Billboard.com reports: Heavy metal fans will be banging their heads in
delight this fall with the release of Rhinos’s "Heavy Metal Box," due October
2nd. Arranged chronologically from 1968 to 1991, the four-disc, 70-song set
includes two tracks from Metallica, "Whiplash" and "One" and also boasts classic
tracks from Black Sabbath, Pantera, Megadeth, Iron Maiden, Motorhead and Slayer,
among dozens of others. True to its name, the project will be literally packaged
in a metal box resembling a Marshall guitar amp. The liner notes will include an
essay by Lars Ulrich on new wave and British metal as well as extensive photos,
track commentary, interviews with Ronnie James Dio and Lita Ford.
Metallica's "One" are
among the newly confirmed tracks for the upcoming Activision title Guitar Hero
III: Legends of Rock. Other bands featured in the game include Slayer, Queesn Of
The Stone Age, Velvet Revolver, Guns N' Roses and Iron Maiden.
"Guitar Hero III: Legends Of Rock" is slated for release on the Xbox 360,
Playstation 3, Nintento Wii and Playstation 2 on October 29th.
UPDATE: The
Official Metallica Site has officially confirmed the release with Metallica,
more info to be announced soon.
Argentina Amber hosts a Master of
Puppets 21st Anniversary Tribute on August 3rd at the Lavarden Theatre (Rosario,
Santa Fe)
Vertigo, a famous Metallica tribute band, will be performing to celebrate the
21st anniversary of Master of Puppets. Argentina Amber is going to release a new
Bash as we did last year and we are going to kick some ass.
Amber Bash II will take place on August 3rd at the Lavarden Theatre (Rosario,
Santa Fe).
Club members that attend Amber Bash II will have chance to win some good shit
that our lovely MetClub has provided. So what are you waiting for? Go to
http://www.argentina-amber.com.ar
and sign up for the first seats.
See you there!
Argentina Amber Bash 2
Junto a Vértigo festejando el 21 aniversario del
“Master Of. Puppets”
Un nuevo Bash se aproxima, nuestro tiempo de festejar los logros esta cada vez
más cerca, y que mejor para la ocasión que un concierto tributo bajo la mano de
nuestros amigos de Vértigo, quienes se encargarán dejar una marca inolvidable.
Los esperamos a todos el sábado 4 de Agosto a las 21hs en el mítico teatro
Lavarden (Rosario provincia de Santa fe) para que juntos podamos conmemorar el
21 aniversario del aclamado “Master Of. Puppets”
Para finalizar y poner la frutilla al postre, ofreceremos una fiesta privada a
realizarse una vez finalizado el concierto, en donde cada uno de los asistentes
al concierto tendrá la chance de hacerse acreedor de algunos de los increíble
premios que el
Met Club gentilmente nos ha enviado.
La cita ya esta hecha, solo falta tu decisión.
Acaso ¿pensás perdértelo?
Excerpts from Metal
Hammer Magazine's interview with Lars Ulrich has been posted online:
You've already recorded the drum, guitar and bass tracks for the new album, with
the rest to be added some time in August?
Lars: "The backing tracks are done, yeah. but Rick likes to keep things organic
and work in a way that can be described as 'of the moment'. If we continue in
August we should be done by October".
Rubin isn't known for being to giving with his time. What role has he played in
the sessions?
Lars: "He's been there every single day so far, He's all about the big picture.
He doesn't analyse things like drum tempos or tell James to play something in
F#. He's more about the feel: is everyone playing together? Rick's a vibe guy".
And is it okay for Rick to tell you something you've done sucks?
Lars: "Absolutely. And, believe me, he does. There's not a lot of grey with him.
He really speaks his mind. Either something's great or something sucks".
How easy was it to can Bob Rock?
Lars: [Frowning]: "That's not a term I'd like to use. We'd been making records
together for almost 20 years. That's as creative a relationship as you can come
up with in music, film...just about anything. But it had got to a point where we
would both finish each others sentences. We needed to look somewhere else for
our own sanity, survival and fulfilment".
How did you let him know that it was over?
