Billy Corgan compares Lil Peep to Metallica

"It’s so sad [Peep] passed away because he was just getting to the bigger part of this work"

Billy Corgan believes that Lil Peep affected his fans in the same way that Metallica did in their early days.

Speaking in a new interview with Build, the Smashing Pumpkins frontman recalled that, as a teenager, he could relate to the angst being projected by Metallica when he was listening to the band while growing up in the suburbs.

When Corgan was asked if there were any contemporary bands or acts who unearthed those same feelings in him, Corgan cited the late Lil Peep as a prime example.

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“Unfortunately Lil Peep, probably of all the artists I’ve heard recently, tapped into that same angst,” Corgan said. “And it’s so sad he passed away because he was just getting to the bigger part of this work.”

The frontman added that he feels “exactly the same vibe” when hearing Lil Peep’s music as he did listening to Metallica when he was younger.

Corgan went on to describe how it felt to be a suburban kid who has a limited perspective on things from the confines of their small town. He added that “getting out is the survival instinct” for those people, which is buoyed by music.

Elsewhere in the interview, Corgan claimed that Nirvana’s ‘Come As You Are’ sounds “right out” like Killing Joke.

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“Obviously ‘Come As You Are’ was right out Killing Joke,” he said. “And Killing Joke was very influenced by Sabbath. So, there’s a direct lineage from Judas Priest and [Black] Sabbath through Killing Joke to alternative music.

Billy Corgan/ Kurt Cobain

“But the problem is you would get in the room with a critic who would look down his nose at the heavy metal influences, so the bands just wouldn’t mention it.”

Despite the comments, Corgan praised the late Kurt Cobain’s talent several times, citing himself and the Nirvana frontman as the two best writers of their generation and placing “everybody else a distant third.”

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