All language subtitles for Masterclass - Metallica Teaches Being a Band_Full

[BELL CHIMING]

LARS ULRICH: I was searching to
be in a group, or collective,

or gang.

JAMES HETFIELD:
It was that family

I never had or always wanted
that I found in a band.

LARS ULRICH: When
James and I met,

James and I realized
that we were

kindred spirits, and like-minded
in our passions for music,

and that we enjoyed the
same elements of music,

and the energy, and
the collective spirit.

JAMES HETFIELD: We wanted
to do this, and we loved it.

It just lived in us.

KIRK HAMMETT: We've gone on
to become one of the biggest

bands in the world.

The bond that we
have, it's so strong,

that brought us together is
music and the possibilities

of more creative greatness.

I mean, I think that what
we're doing at the moment

is quite a bit different from
what people have heard before.

REPORTER 1: The
American heavy metal

band, described as the
angriest band in the world--

REPORTER 2: Eight wins, 17
nominations at the Grammys,

110 million albums
sold worldwide.

Their current album has been
on the charts for 75 weeks.

The winner tonight--

MAN: Artist the year
goes to Metallica.

[CHEERING]

We've grown up together.

We all know each other, and
we continue, after 40 years,

to learn more about each other.

LARS ULRICH: Every single
time James Hetfield

puts a guitar on, something
brilliant comes out.

It's unbelievable
still 40 years later.

JAMES HETFIELD: Rob is
that calming spirit.

LARS ULRICH: Plus he's a
motherfucker of a bass player.

ROBERT TRUJILLO: Kirk, when
he plays those guitar solos,

those leads, and
those melodic moments,

it almost is like tears
are coming out of his eyes

because he loves his
instrument so much.

KIRK HAMMETT: If there is an
energy center, the spark that

gets the engine going,
that would have to be Lars.

JAMES HETFIELD:
He is the guy that

will want to sign 100
autographs, go do a show,

and then do it again.

It's not all rainbows
and unicorns.

That's for sure.

You face yourself
through the other guys.

There's a lot of darkness
and a lot of struggle.

All sorts of crazy
things have happened.

We've been snowed in.

We've been snowed out.

We've had situations where shots
are being fired at the stage,

and we've had to evacuate.

It's taken a huge
toll emotionally,

physically, and
spiritually on us.

There's been times when
it's been fractured,

and it looks like we're on
the verge of breaking up.

Metallica really experienced
some internal issues.

It was in the wake of Jason
Newsted leaving the band.

A performance coach came in.

We started talking
to each other.

It was a very
transformative few years,

and it was basically the first
time where we ever really

talked to each other
about how we were doing,

how we were feeling, and
how being in Metallica

was affecting us individually.

The Metallica that has now been
going for the last 15 to 18

years is a result of that.

Are you ready to make history?

KIRK HAMMETT: When
you're in a band,

the commitment is to
music, but after a while,

you realize it's a real
commitment to each other.

We need each other to
create great things.

This class is for
anybody who wants

to make music, who wants to
work in a group, in a band,

in a collective.

One thing that's very
important for our students

to understand is what
kills creative flow, what

kills creativity.

How to navigate life
with other people,

how to get the best out of
everyone without dominating,

without taking
things personally.

We're going to get a chance
to talk about and deconstruct

how we write songs,
some of our biggest hits

like "Master of Puppets,"
"Enter Sandman," "One."

You're going to be able
to watch us do a performance

at the end of this class.

I am so excited to
share with you everything

that I learned all
these years that I've

been playing this instrument.

This is beyond 101 stuff
of how to play a guitar.

This is why do you play guitar?

Where's my guitar
going to take me?

We are fortunate
to be musicians.

We possess a gift that moves
people, makes them happy.

Whenever I'm filling out some
form and it says occupation,

I am so proud to write musician.

I am so proud.

If there's anything
in what we're

about to share that in any
way, shape, or form inspires

you, influences
you, make you want

to jump into any creative
endeavor, particularly music,

then we've done our job.

I'm James Hetfield.

I'm Robert Trujillo.

I'm Kirk Hammett.

I'm Lars Ulrich.

We are Metallica, and
this is MasterClass.

[ELECTRIC GUITAR PLAYING]

Songwriting is, in my
mind, like a big puzzle

of just pieces that
have to fit together.

In Metallica, we start with
what we call a main riff.

That main riff feeds the song--

[PLAYING GUITAR]

--often sets the tempo,
sets the key, and then

the verses, the bridges, the
choruses, the middle parts,

the intros.

All of that are
usually derived out

of the feel of those main riffs.

[PLAYING GUITAR]

Whether they're
from our own mind

sitting at home or on tour,
playing in rehearsal rooms

or whatnot, or warm up
rooms before a show,

riffs get collected.

Back in the day, it
used to be that whenever

we were going to make a
record, everybody would have

their ideas, their riff tapes.

And it's like, OK,
we're going to start

writing a bunch of songs.

[MUSIC - "ONE"]

When there's a main
riff, everything else

just works off that.

How does a song start?

We like to write intros
that are a little bit

of a journey in itself.

Imagine you're going like on
a waterslide or something.

And you're going through
all these twists and turns.

And then when you get
spit out at the bottom,

you land on the main riff.

You want to create drama.

And, you know, a perfect
example I would say

would be "Enter Sandman."

It starts off with
a picking part.

[MUSIC - "ENTER SANDMAN"]

And then that whole
bang comes with chords.

And you would expect the band
to come in with the main riff.

But no, we come in with chords.

And there's a drum
part, you know, toms.

And the guitar part
and the bass parts,

like a low chug on
the E. It's all just

like just fairly routine stuff
that really doesn't really

sound like much.

But what we're doing
is we're setting

the stage for what's coming.

The main part of it comes.

And when it does come, it's
so much more impactful.

Because we're building drama.

We're building tension, you
know, musically, harmonically,

through tempos.

And basically, you know,
we're setting the scene

for like the big reveal.

You can have a really,
really great riff.

But if it's not presented
and executed properly,

it can fall flat on its face.

Or you can just like--

you can take a riff
and then play it

so much that it
loses its meaning.

When we write a riff, the
main riff is almost sacred.

You don't want to
play it too much.

You want the listener to
feel like they're always

on the edge of hearing it.

And when it does come,
they're like, yeah.

Then you want to pull it back.

So that they're
like, uh, uh, uh.

And you know, it's
that push and pull

and the fact that, you
know, the listener might not

expect what's coming next.

But when it comes next, it's
exactly what they want to hear.

They don't know it yet.

But it's exactly what
they want to hear.

That's that riff.

Just F sharp and then F--

OK.

--ever other time.

You've got a great riff.

What do you do after that?

We'll go out, and
we'll just jam on it.

How does it feel?

Try a few different
feels with that riff.

How does it feel in half time?

How does it feel in double time?

How does it feel simplified?

You could take that
riff and simplify it.

It turns into an intro.

You can riff off of the
riff, take little pieces.

Or you just go out and jam.

And whatever comes
through you next

is supposed to happen,
as simple as that.

Trusting that this--

I'm just a vessel
of whatever's coming

through me at that moment.

And if I love the
sound, I love the feel,

I love what we're doing,
I can completely trust

what's going to happen next.

And a lot of times, I know
at least when we're jamming,

Lars will just say,
all right, you know,

just play what you're
supposed to play next.

It's like, OK.

And I let it happen.

So overthinking it, you know,
it's not a math problem.

Maybe it goes
to the fast riff.

It goes up to the fast
riff, two or something.

And then there's a
bridge and a chorus part

that comes out of the modulation
and the [SINGING EXAMPLE]..

Everyone gets their chance
to put their idea out there.

And you never know
where the golden nugget

is going to come from.

Lars is actually really
pretty good at hearing a riff

and dissecting it.

Because me, as a guitar
player, my fingers

normally go here and do this.

It's kind of nice
to have someone

who's not a guitar
player come in

and say, well, I like
when you moved here.

Do more of that thing
you did up there.

And it's that simplistic
approach which I really like.

And I'm able to add on to that.

In these modern
times, a lot of stuff

gets created on a computer.

And those jams are becoming
more and more rare.

But with Metallica, we
really pride ourselves

on building songs that way.

[MUSIC - "CONFUSION"]

(SINGING) - All sanity
is now beyond me!

I recommend you play
as much as possible.

And you play with
different musicians.

You play different styles.

And you get out there.

And you physically do
it, even if it's just

jamming with this great drummer
who lives in your neighborhood

or whatever.

Play as much as possible.

Find that inner groove.

So when you get into
any writing situation,

you can build songs through
the experience of the jam.

[ELECTRIC GUITAR PLAYING]

Just like anything else
creative, painting, film,

all these things, I mean, it's--

I don't like to
use the word work.

Because it's
something you enjoy.

And so anything that you
enjoy, I don't consider work.

But it's very much
a practical process.

I think some people have
this vision of, you know,

singer/songwriters
are lying in bed.

And, you know, the
heavens open up.

And then they wake
up the next morning.

And there's this
incredible sound.

You know, Paul Simon, "Sounds
of Silence, " or Noel Gallagher,

just "Wonderwall,"
just he wakes up.

And there's "Wonderwall."

For us and certainly for a lot
of other artists that I talk

to, you basically just gotta--

you've got to go down to the
studio at 10:00 in the morning

and clock in and put
your eight hours in.

Some day's inspirational
stuff happens.

You know, other
days you sit there

and struggle with this,
just like anything else.

You got to be patient.

And you got to let
time be a part of--

of the process and respect
the time element of it.

When James and I used
to write, it was just

the two of us in the garage.

I mean, it was still
wake up, have breakfast.

And then, you know, we'd
mosey on out to the studio

maybe around 11:00 or noon
and put in a full day.

And that part of it really
hasn't changed that much.

For us, it's very sort
of labor intensive.

And we respect that.

And we give-- give the process
the time that it deserves.

[MUSIC - METALLICA, "ENTER
SANDMAN"]

LARS ULRICH: Any songwriter
will tell you the hardest thing

is to write a simple song.

But we lucked out.

We were at my house
in North Berkeley

there in the summer of '90.

And the first day,
here's this riff.

And then the
challenge was kind of,

write a song that's
basically just the main riff.

And if you notice, pretty
much every part-- the intro,

picking, the chords,
the B part, the chorus--

the whole song is basically
for all intents and purposes

derived out of the main riff.

And that was something that
we had never done before.

And we wrote that song
basically in an afternoon.

And I knew right there and
then that was the opening

statement of the next phase of
Metallica and the next record.

This is all your first, huh?

None-- none more--

LARS ULRICH: Pretty
exciting, huh?

(SINGING) It's the beast under
your bed, in your closet,

in your head.

LARS ULRICH: It's
just, the simplicity

of that song, that is something
that we still occasionally

chase.

[MUSIC - GUITAR RIFF TO "ENTER
SANDMAN"]

That's the main riff.

The main notes in that
riff are A sharp, A.

And so the picking part
is derived from that riff.

You're basically
playing the same--

the same notes in the riff.

You're just arpeggiating
it like this.

[PLAYS NOTES]

Rather than-- so that's
how that all comes about.

And then it goes up to--

Yeah.

Then it modulates.

[PLAYS NOTES]

Same-- yeah.

Same figure.

I remember when you said, can
that riff go somewhere else?

You know, move it
somewhere else?

Like, it's not easy.

But it ended up being OK.

Yeah.

Yeah, the B part, the chorus,
is really just those things

in chord form.

Yeah.

(SINGING) Exit light.

Enter night.

Take my hand.

We're off to Never Neverland.

Ha, ha!

What's funny
about that riff is

that that's actually
not the riff

that Kirk sent over on his tape.