Lars: "We talk on the phone a lot. That's the thing. I've said it many times:
Bob has always been primarily a friend, and secondarily a producer. And that
friendship hasn't suffered whatsoever."
In hiring Rubin. What were you hoping to achieve?
Lars: "To a certain extent, it was to do with wiping the slate clean when it
came to the process of making records. I've known Rick for many years but we've
never worked together. He brings a whole new energy and dynamic".
In keeping with the fact that you've been playing the title track of the ...And
Justice For All album again. Internet gossip suggests that some of these songs
will be long ones.
Lars: "I wouldn't say that they're longer than the ones before. We've always
written long songs. Most of the new ones clock between 6 and 8 minutes. There's
one that's 5 minutes. We're recording 14 and plan on finishing them all because
we love them all. But only 9 or 10 will appear on the new record".
Kirk has said that although this is Metallica's 11th studio album. It feels like
the band's sixth. Does a part of you consider St. Anger was a mistake?
Lars: "Not at all. The mistake was the white leather jacket [worn in the
drummer's infamous rock star phase, circa a stadium tour with Guns N' Roses in
1992]. The Napster dispute wasn't a mistake, but it caught us off guard. the
music has always been pure. It was the right thing to have done in 2003. That
said, I listened to it a couple of months ago and it's a difficult record. I can
hear that. But when I finished it, it made me do the same kind of back flips as
all the other records".
You must've known that after the whole 'SKOM' thing. Some people - Including
Kerry King who called you 'Fragile Old Men' - would never take the band
seriously again?
Lars: "Oh listen, the reason we did that movie was to piss Kerry King off. Being
the source of his amusement, that's great!"
As fascinating as it looked on screen. Wouldn't it have been better to keep
those things behind closed doors?
Lars: "There's certainly an argument for that. But right from day one, Metallica
has always been about the relationship with the fans. Unlike bands like Led
Zeppelin who tried to keep things mystical, we've gone out of our way to be as
accessible as possible. Our roots are a lot more punk than that. SKOM was the
logical conclusion of that mindset".
Then presumably you disagree with Kerry's ageist comments?
Lars: "Of course I do. If he hated SKOM that's the only stamp of approval that i
need".
Nevertheless, SKOM raised a lot of questions about your cohesiveness as a band.
How are you all faring now?
Lars: "Of course it asked some important questions. But you've got to remember
that it was a moment in time from five years ago. Phil is no longer around and
we all get along. And mentioning Phil's name reminds me, he always used to tell
us back then that the music we're making wouldn't shine through until the record
after St. Anger. I think he was right about that".
Not everyone approved of the new songs that you debuted earlier on the tour.
Lars: "Listen, what are we gonna do, take a poll of the people that exit the
venue? Stop playing them? I've just been on the Metallica message board where a
lot of moaning about all sorts of subjects goes on. But people are saying last
night was our best ever appearance in the UK".
Did the rumbling of fan discontent have anything to do with you dropping the new
material out of the Wembley set?
Lars: "No, no...Not at all. We always try to play a different set every night.
we played a new song in Donington last year; we wanted to make the set as
different as possible"
Do you consider this new album to be a thrash metal record?
Lars: "Oh [hang on] let me get my dictionary out...check my terminology"
Isn't that the record that the fans what you to make?
Lars: "I know that some of them do. But it's easier to tell you what it's not.
It's not St Anger part two. This album has dynamics. It has slow bits; it has
some very, very fast bits. It has melodic and very heavy bits. Rick is really
focusing on James' vocals, but musically, it fucking rocks. So you might say
that it falls into the category you just mentioned. But at the same token,
anyone that follows this band will know, we always try to look forwards and not
back".
Does it feel like you owe anything to people who loved Metallica in the early
days. But haven't liked too much of the band's music since the Black Album?
Lars: "Um, no. Not at all. I've a responsibility to my kids and to my lady to be
a good partner. Also to myself, to create music that's honest, real and gets all
three inches of my dick hard. Of course it's great to have as many people along
for the ride as possible. But when we put acoustic guitar into 'Fade To Black'
200 years ago, that's when the moaning started. We realized those people would
always be around whatever we did. So, basically, we stopped trying to please
them a long time ago".
