Robert Trujillo defined why the $1 million signing-on fee made to him by Metallica wasn’t excessive in his priorities when he joined the band in 2003.

The second is captured within the band’s Some Kind of Monster documentary after they spent months making an attempt to recruit a substitute for Jason Newsted and Trujillo had auditioned throughout that interval.

His thoughts was centered on having to be taught a catalog of music as quick as potential. But first, he had to inform Ozzy Osbourne he wanted to stop the Black Sabbath icon’s band after seven years.

READ MORE: Metallica Didn’t Want to Show Rob Trujillo’s $1 Million Deal in ‘Some Kind of Monster’

“Well, that was weird and that was surreal,” Trujillo instructed The Surfer’s Journal of the day he joined Metallica. “Everybody says, ‘Wow, man.’ After taxes, it’s a little different than a million dollars. I guess I got so consumed with the workload … in my head, I’m like, ‘It’s time to get to work – I’ve got this mountain of catalog to learn.’

“And then there was this new album, St. Anger, that they hadn’t even played live yet. … I just saw it as like, ‘I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me. … I’m not gonna think about the money. I’m not gonna celebrate what’s going on because I’ve got work to do.’”

You can pay attention to the interview beneath.

Trujillo stated he acquired a name from Osbourne just a few days earlier than that, which was uncommon. “Ozzy never called me,” he famous. “You’d always hear from someone from the management team or maybe Sharon might call.

“And I get this call from him – ‘Hey, Rob … let’s go on the road, man. I’m ready.’ … I hadn’t heard from Metallica [and] I wasn’t working.” Then issues modified once more: “I get a call from Lars [Ulrich], saying, ‘Hey, we want you to come up here and we want to talk to you.’ So I’m like, ‘OK, they’re not telling me I got the gig.’ … They’re the kind of guys that would have you fly up there to tell you you didn’t get the gig. Like, ‘We just wanted to tell you in person.’”

On arriving at Metallica’s HQ, Trujillo acquired the reverse message. And whereas his ideas turned to his new duties, he was additionally excited about Osbourne.

Lars Ulrich’s Ultimatum to Robert Trujillo

“I don’t even know why I said this … I was always trying to be loyal to Ozzy and Sharon … I was, like, ‘Well, I don’t think I can do those dates. But when I finish my commitment with Ozzy I’ll jump on board.’ And I remember Lars goes, ‘We respect your loyalty. It’s very honorable. But this train is leaving … you’ve gotta jump on board and jump on with us.’”

Accepting the state of affairs, Trujillo instantly organized to go to the Osbournes. “I flew home that night, and I actually went to Sharon and Ozzy’s house and met with Sharon and said, ‘Yeah, I’m gonna join Metallica.’ … It was just heavy … it’s hard when you’re losing a team member. … So it was difficult – but I also felt that I needed to be there in person to tell him and tell her.”

He stated there was no negativity. “Usually when that happened in the past, it could get pretty ugly with anybody. I mean, you’re leaving a team, and it’s not good. Like I said, my life changed. All of a sudden I was a part of a new family, and I was living in a new area and it was just a different existence.”