When-- when Kirk
sent it over, it

had what I would call
one of the front ones,

and then it would go A, B,
A, B, rather than A, A, A, B.

And I suggested to
Kirk, I said, just

try and go A, A, A, B
and only play the tail

every fourth time instead
of every other time.

So maybe try to play it
in the original form.

Yeah.

So this is the original form.

[PLAYS ORIGINAL RIFF]

A and B. And so what
Lars is suggesting, bunch

of As and then B.

[PLAYS RIFF]

And what that does is it
actually gives the listener

more to grab onto.

And you're getting
more of that--

that great combination of
notes and that-- that feel

and that emotion
and that heaviness.

So you're actually giving more
of the rift to the listener

and then resolving it,
which is always a better way

to approach it.

And the tail is usually,
this is the riff cycle done.

You know, this is
the end of the riff.

Then you go back to it.

So yeah, whenever you put the
tail in-- sometimes the tail

is just a little something
to get you back to it.

Other times, this is a pretty
major part of the riff.

Yeah.

A lot of times the tail would
just be to resolve it on a note

so that the
beginning of the riff

starts on a more refreshing
note and gives it

the sense that you're
at the top again.

[MUSIC - METALLICA, "ENTER
SANDMAN"]

It's really the
ultimate song where

it has the heaviness
that you would want,

and it has that groove,
and as they said,

it has the tail that is
really vital to this song.

But then it has the intro
and the buildup at the top

where it just kind of starts
with the drums, and just kind

of--

[PLAYS BASS]

You know what I mean?

And that whole dynamic is really
important to Metallica songs.

And it's used perfectly
in that particular song.

LARS ULRICH: You're teasing.

You're teasing the riff.

Right.

So.

[PLAYS VARIATION ON THE RIFF]

You know, you tease the riff.

And then you finally, when the
downbeat happens and everyone's

playing together,
da, da, da, da!

Here is the riff and its
full glory with all four band

members at full volume.

When we first started
playing that together,

that guitar solo wrote itself.

That guitar solo came out like,
within the first or second time

we played it together
as a band, 90% of it.

And you know, to me, that's
just a testament of how great

the feel of that
song is, the groove

of that song, the
emotion and how accurate

it is in just accessing some--

something inside myself to just
push that solo out just like,

instantly.

It's crazy.

["ENTER SANDMAN" GUITAR SOLO]

There is the studio
version and then live.

Yeah, there are some
bands that really

try to perfect the sonics, the
song, the singing, the every ad

lib, this is exactly
like the record live.

You know, we toured
with some bands

that were very into reproducing
it perfectly exactly live.

We're not that kind
of band, you know.

When you go to see us
live, it's kind of actually

been the opposite, you know.

Every producer
we've worked with is

trying to capture the live
thing on a record, you know.

(SINGING) Exit light.

Enter night.

JAMES HETFIELD: When
we play it live,

there's just
dynamics that happen.

And they happen
because of the crowd.

And a lot of times,
the crowd will

help us write a different
version of it because hey,

you know, this part
works really well live,

and they get into it, and
there's a singing part.

So we'll extend a part.

This song, the intro, obviously,
pyro helps on a downbeat.

[MUSIC - METALLICA, "ENTER
SANDMAN"]

JAMES HETFIELD: End of the
song, we've extended things,

you know.

Quite a few of the songs have
little, hey, hey moments,

you know.

Hey!

Hey!

You know, we've added little
things on the end, too.

Well, the crowd
really gets into that.

And if this is a song that this
song has turned into where this

is the last song of the set
or the big da, da, da song,

you extend it a little bit.

You get the crowd going
in there at certain parts.

[EXTENDED ENDING TO "ENTER
SANDMAN"]

[CROWD CHANTS]

JAMES HETFIELD:
So a lot of times,

live will help us rewrite a
song just because that works.

And let's extend it, right.

[BIG LIVE FINISH TO "ENTER
SANDMAN"]

[HEAVY METAL MUSIC]

JAMES HETFIELD: Time
to party-- er, work.

Why do we write such
long fucking songs?

JAMES HETFIELD:
In the early days,

there was so much just
[MAKES CRASHING NOISE]

MAN: Frankly, I
don't give a fuck.

I'm tired of arguing.

RECORDING ENGINEER:
I'm sorry I laughed.

The vocal line goes
exactly with the guitar.

Just verse and one
chorus, that's all I ask.

JAMES HETFIELD: You can't play
the song without me, or what?

[GUITAR RIFF]

LARS ULRICH: Is that like--

[BANG]

Physical fights happened, yes.

Most-- most of it
was psychic wars,

you know, things going on up
here, how can I manipulate

him to do this and all of that.

You know, besides the--

I'm going to-- I call
first shower in the hotel,

it was-- you know, because
there's only two towels.

LARS ULRICH: (IRRITATED) What?

MAN: You got a phone call.

Get the fuck out of here.

There's the survival stuff.

And then there's the
I want to dominate,

I want my vision to be seen.

And I have to squish your
vision so mine can be.

There's no way these two visions
can see each other, you know.

Did not have the
knowledge of, you know,

if I light your candle
with my candle, it's--

my candle's still burning.

And it's still good.

You know, we get two.

There was no clue about that.

So there were lots
of fights around it,

who's running the show.

But at the end of the day,
we did discover and find out

that we can--

we can live together, we
can compromise, and still

have integrity.

LARS ULRICH: In the wake of
Jason Newsted leaving the band,

a performance coach
named Phil Towle came in.

We started talking
to each other.

Subsequently there was a
film crew that came in.

And the movie "Some Kind of
Monster" came out of that.

[GUITAR RIFF]

It was basically the first
time where we ever really

talked to each other
about how we were doing,

how we were feeling, and--
and how being in Metallica

was affecting us individually.

The-- the thing about
being in a group

is that four individuals then
creates a fifth entity which

is the collective.

It just came to a point
where the individual also

needed a voice.

And so through
two or three years

of learning to communicate
to each other, of learning

to stand up for our
own needs, came a--

kind of a transitional period
around the "St. Anger" record.

And subsequently,
the Metallica that

has now been going for
the last 15 to 18 years

is in much better shape,
internally much healthier.

We, I think, enjoy
what we're doing more.

[ELECTRIC GUITAR AND BASS GUITAR
PLAYING]

ROBERT TRUJILLO: We
all have our demons.

And that could definitely
cause a problem

with the creative flow.

One of the things for me is ego.

When egos are flaring in your
band, it's important for you

to understand what's
actually happening.

Because this is very
common in every band.

You're dealing with
creative minds that are kind

of flying all over the place.

And sometimes it could
be related to a song.

Somebody wants to take more
credit than somebody else.

And there's this whole tug
of war of who did what.

And I've been in that
situation, from experience.

And quite often, it
leads to resentment.

It can lead to even fighting.

Of course time heals all wounds.

And you get through
it, you figure it out.

And what has helped
Metallica is communication.

So in your band, you
want to make sure

that communication is key.

If you have a problem regarding
writership or somebody getting

on your nerves for
whatever reason,

it's good to talk about
it with a level head.

That has been one of
the things that I've

noticed that is so
incredible about Metallica,

about Lars, James, and Kirk.

When there's an
issue with anything

or some sort of a-- a vibe
even outside of the music,

we talk about it.

We check in.

And always we come back
feeling a lot better.

You'll get through it.

That's one of the
most important things.

Because that breaks up
bands so often it's crazy.

A little bit of communication
goes a long way.

[GUITAR RIFF]

However many personalities
are in your band--

there can be eight,
there can be two, I mean,

whatever it may be--

acknowledging and understanding
those personalities.

Knowing each
other's character is

so helpful in not taking
things personally as well.

When you're in a
group of people,

I understand that,
you know, he wants

to say what he
wants to say first

because he thinks
that's important

that he won't get heard.

I understand that.

We've all got, like,
that 18-year-old in us

that still run-- wanting
to run the show at times.

Or I know, when he's
sarcastic, he really

means a little bit of
that, so I can take that

with a grain of salt, but
then also get past that

and get down to
understanding, OK, here's

what he's really saying.

So we all know each other.

And we continue, after 40 years,
to learn more about each other.

[GUITAR RIFF]

You know, at the end of
the day, you're family.

And that's very, very important.

So I highly recommend
to our students

that you understand your family
members within your band.

What makes them happy?

What pisses them off?

How do you keep the machine
going in a positive way

and get the best
results creatively?

But also, you
know, just in terms

of the vibe and the energy,
you know, of the group

in the best way possible.

[GUITAR RIFF]

A mantra for us is,
whatever's best for the project.

That helps to quell
the ego and know

that, at the end of the
day, OK, I have a voice.

Everyone has a voice.

Everyone will get
their chance to speak,

come up with the idea
whatever it may be.

But at the end of the day,
the right one will emerge.

You know, that cream will rise.

Whatever you want to--

you know, cliche you
want to put to it,

that it is for the
greater good of the song.

Yeah, I think my riff's
way better than his,

but that fits better.

We'll find another place
for that riff, possibly.

And often, we
let the passion--

Kirk really feels
that this is better

than the other, the
two of us go, OK, cool.

You know, a lot of it's ruled by
the how passionate somebody is,

not the days of, it's my way,
I got to win the argument,

and all that's over.

Now it's just primarily,
if James really

feels like that's
not going to work,

OK, then we just
walk away from it.

What is best for the project?

At the end of the
day, we all want that.

That is the common goal.

That's the thread, the
common denominator.

We all want what's
best for the song.

And we're fortunate
enough to have

four people that are creative
enough to want that spot

and to-- and to join that
think tank and to add to it.

[GUITAR RIFF FROM METALLICA'S
"ONE"]

Choice of words are
also really important.

Like sometimes we'll
be working on a part,

and someone will play a
part, and they'll go, so,

will this work?

And instead of saying,
what I would usually say,

like, that sucks,
or god, that's,

like, not very good, you
want to be more constructive.

You want to be more supportive.

And you want to be
participatory in it too.

So you know, I think that
instead of saying something

like, you know, god damn,
that sucks or something,

maybe something like
putting down a challenge

is, you know, a
good thing to do.

OK, this is my challenge to you.

How can we make this better?

And so what you're doing
is you're bringing it

into the collective and
you're taking responsibility,

you know, for the fact that
we're all really concerned,

you know, and care about
what we're doing here.

And how can we make this better?

And I know that between the
two of us, the three of us,

the four of us, we can--
we can work this out.

You know, there is a solution
to everything in music.

Being disparaging,
you know, is just,

like, to me, it's
all just a part

of old-school toxic masculinity.

And you know, in this day and
age, we're moving forward,

you know, and we're
communicating better, you know,

as peers and as band members.

So you want to be constructive,
you want to be positive,

and you want to bring
it into the collective

and throw it down
as a challenge.

[GUITAR RIFF]

Giving constructive
criticism is an art form.

And we have learned to
navigate that better and better

as we grow.

It used to be intimidation.

You know, what, you
can't play that fast?

Or you can't do that or that?

You know, it was all
out of the machismo,

or you know, letting
the team down.

That was that fear
we all knew we had.

And that was a way to get
that guy to do it better,

was to say, hey, you're
letting the team down.

But now it's not that.

You're letting the team down
if you criticize somebody,

you know?

You can gently disagree.

You can lean into what they're
doing great, and then say,

you know--

you know, all this
stuff is spectacular,

what do you think
about this part?

You think we could
do that better?

You know, bringing
"we" into it, or you

know, pointing out the good
stuff that they're doing.

And artists are such, you know,
emotional and sensitive people,

you know?

[LAUGHS]

But I embrace.

That it's OK.

That's how I am,
just as God made me.