When do you hope to release the album, and being touring properly?
Lars: "It'll be mixed by November and out in the new year. Maybe some time
around February. In terms of playing live, we won't be quite as nutty as before
. There won't be 39 dates in North Dakota [laughs]. I can't tell you that there
will be an indoor arena tour in England. But things are going to be done in
smaller increments. Instead of doing 14 arena gigs over 18 days, we'll do them
in two legs of two weeks and them go home".
What you might call 'doing less to do more?
Lars: "Or taking longer to do the same. And that also applies to recording.
People ask why it takes two years for Metallica to make a record. We don't work
16-hour days in the studio, for six days a week anymore. We work six-hour days
in between dropping off our kids at school and picking them up again. The record
still gets made, it just takes a bit longer".
Kirk Hammett and Lars Ulrich hosted
92.3 K-Rock on Monday, highlights from the show can be heard at
923KRock.com along with the playlist.
Metallica is hard at work on its next album with producer Rick Rubin, and at
least one person outside the band has heard the songs: Velvet Revolver drummer
Matt Sorum. He tells
RollingStone.com, "Lars is a good friend of mine. He played me the demos
from San Francisco, and I turned and looked at him and I said, 'Master that shit
and put it out.' It's ridiculous. The demos were sick. Eight-minute songs, all
these tempo changes, crazy fast. It's like, 'Dude, don't get slower when you get
older, but don't get faster!? How are you gonna play this live?' And then me and
Lars were out partying all night, and he had to go in the studio the next day
and do this stupid like nine- or ten-minute song, and I was laughing at him —
because he played me the demo of it, and it was [sings really fast drum part],
so fast. I called him, and said, 'Dude, how are you feeling?' He was like,
'Dude, I'm hurting.' They're cutting everything to tape, no fuckin' ProTools —
live, no clicks. Bitchin'. I dig it. I'm really excited for them."
Metallica are due back in the studio in August after recently completing the
2007 Sick Of The Studio tour.
Video footage of a recent interview with James Hetfield in Greece has been
posted online at
YouTube.com. James discusses the Live Earth show and responds to a few
Metallica-related news stories that have been reported in recent times. Watch
the video below:
Part One
Part two
Metallica's 2007 "Sick Of The Studio" tour ended in Moscow, Russia on
Wednesday.
This was the 2nd time ever Metallica peformed in Russia, the first back
in 1991 at the infamous Monsters Of Rock show with Pantera and AC/DC.
More than 3,000 police workers kept the peace yesterday’s evening and
the concert that started at 8:00 p.m. and finished at 11:00 p.m. went
fine except for 160 drunken persons were apprehended. According to the
organizers of the concert, nearly 62,000 tickets were sold.
Several videos from Metallica's tour of Russia have been posted online
including the press conference before the gig, a video report and a live
performance of "Disposable Heroes".
Interview from Moscow newspaper for those who can read Russian!!
Культовая рок-группа из США Metallica концертом в Москве завершила в
среду свое европейское турне. Это ее единственное за последние 16 лет
выступление в России, состоявшееся на Большой спортивной арене Лужников,
собрало 62 тысячи зрителей.
Уже за несколько часов до концерта на подступах к стадиону выстроилась
огромная очередь, поскольку зрители подвергались тщательному досмотру,
сообщает ИТАР-ТАСС. В районе станции метро "Спортивная" прекратилась
продажа любых содержащих алкоголь напитков, включая пиво. А к
обеспечению порядка были привлечены 3 тысячи милиционеров, сообщает
РИА "Новости". В
резерве находились 260 бойцов ОМОНа.
Подобными мерами городские власти решили обезопасить себя от повторения
памятного "тушинского побоища" 1991 года, когда "разогретая" музыкой и
алкоголем на рок-фестивале с участием этой американской группы молодежь
обрушила град бутылок на сотрудников милиции и других зрителей.
