“I was just feeling like I could be up on that stage and rocking out like that. I’ll never forget it.”

Papa Roach lead guitarist Jerry Horton spoke about how “…And Justice for All” from Metallica’s 1988 album of the same name that made him pursue the career of a guitarist.

Speaking to Premier Guitar in a new interview, Horton recalls the massive impact that the thrash giants’ fourth studio album had on him as a kid, and how the song’s intro riff was what got him hooked on playing heavy metal, effectively paving the way for an era-defining career as one of nu-metal’s premier ax-men. The guitarist recalled:

“I remember I was in Indiana, in a small town in Indiana, visiting my grandparents. And I had an acoustic guitar, and I had just picked it up, and I was into Metallica. Everyone around me was more into, AC/DC, more classic rock. But Metallica was new for me, and ‘…And Justice For All’.

“And I was just learning, and I had my acoustic guitar. And that riff was simple enough – in the beginning, the intro riff – and it sounded enough like an acoustic that I worked on trying to figure it out, and I remember that ‘a-ha’ moment.

“I was at the park down the street and started playing it and then along with it; I had my Walkman. And even with the acoustic, just still riffing the loud parts, I was just feeling like I could be up on that stage and rocking out like that. I’ll never forget it. It was a blast. And it really just set me on that path to really try and figure out as many of the songs that I loved and try to do my own thing.”

Papa Roach released their eleventh studio album “Ego Trip” this April via New Noize.