And I would love to be
tough as nails and--

on the outside, and have that
soft heart on the inside.

But a lot of times it's
the other way around.

I've got this
hard-ass black heart,

and my outer skin is so
sensitive, like, ahh.

But we all know that.

I-- I acknowledge it.

I accept that.

That's a part of me.

So sometimes when you say that,
it's like, ow, that, hurt,

you know?

But I know they're
coming out of love.

They're wanting the
best for the project.

It used to be I would gather
some allies, and we'll go in,

and we're going to
have an intervention.

You know, well,
here's what we think.

You know, that never works, man.

It never works.

Through criticism, through
forcing, through negativity,

[BLOWS RASPBERRY] it--

you don't get the best
out of a person that way.

As I'm sitting here listening
to what James is saying,

thinking about how we work
nowadays, a big part of it

is just there's
no right or wrong.

If you start with the
premise that there

was no right or
wrong to begin with,

then it's easier to navigate.

Because then it's not
you're playing it wrong,

you're playing it right.

I mean, it's a place
we've kind of come to now

in the last 10 or 20 years,
is they're our songs.

We can do with
them what we want.

If we want to play him
faster one night, slower

another night, if we want to
have, all of a sudden, some guy

plays a riff in a
different key for two bars,

they're our songs.

Forgets a whole
middle section.

Forgets a middle
section, forgets a lyric,

forgets a whatever,
they're are songs.

We can do with them--
they're just variations.

So like James said, you know,
30 years ago, we, you know,

come offstage, and on
with the body armor,

and now let's review the
show, and in the third song,

you fucked that up, and in the
fourth song, you fucked that up

and you fucked that up.

And then we'd go around
the room for-- like that

for half an hour.

And then, nowadays, we come
off stage and go ha ha ha,

remember, in song
4, when you fucked

that up, that was really funny.

That was a crazy variation.

At the end of the day, it's
a fucking rock and roll song.

[LAUGHS]

Do you know what I mean?

[MUSIC - METALLICA - "NOTHING
ELSE MATTERS" ]

METALLICA: (SINGING) Trust
I seek and I find in you,

every day for us
something new, open mind

for a different new, and
nothing else matters.

I do most of
the lyric writing.

And my background
around that is really

didn't do well in
English, did not

study literature whatsoever.

I was more of the read
other people's lyrics

and learn like a Leonard Cohen
or a Tom Waits or a Nick Cave.

As far as subject matter,
I've evolved with it.

It's evolved with me.

I've changed over
years and writing

about what is important to me.

That sweat.

In our younger days, it was
about showing up, playing

music, getting crazy,
destroying things, hanging out

with people.

That was important.

And as my life got a little
wider and maybe a little more

complex, started
understanding how

I thought about
other things, really

impactful or scary
things, being controlled,

you know, "Master of Puppets,"
a specific song about being

controlled and the manipulation
of the world, the powers that

be, and addiction for
sure, master of puppets,

that false sense of
I'm being controlled.

[MUSIC - METALLICA - "MASTER OF
PUPPETS" ]

(SINGING) Master of puppets,
I'm pulling your strings,

twisting your mind,
smashing your dreams.

Blinded by me, you
can't see a thing.

Just call my name 'cause
I'll hear you scream.

That was a big theme
for me, you know,

especially my teenage
years is kind of held over.

You know, a lot of stuff
is from my childhood,

you know, still sorting
stuff out, you know.

They say the first 40 years of
your life is you doing stuff,

and the-- the last 40 years is
you figuring out why you did it

or how or how you can not
do it or make up for it.

So there's a lot of that
in my writing as well

but just being
true to where I am.

I know that criticism is
difficult for me at times.

But if I'm writing
from my heart,

it really can't be wrong.

If you're an artist, and you're
doing what you feel is right,

it's not wrong.

It's just not.

My way of writing, it's
probably extremely unorthodox.

I will basically have spaces.

Here's the spaces where I
need a consonant or a vowel

or whatever it is.

Here's where I need a vocal

(SINGING) Loss of
interest, question, wonder.

And then I will search
through some of my one-liners.

I have lots of stuff
just throughout the day,

whether it's on a
voice memo or notes

or actually writing them
like off to never-never land,

something like that.

That will end up in
a song at some point

possibly or maybe not.

So have lots of these
one-liners, and then--

and then kind of go to them when
I have the cadence like, oh,

rhythmically that fits.

So I'll plug that
in, and then, okay,

there's a-- there's a
pretty strong statement.

Start building around that.

There's a point where
the song tells me

what it's supposed to be
instead of me telling it

what it's supposed to be.

I'll start off with an
idea of where I want to go.

I've got an expectation.

I'm going to write about
this and end up here.

And I'll start it out.

And it just-- if I'm open to
it, it will start morphing.

And all of a sudden,
I've gone down

a completely different way.

And that's okay.

It's actually more than okay.

Because it's me joining
the song and helping it,

you know, me just
being that vessel

and directing it some way.

Because if I'm really hell-bent
on it being a certain way,

then that's the only
thing it's going to be.

So being open to it morphing
or going off road, you know.

I have a destination, but hey,
we took this path instead.

A lot of great things come
out of lyric writing that way.

(SINGING) So close
no matter how far.

I like writing in vagueness
where other people can really

apply it into their lives, or
they can plug something in,

you know.

Nothing else matters.

Okay.

The line nothing else matters,
that you can apply that

to a lot of different things.

But in the lyrics, if you
get more specific about it,

then it kind of--
it-- it closes,

I guess, the door
that people are

able to walk into
into that lyric.

The more open the door, the
more they can apply that.

I love it when someone
comes up and says, wow,

I love that song you wrote
about cancer or whatever it is.

And okay, cool.

That's what it means to you.

I love people being able to
apply their lives to our songs

and especially
through the lyrics.

The other thing that I've
really shied away from

is historical or telling a
story about, you know, whatever,

the Civil War or,
you know, an event.

I have touched on it a few
times like the song "One,"

you know, World
War I. Obviously,

"Johnny got his Gun," a
specific book talking about one

of my biggest
fears, you know, not

being able to communicate
to people, this guy who's

got no arms, no legs.

He's deaf.

He's blind.

He can't speak.

But he's still
alive in his brain.

And how do you communicate?

He can't tell if
he's awake or asleep.

That was a story
my brother told me

about this book he was reading.

And it freaked me out.

So writing a song about
that, not so much about is it

pro-war, is it
anti-war, you know,

taking a political
stance, at least for me, I

don't want to get
into that, you know.

I have an opinion, yes.

Just because I sing in a rock
band, is it more important?

No.

Your opinion is just
as valid as mine.

We might disagree,
and that's okay.

But I'm not going to
bring it into my--

my vocation, my
work, my connection.

So the vagueness in lyrics
is pretty important,

not getting too caught
up in, you know,

this is what I need to say.

Put it out there.

This is an interesting
subject, interesting subject--

subject matter.

And there's many
viewpoints to it.

So just bringing that
to the table as well.

So I'm the new shit.

I didn't think "Enter Sandman"
was such a great song.

I think Lars and Bob
Rock said, go back.

I challenge you to go back
and work on it more and more.

And I did.

And that line that gets
phrased, you know, off

to never-never land, came
up, and then it became

a little bit, you know, okay.

It's less about crib death.

Maybe it's an older kid having
nightmares, what happens

in your sleep, you know.

Why do we have these
certain nightmares?

And it became so obvious
that a lot of people

could identify with that
everyone has nightmares.

And what do you do with them?

And why do they show up?

Do you learn
something from them?

And so yeah, off to
never-never land.

The Sandman comes down
and makes you dream,

you know it's kind of creepy,
kind of a creepy subject.

Wait.

I don't want some creepy
old guy coming in my room

when I'm a little kid.

So the little-- little scarier
side and then the prayer

in the middle.

MAN: Now I lay me down to sleep.

CHILD: Now I lay
me down to sleep

MAN: Pray the Lord
my soul to keep.

CHILD: Pray the Lord
my soul to keep.

Was obviously a
risk, I would say,

you know, putting a
prayer into a song.

That could have easily
been shut down, you know,

bringing a religion in in
a way, but a lot of people

identified with that.

But it fit in with the song.

You're about to go to bed.

Please help me.

Please protect me.

And, again, you know, a lyric
like that, you would never

think that I--

I was inspired by
a Jethro Tull song

about a kid fighting off
the monsters in his sleep.

And I was inspired by that song.

And that's a little bit
of how that entered into,

I guess, the subject
matter for me.

So songs can come from anywhere.

Oh yeah!

Oh yeah!

Yeah!

Yeah!

Yeah!

Yeah!

Yeah!

Yeah!

Master!

Master!

Of!

Of!

Puppets!

[MUSIC- METALLICA, "MASTER OF
PUPPETS"]

When you're
talking to someone,

and you mention Metallica,
almost the second thing

they say is "Master Of Puppets".

There is something
intrinsically linked

between us and that song.

I don't use this word often
when I talk about anything

Metallica, the word 'hit', but
it's basically the number one

fan favorite, definitive
Metallica song since that came

out in '86.

It's got everything in it.

It's got picking,
it's got dual solo,

it's got a cool
tom breakdown part.

And, you know, it's
weird because ever

since the creation of that song,
like 30 years after the fact,

whatever it is, it never really
feels like we've ever really

fully conquered that song.

[LAUGHTER]

It's a wild pony sometimes.

It's a constant
work in progress.

Yeah.

(SINGING) All I hear
or see is laughter,

Laughter, laughter.

Laughing at my cries.

[INAUDIBLE]

[GUITAR SOLO]

Yeah.

And obviously, the older
we get, the down picking,

which has been really a
big part of our sound,

if we can down pick it, we will.

Any riff.

Because it somehow
sounds better.

Yeah, more percussive.

Yeah, more percussive, and
you know, instead of doing this,

duh-duh- duh- duh- duh, we're
going bop- bop- bop- bop- bop,

and mmm.

There's something about
stopping the string

and starting it again that gives
it a real percussive sound.

(SINGING) --hear
you scream, Master.

Just call my name, I'll hear
you scream, Master, Master.

The whole idea
around it was, you

know, being a master of puppet,
you're a slave to something,

specifically around
drugs or something.

Where it goes to
that picking part,

where you're in that
drugged state, and then

it kind of builds back up
again into franticness.

[GUITAR SOLO]

Go from craziness
to phoo, you know,

just all of a sudden
you come in, you know,

almost kind of Pink
Floyd-y or something.

Where it feels like it's
a whole nother song,

but it's attached to this feel.

Then you get back,
you circle back

around to obviously the verses,
and some other stuff like that.

[GUITAR SOLO]

Very into dynamics,
and going from frantic

down to building back up again.

You balance the set
out, where there's

little breaks here and there.

You're trying to have a
dynamic flow to what music

you're putting out there.

What were the
inspirations for those,

like a couple of songs where we
would go melodic in the middle?

Was that something that
Iron Maiden used to do?

Was it Mercyful Fate?

Maiden would do
it, occasionally,

Judas Priest would do it, too.

But the band who did it probably
most effectively was Zeppelin.

Yeah, with that dynamic.

This incredible riff is one
of the fields that brings us out

of the melodic middle
bit, the dream state.

To me, when I think
Master Of Puppets,

I think the word that comes
to mind is more relentless.

It has a relentlessness that
just keeps going, and going,

and going.

And it sort of just
doesn't let up.

The heaviest part
of the song for me

is the tom bit in the middle.

[DRUM SOLO]

I always relate this stuff
to boxing, because it's like,

you know, you're
hitting the speed bag,

you know what I mean?

And all of a sudden, you're
hitting the heavy bag,

where Lars starts getting on
the toms and he's building.