На сцене музыканты - вокалист и ритм-гитарист Джеймс Хетфилд,
соло-гитарист Кирк Хэмметт, ударник Ларс Ульрих и басист Роберт Трухильо
- обратились к своим хитам, показав тем самым, что за минувшие годы они
не растеряли ни капли своей бешеной энергетики.
В частности, была исполнена нестареющая песня Creeping Death и другие
композиции с первых пяти альбомов. Музыканты практически не мучили
поклонников материалом с трех последних дисков, выдержанных в новомодном
"альтернативном" ключе.
К плюсам выступления следует отнести инструментальную композицию "Орион"
1986 года - действительно одно из лучших произведений в "тяжелом" стиле,
записанных за всю историю существования рок-музыки. Были исполнены и "визитные
карточки" группы: песни с социальным подтекстом Master Of Puppets (1986,
об опасности попасть в тенета наркотического "рая") и One (1988, о
призывнике, ставшем инвалидом во время войны).
Добавим, что на "разогреве" у группы Metallica выступила финская love
metal-группа H.I.M.
Хотя организаторы концерта планировали ограничить его семьюдесятью
минутами, музыканты несколько раз выходили на бис, исполнив самые
востребованные в России хиты - Sad But True и Enter Sandman (обе - 1991
года).
Однако эмоции в зале достигли апогея и под рев трибун артисты вышли еще
раз. Наградой зрителей за терпение и восторг стали композиции The Four
Horsemen и Seek And Destroy с дебютного альбома 1983 года. Завершая
выступление, продлившееся целых 2 часа 25 минут, музыканты пообещали
поклонникам вернутся с гастролями в Россию через год.
Никаких инцидентов во время концерта зафиксировано не было, сообщает "Интерфакс"
со ссылкой на ГУВД столицы. Однако за время его проведения сотрудниками
милиции были задержаны 160 человек, в основном - в состоянии
алкогольного опьянения.
Отметим, что свой тур Sick of the studio '07 группа Metallica начала 28
июня, и за прошедшее время дала концерты в Испании, Бельгии, Греции,
Австрии, Великобритании, Норвегии, Швеции, Дании и Финляндии.
Основанная в далеком 1981-м рок-группа выпустила свой первый альбом Kill
'Em All лишь через два года после образования. Мировую известность
группа снискала в 1986 году и до сих пор остается в США на седьмом месте
по сумме продаж своих альбомов.
More excerpts from Kerrang magazine's interview with James Hetfield has
been put out. The issue is out now:
Kerrang!: You're working with Rick Rubin who has a reputation as an
"absentee" producer...
James: Oh, I met him once, I bumped into him in a corridor! [Laughs] No,
we were well aware of his reputation when we signed up. On "St. Anger",
Bob Rock did everything — he was producer, engineer, bass player,
babysitter, father figure. And Rick is pretty much the opposite; he's
not there to babysit. When we first came in, his opening statement was,
"I want you guys to impress me; I want you to feel like you're starting
out again'. He really wants us to get in the mind-set of "Master of
Puppets". It's impossible to recreate what we were 20 years ago, that's
silly, but we had to get that hunger back.
Kerrang!: And he's impressed so far?
James: Rubin is really good at feeling songs, and he'll tell you
straight-up if he doesn't like something. We started with 20 songs and
we've whittled it down to 14 since he came in. He won't say "This
fucking sucks," but he'll make suggestions and I'm definitely open to
that. With "St. Anger", it became so open-minded that it became
unfocused. This time around, there's a lot of "Sorry, it's not good
enough." We're aiming for excellence.
Kerrang!: With "St Anger", did the democracy you practiced in the studio
end up comprimising the album?
James: Definitely. It was very unrealistic. We went from tearing each
other's throats out with sarcasm, anger and not speaking to the polar
opposite where we'd embrace every stupid idea so as to not hurt anyone's
feelings. And that didn't work either!
Kerrang!: It seems weird that you're taking time out to tour when you're
on a roll in the studio...
James: Well, hopefully it'll inspire us to take it to another level.
You'll listen back to a new song and go, "We were just out there
listening to 60,000 people screaming at what they love about Metallica
and I don't think they're gonna scream at this! Also it gets
claustrophobic in there — you can be trapped in there not knowing
whether people are still out there.
