Scott Ian

“Music and songs are written at different periods of time, at different times in your life. They reflect the feelings you have and to be honest, I quite like having positive emotions.”

“Why would heavy metal ever go away?”

“I'm just not a big fan of the too-cool-for-school indie world. Metal bands have never been invited or been able to be part of the cool kids, and I like it that way.”

“I'm not the kind of guy who sits around at home and writes songs. Once in a while I'll pick up a guitar and noodle around, but it's rare.”

“I will absolutely say that Johnny Ramone was a huge influence on me. I'm a giant Ramones fan.”

“I kind of live in this weird world where I am exposed to a lot of stuff, but then again I am not exposed to a lot of stuff.”

“Even as a kid, if I would come across something cool in the record store, that would be how I found out about bands. It's kind of the same way these days. In a way even less because there are no record stores to go to anymore.”

“As big as Metallica are, they're still not like a pop act. As big as they are, they're still not U2 or Lady Gaga. It's still underground.”

“People think of Jews as the Woody Allen stereotype, the nebbishy kind of thing, but that's not the kind of Jews I know. I know plenty of Israelis and plenty of tough guys that are Jewish. So, I think it makes sense that Jews play metal.”

“When you're younger - duh - you don't really have the tools to deal with certain things in your life.”

“I'm certainly not a practicing Jew. I would never claim, 'I'm Jewish.' That's not the first and foremost thing in my mind, as far as who I am as a person.”

“Nobody gets into a band and thinks they're going to have a 30-year career.”

“If someone wants to sticker a record for whatever reason, that's fine. But once it affects someone's opportunity to, you know, get that record, then I have a problem with it.”

“I think the best riffs and the best songs come when you're jamming and having a good time.”

“Anthrax, it's something that gets you sick, it's horrible, strong. It's a heavy-metal band name if there ever was one.”

“Frank Zappa... was Beethoven for insane rock guys.”

“There's a thousand other things I would rather spend money on than a car.”

“I could care less about sitting around and practicing the guitar for hours a day and trying to be the best guitar player on the planet.”

“I've always been a true believer that if men had babies, nobody would be trying to tell them what they can and can't do with their bodies.”

“My grandfather was Orthodox, and he was religious, but neither of my parents were. Of course, as they got older, it seems like they get more religious the older they get, even though they're still not practicing Jews.”