And then we're getting
into some backup vocals,

you know, "Master",
all that kind of stuff.

(SINGING) Where's the
dreams that I've been after?

Master--

That is really cool
when it integrates itself

into a composition.

(SINGING) Master, All I
hear or see is laughter--

And that's the true
composition, in my mind.

And there's a lot of
groove in this stuff, too.

That's probably one of the most
important ingredients to all

this stuff, is the groove.

Heaviness.

[LAUGHTER]

Lots of weight.

Yes, what does that mean?

I mean, really at
the end of the day,

I've got a bunch of gear,
and I have like two sounds.

There's clean, and heavy.

That's kind of it.

Simple for me.

I've had the clean amp,
the JC- 120 forever.

That's just kind of the, I
guess, signature Metallica

clean sound.

And heavy is, yeah, you're
going, he hits a button,

and it goes heavy.

That's what happens.

The ultimate sound is one to
sound like a distorted drum,

you know.

[GUITAR PLAYING]

So that's heavy, you know,
but I get to put notes in it.

So that's the heavy sound.

Also heavy is a guitar
sound that's distorted,

that has a lot of
impact, percussion.

When you hit a note, it should
feel like being punched.

When you hit a
chord, those notes

should sing together
in distortion,

and feel like a riot.

Heaviness is also an
attitude, too, though.

We can play heavy parts
without like that guitar sound

that I just described.

It's also an attitude
of really just

like, aggressive, dark,
unrelenting, energetic, no

escape, here it is.

You know, all the knobs don't
just go to 11, they go to 12.

It's a thing in
this type of music

that we play, where you just
put more weight into it.

You put more of
your body into it.

More of, there's even a
certain level of passion

that's aggressive that
goes into that one note,

or that one groove,
or whatever it is.

You sync with the drums, and
get in there with the kick

and it's also an experience.

So all that weight,
and all that energy,

turns into this kind of wild
ride that you go on as a band.

When you get into that zone,
you start head banging,

and the crowd's reacting to it.

It's a very powerful experience.

And sonically, that sound, if
I have a good, heavy percussive

guitar sound, writing
riffs just happens.

The sound moves you
to play certain ways,

and then it's kind of
easier to write songs.

You're not sitting down
writing "Hardwired"

on an acoustic guitar.

You're just not doing that.

The sound helps you get
where you want to go.

I got a question.

So in terms of
influences on heavy?

Who are both of your
influences on heavy?

Guitar players?

Come on.

It's always the
same guys, you know?

So for me, it was
like Jimi Hendrix

but then it was like Ritchie
Blackmore, Jimmy Page,

Jeff Beck, all those
type of guitar players.

Tony Iommi, Eddie Van
Halen, Michael Schenker,

those kind of guys.

Really impactful playing.

Yeah, for me, it was more
like Scorpions, or Judas Priest,

or something like that where
it's a riff where it's melodic,

but it's also got just
a fat, heavy sound.

Tony Iommi for sure,
the Riff Master of all.

But then also, even like
Joey Ramone, or something--

Johnny.

-- where it was
kind of relentless.

Johnny Ramone.

[GUITAR PLAYING]

You know, just down picking.

Yeah.

Down picking was
kind of that, you know?

So a lot of punk rock
in there as well.

And I also wanted to
add that as a warm up, I

hear James sometimes playing
that de da run de de de de de

de de de de de, so that's
almost like kind of ends up

being the precursor to a lot
of shows, and it kind of also

tests where he's at in terms
of how loose he's at, you know?

Where his body or his fingers.

Basically there's a lot of
challenging parts in that song,

and some of them actually
are used to warm us up.

That is probably the part
that if I can play that okay,

the gig is going to go
better than I think.

KIRK HAMMETT: My
concept of a solo

is a musical opportunity
to make a statement.

[GUITAR SOLO]

It can be like an
emotional statement.

It can be an exciting statement
full of energy and bombast.

It can be a real
morose statement.

A solo could be really anything.

A lot of times in
the past I felt

like I had to compose
all the guitar solos

and sometimes it felt
like I was trying

to fit ideas that didn't
necessarily work for the song

and I'd be frustrated and
have to go somewhere else

and end up improvising
in the studio.

[PLAYING NOTES]

And for me, it was
really important to be

able to improvise because a lot
of the people that I listened

to back in the late '70s were
electric blues guitar players.

Basically they were
playing hard rock.

People like Jeff
Beck and Jimmy Page,

Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix.

And I was well aware
of the fact that they

were able to play solos just,
like, very spontaneously

and smoothly and off the cuff.

And that's what I wanted to do.

That was my goal was to become
a lead guitar player who

was able to play rhythm
guitar and lead guitar and be

able to just
improvise on the spot

and have it sounding good
and aesthetically pleasing.

[GUITAR SOLO]

And so the first scale
that I ever learned

is a really common scale that
everyone knows, everyone uses.

I use it to this day and it's--

you know, it's called
the box pattern

or the blues minor
pentatonic scale.

Really simple key of C.

[PLAYING NOTES]

And from those tones comes so
much expression and so much

emotion and you can
do so much with it.

Just that simple group of notes.

Some of the most
basic lead guitar

stuff that was formulated in
the '50s came from that scale,

like Chuck Berry stuff.

[PLAYING NOTES]

Stuff like that.

Once I learned
that scale and knew

that that was a scale
that a lot of my heroes

were using it was
like unlocking a key,

and then all of a sudden I
was able to like, you know,

just go--

plug in an amp and just play
like really simple blues.

Just like, you know--

[PLAYING NOTES]

I'm going to play you
a real basic blues

lick in A pentatonic scale.

[PLAYING NOTES]

So that can be used in
so many ways, like--

[PLAYING NOTES]

And from there,
you know, there's

so much you can
do because you can

play that anywhere in the neck.

The rock version of that
would be probably played

up high with a lot more
distortion and a lot more

velocity and energy behind it.

Something like courtesy
of, like, Jimmy Page

would be like--

[PLAYING NOTES]

Same licks, very
appropriate for,

like, the harder, faster
tempos of hard rock.

What I found is that when I hear
a song for the very first time,

the first three or four
guitar solos I play

are basically the
best improvisation

I could do on those songs
because it's just fresh

and it's new and I don't
really have any real comfort

zones to go to because I'm not
that familiar with the song,

so I just go for it.

[GUITAR SOLO]

A lot of times I prefer
to improvise in the studio

because then I don't know
what it's going to sound like,

and when I come up
with a guitar solo

that we've put together
through improvisation,

I'm just as surprised
as everyone else

and it sounds live,
it sounds spontaneous,

you know, and at
the end of the day

it sounds real and
authentic to me.

And, you know, I like that.

I like the fact that
it's just in the moment

and we are capturing a moment.

And for me, you know,
music is all about moments.

Capturing everyone
hitting the right thing

at the right time, the
right key, the right riff.

You know, magic happens.

[MUSIC - METALLICA, "ONE"]

James and I would often
sit and talk about the topic.

What's the topic of
the song going to be?

We would talk
about what would it

be like if you
were in a situation

where you could not
talk, you could not see,

you could not hear, you
didn't have arms and legs,

and you basically
couldn't communicate?

The cerebrum has suffered
massive and irreparable damage.

You never know what
has happened to him.

Had I not been sure
of this, I would not

have permitted him to live.

Where am I?

Father?

The song is based on the
movie "Johnny Got His Gun".

But aside from that, the song,
the music, the arrangement,

it's very cinematic, I mean,
you can close your eyes

and just very easily visualize
what James is singing about,

what the lyrics are suggesting.

Every part of the song has a
visual component to it, I find.

And it just keeps on
adding visual components

through music, and
builds and builds.

So when you get to the end,
you know, you're hearing it.

But you're also kind of
seeing it in your mind.

[MUSIC - METALLICA, "ONE"]

And I was really
into coming up

with these kind of drum patterns
and sort of like drum riffs,

and then James
would kind of just

play something super percussive
along with the drum patterns.

And certainly bu-lu-lu-cat,
bu-lu-lu-cat was not "oh,

machine gun," it was some
pattern that was just kind

of in my head.

[MUSIC - METALLICA, "ONE"]

Things happen for a reason,
and then you come back

and you go, oh, that is
machine gun fire, you know?

(SINGING) Darkness
imprisoning me!

All that I see, absolute horror!

I cannot live, I cannot
die, trapped in myself,

body my holding cell!

It's Morse code.

For what?

S-O-S. Help.

The song "One"
represents one of our

called "ballad food groups."

These songs are, I
guess, unique in the way

that they start
melodic and mellow,

and then go through many
different moods and dynamics,

and usually get mellow, heavier,
heavier, heavier, crazier,

more relentless and
completely out of control.

I know the end of the
song, very different

than the beginning, obviously.

There's a couple of
cycles of picking,

and more of a heavy
open chord thing.

And then at the end of the song,
it goes to the da-la-la-la-la,

da-la-la-la-la.

And then from there
on out, it's OK,

you're in full physical mode.

And the picking part, you know.

(SINGING) I can't
remember anything.

So going along with
the melody, but also

putting in extra words,
extra things here and there,

that are moving it along.

And then in the heavy part--

(SINGING) Landmine has taken
my sight, taken my speech!

And you're right on
with it, you know?

It's an instrument
on its own that's

helping move
certain parts along,

and then you get to
join up with the stuff

where you just can't
sing anything else there.

Everything is just
going (VOCALIZING).

You know, you have
to just join that,

or else you kind of get lost.

Or yeah, join the crowd.

That's another kind of a
cool uniqueness to the song

"One", where it's not
that traditional-- oh,

there's not really
a B part in this.

You know, it just goes verse
right into a short chorus,

and then it moves on.

[MUSIC - METALLICA, "ONE"]

It just builds and builds and
builds and builds and builds,

to the point where
you look behind you,

you're like 300 feet up,
you didn't even notice it,

you know?

[MUSIC - METALLICA, "ONE"]

This song obviously
takes you on a journey.

So there's a variety of
featured moments in that song.

It's not like one
featured moment,

there's like 10
featured moments.

So as a bass player,
you're like a boxer.

You're kind of
dodging and weaving,

and you're trying
to pick your places.

For instance, like on, say,
the mellow part, with--

Whatever.

Anyway, you get the idea.

Now, all of a sudden,
you're shifting gears

and you're getting into
this kind of a thing.

You're going there.

So what is that?

That is very unique
style of songwriting.

It's kind of like
you're in a race car,

and you're shifting gears.

You're slowing down on the
turns, you're speeding up,

you're kind of doing
that whole thing.

So really, "One"
is a prime example

of that, because there's
a lot of different places

for the instrument, the
bass to play a busier role,

but also to kind of sit
back and support that--

[MUSIC - METALLICA, "ONE"]

[CHEERING]

JAMES HETFIELD: All right!

I see everyone liked that one.

We got everybody
screaming on that one.

It's about time!

I was super shy as a kid.

You know, getting up, it
was not pleasant to connect

with the crowd, or to
talk to the crowd, or--

very first show,
like, between songs,

you know, someone broke a
guitar string, it was like,

uh, how do you like
the show so far,

you know, like, two songs in.

And it's like, I
don't like this part.

I don't-- it feels
uncomfortable,

like I'm supposed to be
filling in time, or you know,

uncomfortable silence, you know?

I have to fill that in.

And I don't.

It's okay.

Being more of just myself,
not trying to be greater than,

not trying to be up on the
pedestal, being one of many

works really well.

Being a part of the crowd,
and embracing whatever mood

I'm in--

you know, there are times
when I'm out on stage,

and I'm feeling a little
whatever, tired, or grumpy,

or whatever it may be.

I'll just say that into the
mic, just to get it out.

And then it's done, it's gone.