Kerrang!: Have you started to work on the lyrics?
James: I have phrasings and something vocally to at least feel what the
song is like. I forgot about "Let's please everyone in the band." Now
it's, "This is where my head's at." I think people will identify with
it.
Kerrang!: Is there a sense that time is running out for Metallica and
you need to make a defining album again?
James: Well, we have no shortage of ideas and what am I gonna do? I
write songs, I play songs and I like doing this. I know we're getting
older, there's no point in trying to hide that fact, and we might tour
less than we did, but as records go, we just want to make a good record,
that's all we ever want to do. I mean, we thought "St. Anger" was going
to be amazing, but it turned out to be more of a statement than
Metallica music that we enjoy playing live. It was more of a purge, just
getting that shit out of me, as a catalyst for the next chapter of
Metallica. Source:
Blabbermouth.net
The UK's BBC channel has put out an apology to Metallica fans
The BBC recieved over 400 complaints regarding Metallica's performance
shown on air being cut short to show footage from other artists.
We recognise that some viewers of the Live Earth concert on 07/07/07
were annoyed that the Metallica set was not shown in full.
This was a global event and we were keen to reflect the other concerts
as well as the one in UK. We took editorial decisions in advance and on
the day, about the times and places we would do that. Not all the tracks
by every performer could be featured but we did transmit a full trail
promoting our interactive coverage where digital viewers wanting to see
the performances in full, could press the red button at any time. The
concerts were very fluid in London and around the world and there was
certainly no prejudice about heavy metal music or any other music; just
a determination to do the best for the entire audience watching on BBC
Two and One during the day. This is inevitably a fine balance and we
cannot please everyone all of the time. However, we of course apologise
if any particular viewers were disappointed.
Bob was interviewed to discuss the return of his old band The Payolas
and his work with Metallica on St. Anger: Below is an excerpt from the
interview regarding Metallica:
ML: We don’t have much time left, so let me ask you how was it working
with Metallica and can you comment on the St. Anger album?
BR: “It was the best and happiest fifteen years and some more stuff.
It’s the extreme of emotions with those guys. Fifteen years of my life
is a long time and it was fantastic. It was the best anybody could hope
for. As for St. Anger, lots of controversy there.”
ML: A big controversy was the drum sound...
BR: “Well... yeah. Realistically though if you really think about it –
it was the fact that there was NO real songs. That was because the guy
who writes the songs – couldn’t write the songs because of where he was
personally. So, what St. Anger became was what the band could do at that
point and it is exactly that. It was riffs strung together... The way I
look at it was like raw power or a garage band. It was just riffs... It
was garage band and that was supposed to sound like that and what I
learned out of it is that people in metal just don’t want it to change.
So, it’s best that Rick Rubin continue the metal thing and not Bob.”
ML: It was also criticized for not having guitar solos...
BR: “Everybody has their theories, but the truth... You watch the movie
and you think it’s some big conspiracy, but the truth is that Kirk had a
chance to do a solo on every one of the songs. The only thing we said is
‘if the solo doesn’t add something – then we’re not going to add it.’
That’s the truth. It was like ‘Kirk you’ve got as much time as you want.
Come up with something original and great... That doesn’t date it’. They
were just trying to reach for something new and basically every time he
did (come up with a solo); James and Lars (with me) said ‘No, it’s
better without.’ And it came down to nothing is really sounding great so
‘ok, let’s not have solos.’ That’s the truth and Kirk agreed, but of
course if you look at the movie... They took two and a half years and
had to put a movie together so they grabbed all this stuff and kind of
formed a way that it could be looked at, but it has nothing to do with
what happened.”
ML: Movies only semi-reflect reality at the best of times.
BR: “Yeah, exactly. It was a good learning process for me. The more we
get into those kinds of documentaries – it becomes something else. It’s
not necessarily the truth. It’s an angle or a view of the truth and the
truth of St. Anger was the band was broken-up. They were done.”
ML: Just by the fact that you were playing bass on it shows that they
weren’t a band. They weren’t four guys.
