The Smashing Pumpkins guitarist and singer Billy Corgan talked in an interview with Everblack Podcast about the similarity between the song “Tales of a Scorched Earth”, released on their album “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness” (1995) and the Metallica hit “Fuel”, from their album “Reload” 1997.
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Billy Corgan on the similarity between his song “Tales of a Scorched Earth” and Metallica’s “Fuel”
“(Transcribed by Blabbermouth) Let me caveat this by saying that I love James Hetfield as a person. I love Metallica; I saw them in 1984 and all that great stuff. And James is probably the greatest riff writer outside of maybe Tony Iommi. James has written some of the greatest, most amazing riffs, and he’s still writing them.”
“But if you listen to ‘Tales Of A Scorched Earth’ and you listen to that Metallica song, ‘Give me fuel, give me fire, give me that which I desire.’ See — a little lightbulb went off in your brain… Now, which song came first?”
“Now, I don’t think James would rip anything off from me, but the first time I heard that song, I was, like, ‘That’s awfully close.’ But I love me some James. And I’d love somebody trying to get a troll headline out that, some clickbait out of that.”
“My father used to say, ‘Look, there’s only 12 notes.’ So, that’s the great thing. We all rip each other off, and if it works, great. I’ve got no problem with that. I mean, I’ve certainly ripped Metallica off plenty, so…”
Formed in 1988 in Chicago, Illinois, The Smashing Pumpkins are one of the most influential and successful bands to achieve fame in the ’90s. Led by guitarist and singer Billy Corgan, the group had multiple hits and became an inspiration for countless bands that would emerge later on.
The group sold an estimated amount of more than 30 million records worldwide. Their two most famous albums are “Siamese Dream” (1993) and “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness” (1995).
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