I've surrendered that, you know?

Sorry I'm not in
the best of mood,

but you know, hopefully, you
guys will get me out of that.

And that works.

It really does work.

Just being honest,
talking to the crowd

like you're one of them, you
know, they're one of you.

Talking to the crowd
as it's a conversation.

It's like it's another person.

It's not like, you
know, a mass of people,

or I have to do
something special.

I mean, even just
talk to an individual.

Like, hey, you look familiar,
and blah, blah, blah.

You know, just make it
a personal conversation

that draws the crowd right in.

Other times, when I'm just
in not the best of moods,

I will pick someone out that I
know is just so full of energy,

and so giving.

I will just go to them.

And I'll-- you know, I'll borrow
some of that energy from them

that night.

And that'll give me, okay,
there's a great reminder

that hey, what we're doing is--

is special, and this
moment is special,

that person is enjoying this.

Why am I in a funk?

You know, I'll get out of that.

When you're touring a lot,
not just changing the setlist,

but really feeding off--
off the fans and the--

the energy coming
back can really

help you going when
you're just doing--

slogging months and
months of endless touring.

And so I always try to--
like, when I get up on stage,

after the first song or
two, I go all the way out

to the end of the
stage and get like,

right in the faces of the fans.

I'm not hiding behind
the drums, or you know,

cowering, or whatever you say.

I'm-- just like,
go into the energy.

Go into your fear.

Have eye contact, and--
and just really get in--

go into it, rather
than hide away from it.

And when we're playing
in the really big places,

definitely try to have
as much eye contact

with as many people in the
front row and the snake pit,

but also the old
thousand-yard stare.

Don't forget about
the people that

are 200 yards away,
and sort of also

try to project to
them in the back.

It's weird because like, if
I look at my guitar too much,

you know, I forget
about the audience.

If I look at the
audience too much,

I get distracted from what
I'm doing with my guitar.

So you know, I've learned
to keep a balance.

And so walking out
into an audience

and seeing all these faces, you
know, different shapes, sizes,

looks, whatever, I'm a little
overwhelmed by it all, really.

And I really have to like,
bring myself back, and just

pay attention to my instrument,
and just kind of put

that in the forefront.

But don't forget
about, you know,

projecting, and paying
attention to the audience

because that's such a
huge part of it, too.

But I also feel the audience.

And I think we all do, you know?

You go out there, and
you can feel the energy--

I mean, palpably.

I mean, you can really feel it.

It's how you carry yourself,
how you project yourself,

your awareness, your
perception of the situation.

It's really important.

And I've learned to
like, walk out and like--

you know, see the lay of the
land in like, 30 seconds,

and just know what it's like.

When I first joined the
band, it was a challenge.

Because like James
says, you really

have to get it ingrained in you.

That's the way you get the
best result with these songs.

And Lars says, you know,
when you get it in your head,

and it becomes too much--

something that's kind
of in your brain,

you know, rather than feeling
it, it's not the same thing.

So with all these songs,
because there's so many

twists and turns, you want
it to become a part of you

internally, and you
want to feel it.

Our choice of
communicating music

is not through the
sheet music way.

And none of us can really
read that, at least that well.

So it has to-- it
has to start up here.

You have to learn it.

Then, you have to memorize it.

Then, you have to
internalize it.

And then it has to sort
of get out into your body

and become like, muscle
memory, and become physical.

I mean, you
know, ideally, what

you want to do is, you
want the song to flow

through you without thinking,
just like you walk or breathe.

I mean, literally, you want
to know the song that well,

so you just-- you
hear the title,

and you just go out
there and do it,

just like you would just
take a walk in the park.

And that takes a lot of
rehearsal, a lot of repetition.

But it's worth it when
you get to that part.

Because you'll be
able to play that song

in any sort of situation.

Just see it on the
list-- done, you know?

But the other thing--

No hesitation.

--the other thing
that's super important is,

you're playing in
front of people.

And that will also
kind of create

some-- you know, some
strange energy in you.

And that could be a very
difficult thing, too,

when you're up there in
front of a lot of people.

Or even sometimes, it could just
be 10 people, or five people.

It doesn't matter.

Whenever there's somebody that
is checking you out and judging

you, there's that pressure.

So you want to be prepared.

There's a real interesting
thing that we work with a lot

when we're recording, which
is the phrase, play it

like you own it.

What happens when you
rehearse, and what

happens when you tour a
lot is that these songs

start becoming-- they
become more physical.

They become more muscle memory.

They've become embedded in you.

And that's when you
start owning the songs.

And you don't sort of
have to sit there--

okay, I'm playing this
part, I'm playing this part,

and what's the next part?

Oh, shit, I just
fucked up, and I've

forgotten the next part--
you know, that kind of thing?

Like, you get-- like,
it's all up here.

But when you play, you
rehearse it, you sit--

you know, you're on tour,
you start owning the song.

And it just becomes like, a--

it becomes like,
a physical thing.

When you're out there on stage
and you get into your rhythm

and your flow and your
groove and your conditioning,

you know, it's like you're
doing a dance with the audience.

And they're part of
that energy, too.

But it's also a lot of
interaction and playfulness.

And we all know
each other so well.

Certain parts of
songs, we almost

know that we're going to
come together at that moment

and we're going to rock out
together and kind of find

that moment on stage, no
matter how big or small.

We'll find each other and we'll
find that moment, you know.

It's cool.

I mean, there is one
thing that we do that,

like, 99% of, like, most
performing musicians in bands

do.

It's that we look at each
other and do the big nod, now.

Now, what?

We've got two songs
we want to play, man.

I don't know which one.

LARS ULRICH: When
we're up on stage,

there is definitely-- after
almost four decades together--

there is an unspoken language.

We can tell the moods,
the body language.

You know, it just goes
with trusting each other

and depending on each other
for just about 40 years.

I have a very special
connection to everybody up here.

But I have a very
special connection

to James, in that James is
the primary tonal instrument

in my ears.

And so--

By primary, you mean only.

Only.

Only.

He's talking about
his ear monitors.

Yeah, in my ears.

Not in his--

In my ears, on stage--

Not in his--

The only thing--

--brain.

The only thing
I hear is James.

Yeah, we have in-ears, which--

you know, we play
with the in-ears in.

So it's basically your
own tiny headphones.

And you get to have whatever
mix you want in there.

So like, you know,
Lars says, James

is, you know, a
football field away

at the very front
of the snake pit.

And he's back there.

And I'm still-- it's like
I'm right next to him,

because I got him in here.

And he's-- it's the same way.

You know, we're right there.

So we're hearing each
other in real time,

even though we're far away.

LARS ULRICH: I've always--

since the first
day we were playing

music in Metallica, James and
I have just this connection.

So I play to the guitar riff.

And everything about
these songs is basically

written between the drums
and the guitar riff.

So James is my partner
in any live experience.

I think communicating,
sometimes,

like between Lars and I, I think
he can tell if he's starting.

He has a tendency, I know, to
get so excited about playing,

and then just end up
going faster than he

thinks he's going faster.

I think he does that
in his car as well.

You know, all of a sudden,
I'm going a little fast here.

You know?

And I will try and drag
it back a little bit,

because I know he's hearing me.

And then he'll--

Oh, okay.

And then he'll pull
it back a little bit.

I guess that's one way that him
and I communicate up on stage.

And I know also, we can
tell from each other when

we're sitting there, like,
in a bad mood, or shame,

or something around.

"I screwed this part up."

And I can tell when Lars is
looking down at his snare.

And it's like, okay.

He needs a hug.

You know, we'll go out and
hang around him a little bit.

And it's like, it's okay.

And I'll get in those moods,
too, where you just know.

Like, there are parts
of songs where we go,

we hang out together
and I don't know.

When I'm in one of my moods,
I don't go over and do that.

And it's like, okay, he's
having his mood and okay.

But we're okay with
that, but we can tell.

You can tell when something's
amiss on the stage.

And that's when you go,
all right, he's struggling.

I'm going to pick it up.

And I'm going to--

you know, I got his back and
I'm going to carry this song,

as much as I can.

And I always know I can
instantly, within 30 seconds,

when we get up on stage,
James is in this kind of mood.

He's in that kind of mood.

He's in a great sharing mood.

He's sort of putting
himself out there.

He's a little reserved today.

He needs a couple of minutes
to get his game face on,

or whatever.

I'm really tethered to
him, maybe even to a fault,

or too much.

And I can tell, you know.

But everything, he's sort
of my connection to--

to everything that's going on
in the arena and the stadium.

Whatever basically just
goes through James.

And it's been like
that for 40 years

in October, and hopefully for
another 40 years, at least.

It's everything I hear.

And it's just everything
that I sort of feel

with the music and all that,
is just tethered, piggybacking,

and completely
connected to James,

his guitar, and obviously his
vocals, and also, sort of his--

I always know where he is.

I'm sitting.

I know he's over here.

I know he's over there.

I know he's out there.

I know where he's looking.

I know what he's feeling
and what he's thinking.

What about right now?

I know exactly.

I know exactly what
you're thinking.

And I know exactly--

Maybe you should get a
restraining order, bro.

Well, I just have
to say, you know,

when I walk out on
that stage and we

do our thing, first song.

And I just look back and
I see these three guys.

And I go, God damn.

I'm on stage with
some of the best

musicians in the goddamn world.

And I'm playing with them.

And I look at these
guys and I go,

I can't think of anyone else
I'd rather be in a band with.

Even where we were
playing "One" today,

there was this one part,
you know, the melodic part.

He's playing a melodic line.

And Lars is doing the
tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat

on the snare, and I just
love it when he does that.

And I just love cozying
up to him on the stage,

just to play that part with
him, regardless that there

are 60,000 people right here.

You know?

I just want to get close
to him and play that part,

because you know, that
musical connection, you know?

It just-- it reaches into a
really, really deep part of me.

And you know, when that happens,
I just, like, I open up.

And it's just like,
hear everyone playing.

And it's just a
great feeling for me.

Sometimes, I just start going
up to you and headbanging.

And it's like-- and
I totally forget

that we're playing a show.

I'm just headbanging.

I can't even get near these
two guys during that song, man.

Kirk's taking up the whole
front of the-- you know,

front of the drum riser.

ROBERT TRUJILLO: When
I joined Metallica,

it was really a bit of a
surreal moment, let's say,

because everything about it was
different than what I had ever

experienced in my life.

The workload was
much more intense.

The press was much more intense.

REPORTER: You've been in
the band for five minutes,

and already you're an icon.

It's such an honor, and
you know, I'm stoked so.

I realized that
this is the way it's

going to be at least
for now, you know.

I'm going to be playing
catch-up, you know.

They've got an
extensive catalog that

has existed for so many years.

And nobody knows exactly
what we're going to play.

So just be ready.

So I always sort of had some
paper and a pen or pencil

with me to figure out and chart
out music at the last minute

because I never knew
what I was going to get.

And obviously, that
made me a better player.

It made me a better
person, you know.

My work ethic had to grow.

I could never phone it in.

And then I realized I got to be
10 steps ahead of these guys.

So I started learning songs
like "Call of Ktulu" and "Orion"

and "Dyers Eve."

And these were songs that
were nowhere on the radar.

They were not on the radar yet.

But I thought to myself,
okay, these guys are gonna--

they're gonna throw this at me
at some point in the next few

years.

And I better be ready
because it's not gonna

be about waiting for Trujillo.

It's going to be about--

you know what I mean?

It's going to be
about pulling it off.

So I started thinking
ahead and working on stuff

before we actually played it,
and then of course, eventually

we did play all these
songs, which is great

because I love those songs.

They're classics, and I really
wanted to play them anyway.

So thank God we
got to play them.