BR: “They had three guys, but two of them couldn’t stand to be in the
same room. They had all these problems personally and they never wanted
to be with each other in the same room or speak to each other again.
They broke-up. There was a couple of weeks to a month where it was over.
All I did because I played bass when we put together the Mission
Impossible song... They said ‘we can’t really add somebody new at this
point. Just do what you did with Mission Impossible.’ I was there as a
friend and not as a producer and if I made a mistake – that was it. I
didn’t do what other guys would do which is ‘just phone me when you got
the songs’. There are producers that do that. They don’t really do
anything – they go ‘just write the songs and when they’re good, I’ll
record them’. I didn’t do that – these guys are my friends. I love these
guys. They’re falling apart and I’ve got to be with them so be it. I was
there because I was a friend. I stuck with them for two and a half years
of my life because they needed someone. That’s what I was there for. We
stuck together and basically what Metallica fans have got to realize is
- St. Anger is the reason why they’re still a band and if I was the
sacrificial lamb then so be it. I’d rather have those guys now, as human
beings, and me not work with them than anything. I just wish them the
best of luck. They’re just a huge band and amazing musicians. I’ve
nothing, but great things to say about them.”
James Hetfield was interviewed by Finnish music channel
MTV3
...in Helsinki, Finland yesterday to discuss the tour which will end on
July 18th in Moscow. James also humorously discusses the recent rumour
of a report that Hetfield was detained at London airport because of his
"taliban-like beard" which was later reported false. View the videos at
the below links:
Enter Sandman will be included in the "Rock Band" video game coming out
this year.
There's been a lot of chatter over the years about Metallica and video
games . . . we finally have a release date for you on one! We're psyched
to be a part of a cool new game, “Rock Band,” which comes out in time to
be on everyone's wish list for Santa. The game is kinda like four games
in one - you can be the lead singer, play guitar, bass, or drums . . .
or you can get your buddies, family members, whomever, to be in your
band. The game can be played on your Xbox 360 or Playstation3 and we'll
keep you posted as we get more details and a firm release date.
To peruse the “official” press release, see below:
METALLICA LETS FANS DIG DEEPER WITH ROCK BAND™
Harmonix, MTV Games and the Superstar Band Bring Multiple Tracks to Rock
Band Videogame Game Disc to Feature The Band's Iconic Hit “Enter
Sandman”
SANTA MONICA, CA - July 11, 2007- Harmonix, the leading developer of
music-based games, MTV Games, a division of MTV Networks which is a
division of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), and rock icons Metallica
announced today a deal that will showcase the incredible depth of the
band's music in the highly anticipated videogame Rock Band™. The
Grammy-award winning thrashers are making key tracks from their
celebrated catalog available as digitally-distributed game levels. The
incomparable metal song “Enter Sandman,” will ship on the game's disc
this holiday season.
“Metallica is one of the best loved bands in the world and their albums
redefined hard rock and metal. Its one of the bands we had to bring to
the Rock Band experience,” said Alex Rigopulos, co-founder and CEO of
Harmonix. “Rock Band will allow gamers to jam with the guys through
their long, successful career, from young, raw talent to mega stars,
playing the hard-rocking sounds that the band is known for.”
Distributed by Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS), Rock Band is a new
platform for music fans and gamers to interact with music like never
before. Offering four music games in one - Rock Band challenges rockers
to master the lead/bass guitar, drums, and vocals or play in a
cooperative band experience. Built on unprecedented deals with the
world's biggest record labels and music publishers, the music featured
in Rock Band will span all genres of rock and include many of the master
recordings from the greatest songs and artists of all time.
Best known for its thrash-metal sounds, Metallica's 11 albums have sold
more than 95 million copies over their 26-year career. Easily one of the
most influential and intense metal bands of all time, the range of
Metallica songs that will be available to Rock Band players will allow
them to play along as the history of the genre unfolds.
“Enter Sandman,” the first single from the band's self-titled album and
one of the best known tracks, is a staple at Metallica's live concerts.
VH1 ranked it as the 22nd in its “40 Greatest Metal Songs of All Time.”
