It isn't unusual for bands to experience member changes, especially in the vocalist department. For example, Bruce Dickinson wasn't the original lead singer of Iron Maiden, as the heavy metal group went through several vocalists before he joined (via Loudwire). That being said, Dickinson is recognized as the voice of the band. In Metallica, James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich have always been the two constants. It's almost impossible to think of anyone else singing these songs except for Hetfield.

However, when he and Ulrich started the band, they had another person in mind to be their singer, while Hetfield would have only played guitar. Appearing on a Road Dog Brothers segment on SiriusXM, Hetfield revealed who they had in mind to be their original vocalist. "A lot of those early memories were celebrated with a band called Armored Saint, who were a fellow LA band back in the early '80s when we were getting started. Obviously John Bush was a singer we got to know really well, and really, really tried to get him into the band as a singer."

Bush fronted both Armored Saint and Anthrax. He confirmed he turned down Metallica to Speak N' Destroy (via Ultimate-Guitar), stating: "That was definitely not my destiny, to be the singer of Metallica. I mean, I would've literally changed heavy metal, because I was not meant to be that person. It was meant to be James with his voice doing that."

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