Hopefully, we'll play
them in the future.

So now I want to get
into the role of the bass

and how it relates to Metallica.

Now, within this band, you can
have many different sounds.

I always like to start from
sort of the basic structure

of the instrument and--

and the power and the rawness
of just a regular, passive,

you know, sound, passive
electronics, I should say.

Bass, and that would be sort
of your classic Fender P bass

model.

And that for me is
always a great place

to start because it
really sort of relies on--

again, I equate this
instrument with space, power,

and finding the
balance within a song.

Some of the songs require
more kind of relentlessness

and a lot more technique.

These are great for that.

But at the same time,
if you get something

that's active
electronics, and the sound

would then cut in
a different way,

but then also there's a certain
amount of physicality involved.

So you're moving a lot more.

And there's a bit of
precision in your technique

that's involved with that.

That's also important
to Metallica

too a song like, for instance,
"Master of Puppets," you know,

you've got--

That's a lot of movement,
but it's necessary.

And you want to get
that down in your sound.

This particular bass,
which is a Warwick--

it's my four-string.

It's one of my go-tos.

It's got the power, but
it's also got the presence.

So it sits really well within
the instruments and Metallica.

There are a variety of
sounds to choose from.

Already looking at the pedal
board here, I see chorus.

It's almost like it's
got a glassy tone to it.

Great for harmonics, you know.

It's a beautiful-- it's--
it's actually something like,

you know--

That is a little
intro piece to one

of the songs on our
"Hardwired" album.

But that actually is a
beautiful, glassy tone

that lends itself to
that chordal movement.

So we have that sound.

We've got the classic kind of--

here we go-- Leslie
sound, which is--

You know, little details
like that in sound are great.

So it's nice to have a pedal
board with a lot of flexibility

and some variety.

I always love the delay.

Here's a short delay.

Ah, yeah.

And then when you add that
to like a kind of a solo--

It's nice.

It's kind of a swimming sound.

It flies around.

That works real well,
especially for solo--

solo moments within a show.

Occasionally, we do that.

It's always nice to have a
little bit of that short delay

wetness on there.

So with the delay and a--
and a lot of edge and bite

in the sound, you can
really do some cool stuff.

For a song like bells, "For Whom
the Bell Tolls," you get that--

Okay.

There you go.

It's always important to do
what's best for the song.

And sometimes, the best
is, again, simplicity.

And sometimes, it's--

Or--

Whatever it is, find it and
apply it as best as you can.

Of course, you find your role.

And you find your place with
the bass and where it sits

and how it supports,
whether it's

like mimicking the guitar
part or just supplying

the bottom end, you
know what I mean?

Guitar might be
going [VOCALIZING]..

But that doesn't
mean you need to go--

You don't always
have to get busy.

You can just supply the pulse.

Sometimes, that's all you need.

Find the role of the bass and
how it works best for the song.

And enjoy yourself.

I think that's the way to roll.

[CROWD ROARS]

[INTERPOSING VOICES]

Are you ready?

JAMES HETFIELD: We've played
live more than probably a lot

of other bands to help
create that connection going

into B and C and D markets
where no one would play.

But that's where our fans
were or our potential fans.

So going to those places,
those misfits of the world

like we feel we
are, those people

that don't feel
like they fit in.

They don't fit into whatever's
being played on the radio.

They feel terminally
unique, but they're not.

They're not alone in that.

And we feel the same.

And so when we go play
live, and I say, you know,

do you feel it?

Do you feel like I do?

And they say yes
because they do.

And that makes me feel good.

It makes me feel so good.

It makes me feel
a part of, makes

me feel like I'm doing
the next right thing here.

So I love the fact that
we have a fan base that

has continued to grow.

And-- you know, they've
morphed with us.

We've morphed with what it means
to have a certain fan base,

you know.

Obviously, when we were
young, most of our fans

were young males like
we were, pissed off

and hating the system.

And as we grow older and older,
we understand that, you know,

there's no dress code.

There's no-- you know, you
have to have this kind of job.

You have to look a certain way.

You have to feel a certain way.

No, you don't.

You get to come
in and experience.

So another big part
of what I think,

you know, the fifth member
that is a Metallica fan.

When we're on stage
doing what we're doing,

we're just the ones
up there doing it.

We're like everybody else.

They could have been
doing what we're doing,

but we're the ones that have
gone through that journey.

So when I hear people
that show up at the show,

and they say afterwards,
you know, yeah,

the songs were
awesome, but man, there

was a group of five
people down in front

of me that were so into it.

They were going nuts.

And they were singing every
single word and all of this.

They were more infatuated
with the crowd than with us.

And that to me is the fifth
member right there, you know.

You're moving another
person with your music.

And you're influencing another
person that's watching them.

So it's so multi-layered.

And when we play live,
we've got as many lights

on the crowd as we have on us
because they are a part of it.

They are the energy
that drives us as well.

So without each other,
it's not as fun.

LARS ULRICH: The snake
pit started off, I guess,

in '91 where we played
an evening with Metallica

for the first time and played
360, played to the whole venue,

and then had fans in
the middle of the stage

and kind of had the stage built
around that fan pit, that snake

pit.

We loved playing 360 so much
that every indoor tour we've

ever done since then,
and I think pretty

much every show we've
ever played of our own

when we've played
indoors, has been in 360.

It's how we're comfortable.

It brings everybody into it.

And it does away
with that us and them

and these dividing lines.

There used to be this kind
of separation between a band

and an audience, a barricade.

And band's here, the
audience is here.

And so we started
about 30 years ago,

wanted to try to challenge that
and also felt that the more

that we could all
be one together,

the more we would lift
each other up collectively

and the more you
can just do away

with-- with that separation
and lose yourself in not just

each other as a band
but in the audiences,

in the safety of the
audience and the fans.

I think we'll always prefer
to play that way if given

an opportunity.

The unpredictability,
the element of surprise,

the throwing a left
curve, throwing, you know,

doing the unexpected,
we've always gotten joy

from that to show up,
play, hop on a flatbed

and show up in the Oakland
Raiders parking lot

and just play a gig, you
know, and create a buzz.

That was so fun.

And then take off
before the cops show up,

you know, that kind of thing.

There were a few different
tours where, you know,

destruction kind of was the
theme, things falling apart

on certain tours
like Damage Justice.

We would build Lady
Justice up during the show

to have her fall at the end.

Also, on the Reload tour,
these-- the-- the towers

and things were being
constructed as we're playing.

Then at the end,
it all goes wrong.

Things fall and explode.

And one of the lighting rig guys
would fall out of the lighting

rig and hurt himself.

And you know, there
were explosions

where we're all hurting.

And you know, we would actually
get letters or writings

from people saying that,
how dare you do that?

It reminded me of the
car crash I was in.

And ah, it brought back
all of these things.

And it's like, wow,
well, I'm sorry.

We did not mean that to happen.

But we wanted to surprise you.

We wanted to shock you
and make a statement.

But at the end of the day, we
know it's all about the music.

If you don't have good songs,
you can shine that turd.

You can gold plate it.

You can polish it, make it
as beautiful as you can,

but it's still a turd.

You have to have the
music to back it up.

A big, flashy show,
it's fun to watch.

But at the end of
the day, they don't

go out and want
to hear that music

while they're driving around.

They can't see that
explosion in their car.

Maybe they could, but
[LAUGHS] it's the songs.

It is the songs that drive
it at the end of the day.

And where do the
songs come from?

They come from your heart.

So make sure your heart is
right and in the right place.

You write the song.

Then all the production
stuff comes after.

Being true to yourself with
your music, the fans will come.

Because if you try
to please the fans,

you're going to shoot
yourself in the foot.

You're going to get lost.

You're going to forget who you
are, why you're doing that.

And you're out to
please other people.

There's certainly a people
pleaser part to me, especially

on stage.

I love the adulation.

I love the feeling of
they like what I'm doing.

I'm okay, you know.

They're making me feel okay.

But at the end of the day, if I
listen to the song, and I said,

man, we did an awesome
job with that song,

then I feel okay as well.

So not trying to please
others because you do.

You will lose yourself.

And as cliche as
that sounds, you'll

end up chasing your
audience instead

of your audience chasing you.

Every Metallica
album is a microcosm

of what was really
going on in our lives.

We're certainly
not the band that

puts an album out every year.

We take our time, but
we've lived them, I mean,

they're life for us.

Everything that goes
into an album, it's just,

like, you give it your all.

These albums and these
songs, they are--

they're a picture
in time for me.

That was what came out of those
collective, creative energies

and moments of that particular
phase in my life and our lives.

This is the center of
operations, commonly referred

to as HQ.

This room is very
creative for us.

It's filled with lots of
cool stuff that inspire us.

Backdrops from
1984, flags from all

around the world that
have been inspirational

for us, that we've seen in the
crowd, that have been thrown up

on stage and we get to
hang them out in here,

things that inspire us.

I think it's really
important to,

in your, I guess you
call it a work area,

but it's a play area
for us, that you

have things around that
are inspirational to you.

Most of the time, when
we've been writing albums,

it takes from six months to
a year is the average time.

When we write a record, write a
collection of songs, and album,

we sometimes have,
say, 20 songs kind

of cooking at the same time.

And what will happen,
is that sometimes

pieces from different songs
end up in other songs.

Singer-songwriters,
traditionally,

will maybe work more
on one song at a time.

But in Metallica,
which everything

that we've talked
about so far is really

about the group element, the
group entity, the collective,

and about how every band
member and the audio team

brings something
to that process.

One of the things that we
really enjoy and have always

strived for, is to get albums
that are really balanced,

these sort of
musical experiences,

these musical journeys.

So you can obviously
take, oh, whatever,

Master of puppets, it starts
with a super fast song,

then it goes to what we
call a kind of a mid-tempo,

then it goes to a third song,
"The Thing That Should Not Be,"

is a really slow, heavy, kind
of pounding, grinding song.

Then it goes to the
ballad, "Sanitarium,"

and then it goes to "Disposable
Heroes," which, in our world,

sits kind of in between
the mid-tempo and the fast.

Then you've got
"Leper Messiah," then

you've got "Orion," the
instrumental, then you

get "Damaged, Inc," which,
again, is the super fast,

thrashy.

So we have these
kind of blueprints,

not unlike if you're
writing a movie, sort

of, a first act, a
second act, third act.

And so our records, we
very much like our records

to be these sort of
paths, these journeys,

where, obviously, you
can take all the songs

and you can isolate
them and hopefully

enjoy them on their own.

But also, there's this
very dynamic journey,

dynamic experience, that
unfolds with different moods,

different feels, different
shading, as we call it,

and obviously, some
of the songs have

that journey within the song.

And then, overall,
within an album,

it's a lot about that journey.

So as far as the
editing process itself,

I'll give you guys an example.

In this very room,
so this is 2016,

we're about three
quarters of the way

through the process of creating
the album that subsequently

became Hardwired.

And we were down here and
we had a bunch of songs,

somewhere, I think around
11, and as we got further

into the process, I thought to
myself that we didn't really

have a definitive album opener.

So I brought up to
James, and to Greg,

and to everybody, that maybe
we should try to write,

specifically, a song
to open the next album.

Maybe make it shorter
and really make it

kind of a definitive
statement on what

that whole record represented.

The mission statement
is write an opening

song of this next record--

--Yes--

DRUMMER: --That's
super thrashy and fast.

So over the course of
the next couple of days,

we went through the
whole riff piggy-bank,

and, on these computers here,
tried three to five different

riffs, ended up on a riff
that was called riffcharge.

That was its nickname.

Riffcharge is just, boom.

A little more punk rock.

That won over a couple
of the other ones.

One was something with
bats and something else,

they have silly titles.

