how large was Lars' metal collection?

Well it was not that big at first, but he had stuff that I did not have since he was living in Europe before he moved to LA. So it was cool to see stuff that I did not have or had not heard.

FWMT: Were you surprised when he managed to scratch up a band and record a track for you first Metal Massacre, given that before this point his plans for a band had not come to much?

Yeah pretty much. I knew he was jamming with James and some other guys, but it did not seem that serious. When he called to be on the album though I said of course.

FWMT: What was your reaction when he gave you the tape in a format that was not compatible with your recording processes?

Surprise. I had told him what we needed and he just brought a cassette tape. It was pretty funny as none of us really knew what we were doing. The engineer was just telling us there was no way to get this on the album unless we upgraded it to a reel to reel tape. Which we did.

FWMT: What was your reaction when you first heard Hit The Lights?

I thought it was great. I loved the fact it was so influenced by the NWOBHM.

FWMT: Everything I have ever read about Metal Massacre I claims Hit The Lights was the best song on the album (all of these claims were made in articles published AFTER Master Of Puppets was released). Was this your opinion at the time, and what is your opinion now?

I think the energy on that track was great. The reviews of the album were not all that good when it came out. I remember Sounds magazine in the UK really hated it. I was crushed as that was the big mag at the time. I think the song is great and has stood the test of time much better then I would have thought. At the time for what they were doing I thought the track was very cool.

FWMT: Which other bay area bands have you helped kick-start their career with an appearance on a Metal Massacre?

Well Trauma, which Cliff joined Metallica, Possessed, Metal Church(more Seattle really) a couple others but not as many bay area bands as you would think.

FWMT: In you position as the owner of a label, you will have a unique view on the Napster issue. When you first heard Metallica were defending their right to control their music, did you agree or disagree?

Oh I agreed totally. It was and is a problem. It took a lot of guts for him to do that, but look at what happened afterwards. Whatever you think about it, he was right.

FWMT: Many people who attack Metallica's stance on Napster say that record companies are so huge and make such massive profits that Napster could not have affected them. Did it frustrate you to hear people making such arguments that obviously overlook the hard-working labels such as your own?

Sure, but so many people are so mis informed. Hey I agree that a lot of the major labels are not such a great example, but there are so many smaller labels and artists that have been hurt by this. I understand the way that people think, but I think now more people are educated about this issue.

FWMT: Do you see distribution of music by means such as Napster and other sharing programmes to be similar to the original tape trading that you and Lars were a part of?

Kind of, but it is so huge. Millions of people can just copy one song you have. Before it was very underground and that was cool. Now this is mainstream.

FWMT: If Napster had continued as it was, could it have damaged your business - for instance could it have lead to a great, newly signed band, losing sales due to people downloading songs for free instead of buying an album, or even a compilation?

It has damaged our business. We have lost about 25% of our audience. It has really hurt older bands who can't seel as many cd's now because thier fans can get stuff for free. One good thing it has done has been to get cd prices lower, which we have been fitghting for for a long time.

FWMT: You are directly responsible for Metallica first seeing Cliff play (when trauma played at a gig in LA to promote Metal Massacre II). How does it feel being responsible for hooking up one of the most important metal line-ups in history?

I am just happy it all worked out. I played my part and I am just glad to have been there and able to help.

FWMT: How is it that San Francisco & Los Angeles produced not only great metal bands (i.e. Metallica, Testament, Megadeth, Exodus) in the early 80s, but also metal pioneers such as yourself (in recording) and Ron Quintana (in the media/DJ side of metal)?

You know it was just a great time period and everything seemed to come into place. The whole metal scene has become so huge, none of us ever thought it would happen!

FWMT: Did you have much contact with Lars while he was hanging around in England with Diamond Head? Were you envious of how close he got to one of the bands you and Lars and Ron listened to in highschool?

Oh yeah, it was my dream to go over there. But it was great for him to be able to do that. I did end up getting over there about a year later as well.

FWMT: Did Lars always talk about creating a heavy metal band, or did his ideas for a band kick off after coming back from England after hanging out with Diamond Head.

Yeah that really got him inspired. I would hang out at his house and he always said he wanted to start a band, but when he got back from that trip he really went out to make that happen.

FWMT: Did you believe that Lars would be able to provide you with a track for Metal massacre I when he asked to be on it?

Honestly I was not totally sure. I thought he could do it, but he got it together so last minute.

FWMT: Flotsam & Jetsam were also on your label. Did you bring up Jason with Metallica, or was it a coincidence?

Yeah I brought it up to them. Lars had called me looking for a bass player. I told him about Jason as I knew he was the right guy. It was cool it worked out for them.

FWMT: What were your thoughts on Ron McGoveny's departure from the band, and the manner in which it occurred?

Well Ron was a great guy, but not the best musician. I felt bad for Ron, but I do understand they needed a great bass player.

FWMT: What were your thoughts on Dave Mustaine's departure from the band, and the manner in which it occurred?

Well Dave is incredibley talented. All of us back then liked to party, but Dave would go to great extremes with this. So I was not that surprised to see that happen. It is too bad he has held a grudge all these years against them though.

FWMT: Do you remember where you were when you heard about Cliff?

Yeah the manager from Trauma sent us a demo to be on Metal Massacre. They played LA and I went to see them and was just blown away by Cliff. He was amazing. When Lars mentioned they were looking for a bass player I told him they should check out this guy in Trauma. The night Lars saw him he told me he would be in Metallica

FWMT: What did you think when you heard Jason was leaving the band?

I felt bad, but that one had been coming for awhile. Jason had been having health issues as well and that really caused him to leave as well.

FWMT: What are your thoughts on the SKOM film, and also on Phil Towle?

I think it shows a lot of what the band was going through at the time. I like Phil, I met him and he seemed like a good guy. I think he helped the band through a tough time at that moment.

FWMT: Again, thank you for you time Brian. Hope we can organise an online chat soon!