METALLICA's HETFIELD: It Takes 'Intense Music Fans' To Get Into 'St. Anger'

May 6, 2004

METALLICA frontman James Hetfield spoke to the Winnipeg Sun last week about his trip to the rehab in 2001, his recovery and the band's eventual "rebirth." The following are some excerpts from that interview:

Winnipeg Sun: Are you happy with the reception the new album is getting?

James Hetfield: "Yeah. We're grateful people are embracing it as much as they can. It's a pretty intense record and these days, with bubblegum metal on the radio, it takes some intense music fans to get past the length of the songs and some of the production. It was more of a statement than anything as to what we were feeling."

Winnipeg Sun: Why are there no guitar solos?

Hetfield: "I'm sure Kirk [Hammett] definitely wanted to do some solos on there and we tried in a couple of places, but it just didn't feel like it was necessary. Kirk played all the rhythm stuff and there's some amazing playing on there and we felt that if he felt like doing a solo when we were writing, maybe he would have done one."

Winnipeg Sun: Is METALLICA still fun or is it a job?

James Hetfield: "I'd say it was more of a job before and the partying was the fun bit. Before it was like, 'Yay, I get to go on tour and drink and cause destruction and havoc everywhere,' and that was the fun bit. Playing was fun too, but it was like that thing you had to do to continue the other behavior. It's definitely a different vibe out here now, a lot more accountable and challenging."

Read the whole interview here.

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