Anyway, so we're going to
write a very short song

and definitive.

And so James and I
put that song together

over the next day or two,
and we have a pretty clear

arrangement.

Well, what happened,
which sometimes happens,

because again,
there are no rules,

and so even though
we had destined

that the middle bit was a
riff straight into the guitar

solo, when James was
doing the vocals,

he decided to single
the middle bit.

[SINGING]

So he sang a super cool
vocal over the middle bit,

which was way too cool
to not have on the song.

Now what do we do?

We have a vocal where
we thought there was

supposed to be a guitar solo.

[MUSIC - METALLICA, "HARDWIRED"]
Once upon a planet burning,

Once upon a flame.

Once upon a fear
returning all in vain.

Do you feel that hope is
fading, do you comprehend?

Do you feel it
terminating in the end?

That's where the editing
machines then come into play,

and we sat down and
we said, we basically

had to rearrange the
whole middle part

of the song in the Pro
Tools, and figure out

how to keep the great vocal,
that we call middle eight part,

that James had come up
with completely impulsively

on the spot, and also make
room for a guitar solo

that Kurt was going
to subsequently play.

And if you have to
do this, my advice

would be, first of
all, to be patient.

Second of all, try to
get everybody's input,

check the temperature of
everybody in the room,

listen to your own
instincts, follow your faith,

and trust in yourself.

And then, just be careful
you don't get stuck,

and that you prevent the
progress of the project

by getting stuck
in these decisions.

You know, try to identify the
decisions that really, really,

really will affect the
outcome of your record.

Like, say, what key
is the song going

to be in terms of what
the vocals are going

to do rather whether
the connector

piece between the third
bridge and the third chorus

is two or four.

So try to sort of
figure out what

the importance of
these decisions.

But when you're editing,
and when you're doing that,

trust your instinct.

And jump out into it
and be careful not

to get stuck in decisions
that may not ultimately

affect the bigger
picture of your record.

Nice.

[MUSIC - METALLICA, "HARDWIRED']

[INAUDIBLE]

Demo-itis is a real thing,
maybe other artists have talked

about it.

But gosh, you just fall
in love with something

because it was magical
at that moment.

You heard it, you played it,
you guys all recorded it.

You know, we record pretty
much everything we play.

When some magic
happens, it happens.

If we record something,
we think it's

the best thing, that's
what you refer to,

it's like, you go back to that.

You know, is it as
good as the demo?

And also, another thing
as a guitar player,

even, you've got
this riff, you've

played it a billion times now,
you're playing it different.

And the producer will go, by
the way, we've got to go back.

Listen, you're playing it a
little different than you were.

It's like, oh, thank you.

You get to refer to the
demo, and if it's not as

good as the demo, use the demo.

And then you-- but you can
always try to better the demo.

And then, okay, here's the
new master, go back to that.

And yes, you can change your
mind, you can choose again,

you can go back on
what you thought

you just were going
to-- you know,

it's a life and death situation.

It's not, you can
go back and say, oh,

that's not as good as I
thought it was going to be.

And a lot of that-- a lot of
times that happens instantly,

you know?

And then sometimes
it takes a week.

You hear it back and you go,
wow, not as great as I thought.

That's okay, I'm going to
eat some of that humble pie

right now, and actually,
it tastes okay.

Cool.

Okay.

[INTERPOSING VOICES]

[SINGING]

That will work.

When I'm doing
vocals, it's usually,

I'll run through the song a few
times, get warmed up with it.

And we'll do probably
six takes of a song,

and we'll go back on
certain parts of the song

that I'm kind of
having an issue with.

[SINGING]

I don't think that's
the right one yet.

JAMES HETFIELD: We'll
record more tracks of that,

producer will go
in and do a comp,

a compilation of all the best
parts of that, make a comp.

And then, a week
later, I'll come back--

or three or four days
later, come back,

and try and beat that
comp, try and make

it better than what it was.

Um, and sometimes I can,
sometimes I can't, but most

of the time we can improve.

Whether it's even just, you
know, pitch, it's annunciation,

it's impact, it's,
like, the shortness,

you know, oh, you're
drawing it out too much,

it needs to be more percussive.

There's so many things
that go into the voice

as an instrument, and
you can mess with them.

For me, having a
character in your voice

is more important than having
the range of, like, you know,

three octaves or something.

Having a character that is
you and it's unique to you

is pretty important,
I would say.

You know, you hear a you hear
a singer and all of a sudden,

oh, I know who that is.

And it's not even the
song that I know, but I

know it's that singer,
because they have a character

and they're not afraid
to show it in the song.

I think it's very
important to remind yourself

you can get high on
the process itself.

I'm in a room with my best
friends creating these songs.

The producers, you
know, in the other room

giving the thumbs up.

This is working, we've
tried to crack this.

You get high on the
process, and there's

nothing wrong with that.

You should get high
on the process.

If not, then you're not human.

But you have to be able
to then walk away from it

and come back to it with a
clear mind set, with fresh ears.

Hear it in a different
environment and go,

now is it any good and
what can be better?

And I just think
that the more you

can be self-critical
and understand

those euphoric energies that
come in the wake of when it's

really fucking working for
you, and then giving yourself

the luxury of walking away
from it and coming back to it.

I think that's a very, very
important part of, at least,

our process.

Your song is written.

Your music is there.

How do you get it out to people?

In any way and
every way possible.

On your home pages, on your
Instagram, on your whatever.

You know, blasting
it at a stoplight,

rolling your windows down.

Putting it on at parties.

If you're proud of
your music, you're

going to want to
get it out there,

and why would you not
use any form possible?

Don't be afraid of all the new
media forms that are out there.

There's plenty of opportunities,
and if you limit yourself,

you might regret it.

Learn about what it is.

And if you need that
knowledge-- and of course,

that is important, learn
about where your music's going

and why--

but yeah, use all media forms
you can to get your message out

there.

[ELECTRONIC TONES]

As far as Metallica
is concerned

and the business side, we've
always prided ourselves

and strive for to be as
independent as possible.

In our career, early on
in many people's careers,

there are some practical
elements, resources.

Obviously studio time, pressure
from outside sources of record

companies or managers.

"There's a tour
that's been booked,

and we need to have
new album or we

need to have new
product," as they call it.

Draw some lines in the
sand very early on,

but we've managed to keep most
of the business stuff at bay.

Keep it away from
the creative process.

And so there is
obviously a whole world

with responsibilities
and dates and resources

and all this stuff.

But if you can kind of put
a barricade or dividing line

between that and
the creative process

and really keep those from each
other, then you're very lucky.

One day we got all our records
back and started our own record

company.

Everything that we do,
that we strive to be,

independent, autonomous, and
not owe anybody anything.

Because that way they
can't come to you and go,

"That song should have
a different chorus,"

or "Maybe that song should
have a different lyric

or a different vocal."

Nobody can tell us
what to do or how

to do it because we don't
owe anybody anything.

And it gives us the freedom.

We equate that with the
freedom to kind of pick

our own projects and to sort
of just chart our own course.

I've been in Metallica
since the beginning,

the guy that would sort of take
care of the practical things.

Started off by I would
sit and copy the tapes

and write the song
titles on the tape.

I would put them in envelopes
and take it to the post office

and send seven people in
seven different countries

a copy of our demo tape,
send them a t-shirt.

I'll even go as far as to say
that I enjoyed that part of it.

I like communicating, and
I like talking to people,

and I like problem solving,
and I like to figure shit out,

and I like to make shit happen.

And so I think there were
times along Metallica's career

where--

it's not cool to talk
about this stuff.

But listen, I've done
this for almost 40 years,

and I would be
lying to you if you

said that it's a part
of being in Metallica

and being in a band
that I don't enjoy.

And I think it's important to
always have your motives clear

and be up front with
yourself and your partners,

but I would like to suggest
that having a record contract,

having an outlet for your
music, selling your t-shirts,

making t-shirts available,
making merchandise, patches,

gadgets, whatever, communicating
with your audience,

making yourself transparent,
social media nowadays,

et cetera, et cetera,
et cetera, all of it's

part of a way to engage
with your surroundings.

You're not selling
out by doing that.

You're engaging your fans.

You're engaging your
audience, and you're

communicating and having what
I would call a conversation.

And so if you want
to sell a t-shirt,

if you want to sell it
at cost, sell it at cost.

If you want to make a couple
of dollars to pay for food,

pay for guitar strings,
to pay for drumsticks,

to pay for gear.

You know, it costs money.

Everything associated with
being in a rock and roll band

ultimately costs money.

If you have a team
around you, you've

got to pay them their wages.

Obviously at some
point, if you want

to pay rent for a
rehearsal place,

you got to book studio
time, all of it costs money.

So you can't live in a world
of pretending that none of that

exists.

So obviously over
the last two decades,

there are certain
movements and certain times

where it's not cool to
think about the business.

It's not cool.

Oh, you're selling out.

Oh, you're corporate.

Oh, you know, all this stuff.

And there are many different
ways to go about this,

but you could argue,
if you're really

going to go down that path, that
being in a band to begin with

is kind of selling out.

So I would encourage you to
just end that conversation

and just figure out
what works for you.

So when we first came out on
the Kill 'em All Tour we found

a small t-shirt producer, and
we made t-shirts ourselves.

So we had like two
or three shirts.

They sold well.

You know Metallica,
the young metal attack.

And then when we were able to
sign to a major record label,

we signed also to a bigger
merchandising company.

And that's when we
learned that you

can use this merchandise
advance to finance other things.

That was such a
huge thing for us.

Back then a lot of
times the only time

you could get merchandising
for a certain band is

if you went to go see them and
you went to the merchandising

table and there it was.

But it was amazing
because it was a way

to generate some sort of income.

And when people wore the
shirts out and about,

it was a great way for
us to gain exposure

on the street level.

Nowadays, merchandising
is like everywhere.

I mean you don't even have to
just sell it uniquely on tour.

You can sell it online, you can
sell it in stores, whatever.

You have access to an
entire worldwide market

that you can sell your
merchandise through,

and you have an
entire industry that

does nothing but band
merchandise, anything

from t-shirts to little
figures to the coffins.

You know, it's amazing.

The world of merchandise
is vast and wide.

You can underwrite a tour.

You can sustain a tour.

And there's a lot of bands
out there these days who

will take a merchandise advance,
and they'll take that advance

and they'll use that
to finance their tour.

And so it can be a great revenue
stream if you're wise about it

and you have something
that's interesting to offer.

But it all starts
with the music.

If you have great music, you
can sell a lot of merchandise.

If you have crap
music, guess what.

Not going to happen.

The significant piece of
working in a group environment

is the word "trust."

Trusting the people around you,
and knowing that, you know,

out of that collaborative
energy will come something

greater than if it was
an individual effort.

You have to-- you have
to have that as the--

the M.O. at any time.

And that's why I
respect, obviously,

lots of great artists started
in collaborative environments

and then went off and
did their own thing.

But we've chosen
over 40 years to stay

in a collaborative environment.

Because it works for-- for us,
and it works for, obviously,

for what we're doing
and how it connects--

I think most importantly to
each other and to the music,

but also to the people that want
to come and be a part of it.

One of the things that I
find so special about being

in this band with these
musicians is, you know,

you're trying to find
the magic in that song,

and it's always going
to be somebody who says,

it's not good enough.

So your team is always
trying to do the best that's

possible for the song, and to
find the remedy, because you

will hit roadblocks.

You know, I always want to
stress that to our students,

that you will be challenged in--

in your journey to find
the right parts to a song,

or that magic sort of moment.

It takes time sometimes.

Sometimes it just
comes naturally,

sometimes it doesn't, you know?