“Our goal was to bring a deep musical experience to Rock Band by
providing not just one song by a player's favorite artist, but a
carefully-chosen career-spanning array,” stated Paul DeGooyer, MTV's
Senior Vice President, Audio, Home Video and Games. “Metallica has never
been afraid to let their fans get closer, and now those fans will be
able to inhabit this incredible music in a completely new way.”
Rock Band is slated for release on Xbox 360™ video game and
entertainment system from Microsoft® and PLAYSTATION®3 computer
entertainment system this Holiday 2007. For more information on Rock
Band and Harmonix Music Systems please visit
www.rockband.com
and
www.harmonixmusic.com.
James Hetfield was interviewed by Swedish TV channel SVT on Thursday
(July 12) prior to the band's headlining performance at Stadion in
Stockholm.
Watch the seven-minute unedited question-and-answer session
at
SVT.se. A transcript of the interview follows:
Q: What will the new Metallica sound like?
Hetfield: "As good as we can right now, I would say, and that's all it
ever has been. [Producer] Rick Rubin is extremely good at getting the
best out of any artist he's worked with, whether it's Beastie Boys, Neil
Diamond, Slsayer, Slipknot… he does all, he does rap… anything! Somehow
he taps in. He's got a good vibe, and a good ear, and we think we do
too. So sometimes there's a little bit of this — we like our things the
way we like them, he likes his things the way he likes them — but with
two great powers putting something together, I think we'll come up with
something pretty amazing. He's having us focus a lot on the feeling
around 'Master of Puppets' — what was going through our minds? what was
it like? — the hunger around 'Master of Puppets'."
Q: You played at Live Earth. What are your thoughts on the climate
crisis. What can Metallica contribute to [the whole process]?
Hetfield: "I really avoided the press around the Live Earth day. I
didn't quite agree with what was going on there. Politics drive me
crazy, and I don't like talking politics. Politics get in the way of
things; they get in the way of getting things done, and getting our
music across is what we wanna do — we don't wanna cloud it with
'Democrat, Republican, whatever.' Our philosophy is 'think for yourself'
at the end of the day — do what you think feels right. I really believe
that humans will survive. I have a lot of faith in mankind that we will
overcome and adapt — whatever it is; whether it's man-made or God-made,
or Earth/Mother Nature — we have a lot of smart people on this planet
that will make something good out of bad."
Q: You guys have been a band for 25 years. What is the plan for the next
25 years?
Hetfield: "Yeah, to make it to 26, 27, 28… you know, it's one day at a
time. Something exciting that's up for us is being eligible for the Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame in America, which is a pretty big deal. We played
it last year for Black Sabbath, who chose not to perform, and we said we
would. [Laughs] That was a lot of fun. You know, it's this historic
landmark. A lot of bands get inducted, [but] not many bands are there to
play all together to say 'Hi' and 'Thank you.' If you made it to 25
years, you either hate each other or you're broken up or you didn't make
it that far, or something. So we're pretty proud. There's a not a whole
lot of bands that can say that, so we're very grateful."
Q: You had a little bit of a difficulty on the last record. How are you
guys functioning now on the new record?
Hetfield: "Well, one thing that someone said on the last record — going
through all of the cleansing, the therapy, the talking, the breaking
down the falls… you know, from one extreme to the other — from hating
each other to not talking to hugging and crying over every note… It's
crazy — one to the other. They're both unrealistic. Somewhere in the
middle is where we need to live, and balance is difficult at times,
especially for myself, who likes the extremes, or thinks I like them.
All the work that we went through on 'St. Anger', it was said that it
was not for 'St. Anger', it was for the next record, and that makes
total sense. 'St. Anger' was pretty much a statement — it felt like a
purging of a feeling. And this record is more us working together — in
harmony, in friction, in happiness, in sadness… all of that put
together. And we're able to get through it — we've walked though fire;
we know how hot it can get, and we don't need to go through there
again."
In another interview, NME TV sat down for a chat with Kirk Hammett on
Sunday, July 8 prior to the band's sold-out concert at Wembley Stadium
in London, England. Watch the 10-minute interview below.
