It's hard to imagine now, but there was a time when Metallica wasn't the biggest band in heavy music. In fact, their success wasn't guaranteed, and in a new interview Dee Snider reveals he had his doubts on if the band ever would succeed.

Speaking with Detroit's WRIF Meltdown show, Snider recalls touring with the band while in Twisted Sister and shared his honest opinion of their future prospects. "This is a true story. We're on tour with Metallica, and we're in Holland, and I'm standing on the side of the stage and I'm watching them doing their set. And I turn to my bass player and I go, 'These guys have got a lot of heart, but they're never gonna go anywhere,'" recalls Snider. "Like I said, I'm brutally honest. I said that out fucking loud. What an asshole! I didn't wanna be against them. I just said, 'They're so heavy.' But they made people just accept how heavy they were, and that's the great thing about Metallica."

He added, "Those motherfuckers earned every fucking dollar they made. They didn't give an inch — until they [made] an 'Alternica' record. Which I thought was a great record, but they gave an inch. But up to that point, they just fought hard."

Snider went on to discuss Metallica's battle with Napster among other topics. You can hear Snider's full chat on Meltdown below.

Listen to Dee Snider's on WRIF's Meltdown

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