But always kind of have faith
in yourself to keep trying,

and-- and pulling from
different, you know--

whatever is going to
influence you or give you

the energy and that
spark to hopefully ignite

that next idea.

You just do the best you
can, never phone it in.

And that's one of the great
things about this band is,

we don't phone it in.

We really, really strive to
make it the best that it can be.

If you put enough
work into something,

you will get it back.

Music, it's not easy, you know?

It's not easy.

You have to want
to do it, and you

have to have the passion to
do it, and the will to do it.

And you have to just know
that you will find the notes--

and it happens.

Be open to any sort of solution
that comes down the road,

and you might discover
something really,

really important in the
pursuit of something else.

What is a risk?

Something that you're not
comfortable with at first.

It's the, you know, allowance
of other things to come at you

and see those gifts that
show up in your life,

and do you embrace them, or do
you-- are you afraid of them?

If you think your
way into a-- try

to think your way into another
place, it's not going to work.

It just doesn't happen.

You got to feel it.

Michael Kamen, who's a
conductor, comes to us

and says, hey, I want to do
a symphonic Metallica thing.

You know, at first
it's like, what?

No way.

We can't do that.

And then you let it
absorb, and then you think,

OK, let's lean into
the uncomfortable here.

How do we make it Metallica?

How do we make it, you know--

how was-- how was this
going to enhance our art?

Or, like Lou Reed
coming to us and saying,

I want to work with you guys.

It's like, what?

That is so not on my list
of things to do in life,

but it's been put
there for a reason.

Let's at least
entertain the thought

and see what it
feels like for us.

(SINGING) --beside
me, and I offer them,

I offer them to you, as servants
of the gold that you must give

to me.

I grew up around all these
different, very different kinds

of music.

James grew up around
different music.

Rob grew up, Kirk--
everybody grew up--

we have very, very vast
musical backgrounds.

We've been channeling
that in various ways,

and were like, as
James was saying,

always open to crazy
things when they come.

Not necessarily that we're
out hunting all the time-- who

can we collaborate with it now?

But when given a choice, to lift
up the carpet and see what's

there, to open these doors
and see what's behind door

one, two and three.

That's always fun to do.

It's always a real
kind of, like, drive

to see what's just
around the corner,

creatively for us musically.

What can we do?

What can we find
that's just right there

that we can use and expand
on for a different way

to express ourselves musically?

And you know, the
more we do this,

the more we find out different
ways to expand our sound--

still doing it to this day.

We all individually
go and listen

to our own types of music,
you know, that really,

like, you know, inspire us.

And it could be anything.

I mean, I listen to Bossa
nova, and classical music,

and-- and you know, British
blues from the early '60s.

But man, I get so inspired
to write the heaviest riffs

when I listen to that stuff.

And it's flavored with, like,
maybe Bossa nova, or whatever,

but only I know that.

I mean, these guys are like,
whoa, it's totally different!

We love it!

Let's put it in a song.

I mean, it's-- it's always
finding different avenues

to just, like, bust down
the boundaries, you know?

Bust them down.

And you know, we're always,
always forward looking,

you know?

What else can we do?

We like to chase
that creative dragon.

And I hate to say
it, man, but it's

the most exciting thing
when you're a musician,

you know, and you're
with three other guys

who think the same way.

It's a great journey, man.

It's a great, great journey.

We've put out albums
and people have said--

but you know what, to me,
still to this day, you know,

because it's the cul--

it's a culmination
of-- of artistic ideas,

and it means so much to us.

And to be able to do that and
see it through successfully

is a great gift.

[PLAYING NOTES]

All right, then, here we go!

And that's

A 4 count!

1, 2, 3, 4!

[MUSIC - METALLICA, "WHIPLASH"]

(SINGING) 1, 2, 1, 2, 3, 4!

Late at night, all system go,
you've come to see the show.

We do our rest, you're the rest.

You make it real, you know.

There's a feeling deep inside,
that drives you fucking mad.

A feeling of a hammerhead,
you need it oh so bad.

Adrenaline starts to flow.

You're thrashing all around,
acting like a maniac.

Whiplash!

Bang your head against the
stage like you never did before.

Make it ring, and make it
bleed, and make it really sore.

In a frenzied madness with
your leathers and your spikes,

heads are bobbing all around,
it's hot as hell tonight.

Adrenaline starts to flow.

You're thrashing all around,
acting like a maniac.

Go.

[INAUDIBLE] Hey!

Hey!

Hey!

Hey!

Oh, here we go!

Uh, whiplash!

Hey!

The show is through, the
metal's gone, it's time

to hit the road.

Another town, another
gig, again, we do explode.

Hotel room and motorways,
life out here is raw.

We never stop, we never
quit, 'cause we're Metallica!

Adrenaline starts to flow.

You're thrashing all around,
acting like a maniac.

Hey!

Hey!

Hey!

Yeah!

Whiplash!

And a 1, 2, 3, 4!

[MUSIC - METALLICA, "FOR WHOM
THE BELL TOLLS"]

(SINGING) Make his fight for
the hill in the early day,

constant chill deep inside.

Shouting gun, on they run
into the endless gray.

On they fight for the right,
yes, but who's to say?

For a hill, men will kill.

Why, they do not know.

Stiffened wounds
test their pride.

Men of five still alive
through the raging

glow, gone insane from the
pain that they surely know.

For whom the bell tolls.

Time marches on.

For whom the bell tolls.

Take a look to the sky
just before you die.

It's the last time you will.

Blackened roar, massive roar
fills the crumbling sky.

Shattered goal fills his
soul with a ruthless cry.

Stranger now are his
eyes to this mystery.

Hears the silence so loud.

Crack of dawn, all is gone
except the will to be.

Now they see what will
be, blinded eyes do see.

For whom the bell tolls.

It tolls for thee.

For whom the bell tolls.

[CHEERING]

That's a 4 count.

1, 2, 3, 4.

[MUSIC - METALLICA, "MASTER OF
PUPPETS"]

(SINGING) End of passion
play, crumbling away.

I'm your source of
self-destruction.

Veins that pump
with fear, sucking

darkness clear, leading on
your death's construction.

Taste me, you will see.

More is all you need.

Dedicated to how
I'm killing you.

Come crawling faster.

Obey your master.

Your life burns faster.

Obey your master.

Master of puppets, I'm
pulling your strings.

Twisting your mind,
smashing your dreams.

Blinded by me, you
can't see a thing.

Just call my name, I'll
hear you scream, master.

Just call my name, I'll
hear you scream, master.

Oh!

Needlework the way,
never you betray.

Life of death becoming clearer.

Pain monopoly, ritual misery.

Chop your breakfast on a mirror.

Taste me, you will see.

More is all you need.

Dedicated to how
I'm killing you.

Come crawling faster.

Obey your master.

Your life burns faster.

Obey your master.

Master of puppets, I'm
pulling your strings.

Twisting your mind,
smashing your dreams.

Blinded by me, you
can't see a thing.

Just call my name, I'll
hear you scream, master!

Just call my name, I'll hear
you scream, master, master!

Master!

Master!

Where's the dreams
that I've been after?

Master!

Master!

Promised only lies.

Master!

Master!

All I hear or see is laughter.

Master!

Master!

Laughing at my cries.

[INAUDIBLE] go.

Yeah!

[INAUDIBLE] Hell is worth
all that, natural habitat.

Just a rhyme without a reason.

Never-ending maze,
drift on numbered days.

Now, your life is out of season.

I will occupy.

I will help you die.

I will run through you.

Now I'll rule you too.

Come crawling faster.

Obey your master.

Your life burns faster.

Obey your master, master.

Master of puppets, I'm
pulling your strings.

Ha-ha!

Twisting your mind,
smashing your dreams.

Blinded by me, you
can't see a thing.

Just call my name, 'cause
I'll hear you scream, master!

Master!

Just call my name, I'll
hear you scream, master!

[EVIL LAUGH]

Master of puppets!

[AIR RAID SIREN]

[MACHINE GUN FIRE]

[HELICOPTERS PASSING]

[MUSIC - METALLICA, "ONE"]

(SINGING) I can't
remember anything.

Can't tell if this
is true or dream.

Deep down inside,
I feel the scream.

This terrible silence stops me.

Now that the war is through
with me, I'm waking up,

I cannot see that there's
not much left of me.

Nothing is real but pain now.

Hold my breath as
I wish for death.

Oh please, God, wake me.

Back in the womb,
it's much too real.

In pumps life that I must feel.

But can't look forward to
reveal, look to the time

when I live.

Fed through the tube
that sticks in me!

Just like a wartime
novelty, tied

to machines that make me be.

Cut the chain off from me.

Hold my breath as
I wish for death.

Oh please, God, wake me.

Please, God, wake me!

Now the world is gone.

I'm just one.

Oh God, help me.

Hold my breath as
I wish for death.

Oh please, God, help me.

Help me!

Darkness imprisoning me.

All I see, absolute horror.

I cannot live, I cannot die.

Trapped in myself,
body my holding cell.

Landmine has taken my
sight, taken my speech,

taken my hearing, taken my arms,
taken my legs, taken my soul,

left me with life in hell.

Oh, hell.

No!

No, no, no, no, no!

Oh please, God, help me!

That's right!

[CHEERING]

[MUSIC - METALLICA, "ENTER
SANDMAN"]

(SINGING) Say your
prayers, little one.

Don't forget, my son,
to include everyone.

I tuck you in, warm within,
keep you free from sin

till the Sandman, he comes.

Sleep with one eye open,
gripping your pillow tight.

Exit light, enter night.

Take my hand.

Ooh, we're off to
Never, Neverland.

Haha!

Something's wrong,
shut the light.

Heavy thoughts tonight, and
they aren't of Snow White.

Dreams of war, dreams of
liars, dreams of dragon's fire,

and of things that will bite.

Yeah!

Sleep with one eye open,
gripping your pillow tight.

Exit light, enter night.

Take my hand, ooh, off to
Never, Neverland, Neverland.

Yeah!

Now, I lay me down to sleep.

Now, I lay me down to sleep.

Pray the Lord my soul to keep.

Pray the Lord my soul to keep.

If I die before I wake,
if I die before I wake,

pray the Lord my soul to take.

(SINGING) Hush, little
baby, don't say a word.

And never mind that
noise you heard.

Ooh, it's just the beasts
under your bed, in your closet,

in your head.

Exit light, enter night.

Grain of sand.

Oh, exit light, enter night.

Take my hand, ooh, off
to Never, Neverland.

Ha, ha, ha!

Oh!

Oh!

Hey, hell yeah!

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Off to Never, Neverland.

Take my hand.

We're off to Never, Neverland.

Take my hand.

We're off to Never, Neverland.

Hey!

Hey!

Hey!

Hey!

Hey!

Hey!

Hey!

Hey!

Hey!

Hey!

[MUSIC - METALLICA, "HARDWIRED"]

(SINGING) In the
name of desperation,

in the name of wretched
pain, in the name

of all creation, gone insane.

We're so fucked,
shit outta luck.

Hardwired to self-destruct.

Oh!

On the way to paranoia,
on the crooked borderline,

on the way to great
destroyer, doom design.

We're so fucked,
shit outta luck.

Hardwired to self-destruct.

Oh!

Hey!

Hey!

Hey!

Hey!

Hey!

Hey!

[INAUDIBLE]

Once upon a planet
burning, once upon a flame,

once upon a fear
returning, all in vain.

Do you feel that hope is fading?

Do you comprehend?

Do you feel it
terminating in the end?

We're so fucked,
shit outta luck.

Hardwired to self-destruct.

Hardwired to self-destruct.

Self-destruct!

Self-destruct!

Self-destruct!

Self-destruction!

Self-destruct!

[CHEERING]