METALLICA's JAMES HETFIELD: 'We Understand That A Lot Of Bands Don't Get A Career Like We've Had'

METALLICA frontman James Hetfield was interviewed on Brazilian TV prior to the band's March 25 performance at Lollapalooza Brasil at Autódromo de Interlagos in São Paulo, Brazil. You can watch the short chat below.

Asked if playing for Brazilian audiences is a special experience for METALLICA, Hetfield said: "Well, of course. I'm just a human making art, and when other people take your art to their heart and you connect with them, there's always an extra feeling of belonging, of home, of connection, of family. So Brazil is certainly one of METALLICA's most fanatical countries of them all, so, yeah, we love coming to play here every time."

Hetfield also spoke about METALLICA's longevity and how making new music helps the heavy metal genre's most internationally renowned band stay relevant.

"For us, we're explorers, and we understand that a lot of bands don't get a career like we've had — 36 years — and having a new album out that's almost as important as the other albums," he said. "It's a blessing; there's no doubt about that. We do our best, and that's all we can do. And at the end of the day, we're writing and playing songs that we like to hear."

METALLICA will next play South America's Lollapalooza events in Argentina and Chile on March 31 and April 1, respectively.

The North American leg of METALLICA's "WorldWired" 2017 tour kicks off in Baltimore and will hit stadiums in 25 cities before winding down in mid-August. Support on the quartet's first North American trek since 2009 will come mainly from AVENGED SEVENFOLD and VOLBEAT, with GOJIRA taking over for the latter group for the last six shows.

The first European leg of "WorldWired" kicks off on September 4 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands and stretches through November. After a break, the trek will pick up again on February 10, 2018 in Bologna, Italy, and continue through May, finishing up in Helsinki, Finland.