Interview, Lars Ulrich & James Hetfield, Metallica

APPETITE for CONSTRUCTION

following the release of their latest, self-titled, studio opus and their prestigious presence at this year's Donington, San Francisco Thrashers Metallica are staying cool to the over explosive hype associated with the trappings of stardom and success. Joe Mackett endeavours to travel into the void to shed some light on the subject.

“Don't worry about it,” chuckles James Hetfield in reference to the jet black cover adorning their fifth self-titled album. “I don't give a s***,  it's Lar's thing.”

OK, fine. Later in a separate office I voiced the subject to Lars Ulrich. Whereas Hetfield is humorous and music minded, Lars is business opinionated.

“I get annoyed with all the imagery involved with metal bands,”  he declares.” I'm not saying we're God's gift, but we want to get away from it. You become a slave to the image.”

Similar to Iron Maiden's Eddie or Megadeth's Rattlehead?

“Exactly,  for a while we weren't going to have anything on the cover, but at the last minute we stuck the logo on,  just to distinguish the rec.”

That sounds like record company pressure to me.

“No, both the US and the UK companies agreed to the plain cover, but we thought we were taking things too far. So here's 65 minutes of music,  deal with it.”

Disappointingly then, there was never a girl on all fours, a dog leash or a glove being shoved under her nose, as in the original SPINAL TAP "Smell the glove" cover. The simplicity of the artwork places an emphasis on the music.

The first major musical talking point centres on the replacing of Flemming Rasmussen as producer with Bob Rock. Rock’s credits  include MOTLEY CRUE,  BON JOVI,  and THE CULT;  a CV many regarded as far too commercial for the Metallica crowd. Those opinions prove groundless, but why go for Rock?

“He's cuter,”  sniggers James. He's Jovial despite harbouring a hangover gained at the previous night's FOREIGNER show at the Marquee. “ We had this new simplicity attitude so we wanted a new spark to give us the difference.”

Couldn't Flemming handle the direction of the band,  was the change down to the fact that And Justice For All became too complex?

“Too shitty sounding,” cackles Hetfield, ridiculing himself. “Nah, Flemming was great, he pushed record and didn't mess with us too much.”

Lars takes up the topic.

“Rock had made some good sounding records and seemed to have the ability to push bands to a higher level. When we flew to Vancouver there were a couple of things he said which made me feel he was the right guy,”  he pauses in reflection. “I'm happy to say I still feel that. He's helped us make a record that is miles ahead of what we've done before.”

James closes the subject.

“We’d play and he suggested ideas. At the beginning I think he was a bit intimidated. By the end he was yelling at us.  I think he was glad to get home to check into the mental hospital.”

As the saying goes the proof of the pudding is in the eating.  Suffice to say that Metallica is sharper,  more focused. James is again first to the soapbox.

“We always wanted to do shorter songs. Most of 'em are around 5-minutes,  which is shocking for us.”

Lars expands on the theme.

“There's no rules to our writing.  I don't give a s*** how long they are. I just go for the songs that feel good. These stick to the route better than anything we've done.”

Most notable in the tunes themselves are the lyrics of Hetfield, more personal and pointed this time. The single Enter Sandman regales tales of childhood nightmare. Was James prone to waking up in a cold sweat as a nipper?

“Haha, my nightmare was not being able to hit somebody hard enough!  They’d  just stand there laughing at me!”

The subsequent video also provokes James’s humour.

“There is no man with a box on his head screaming, ‘help me, help me,”  he laughs, referring to the One  video. “We took a day to shoot it.  It's a nightmarish concept.  We appear in it for 3 seconds, popping up to show our ugly faces, which is a nightmare in itself.”  

He shakes his head in disrespect of the format. Ulrich is more excited by videos.

“I feel good about making them. There’s still something different to do with them.” He has a condition though, “as long as you get control over them it's cool.”

Hetfield's lyrics to The Unforgiven boast the line “the old man prepares to die,  regretfully that old man here, is me.”

“I kinda dig those lyrics. You do what you can instead of regretting what you didn't do.”

It’s said, however, that the singer/ guitarist's relationship with his father has only just become amicable. Was this an influence?

“Shit,  what else do you know about me?” He's startled,  but relaxes. “Sure,  that's a new twist, that's cool.”

Perhaps the focal point of this album will be Nothing Else Matters. I put it to Hetfield that it's a very balladic style tune.

“Is that a ballad?” he questions before relenting. “let's just say it's beyond ballad!”

He's laughing to himself again.

Hazarding a guess I venture The God That Failed isn't just swiping at the evangelists dominating the US airwaves at the moment.  James is serious for a change.

“God is meaning anyone or anything you look up to for support.  You get to trust in them then they let you down and it screws you up.”

With Jason Newsted, ensconsed in the band for a considerable time now, it's interesting to note that he gains only one credit on the track My Friend of Misery.

“His personality is definitely an influence. Y’know, different people shine at different times.  he's cooking live, but in the writing he didn't have that much good stuff.”  

James attempts to to explain that last statement. 

“We go through the riff tapes and it doesn't matter who's got what, as long as it's good. Bass players like funk because it's loud and it's bass-based,” he says chuckling again. “It's like ‘hey sorry man but…’” 

He smacks down and imaginary Newsted.  Lars is more philosophical.

“With a guy like James in the band, Jason’s stuff was a little progressive,  sorta Justice  orientated, and we wanted big guitar riffs with a laid-back rhythm section.”

By the time you read this Metallica will have paid these Shores a visit to lay waste to Donington as support to ACDC. It's their third appearance at the festival,  so wouldn't it have made sense to lie low, then headline in a couple of years? The question pointed at both interviewees gains a unanimous and humble reply.

“No one would show up!”

I must admit to having been converted to the Metallica cause after their 1985 set at the big D. Hopefully this year they will be treated with more respect than in 1987 when a series of incidents combined to upstage them. Lars is evasive.

“I ain't going to make excuses. We didn't rock that day day.” But he's not too evasive. “Ok so Bon Jovi decided to arrive by helicopter and buzz the crowd during our set, and the sound wasn’t great” (positively nobbled I'd say mate!) “In '85 we proved we were a band to be reckoned with. But  '87 was basically down to us. We just want to blow those performances out of the water”

After the "Monsters" package Metallica head out on a headlining tour of the US arenas or “very big clubs” as James calls them. The stage show promises some surprises despite the opaque LP sleeve.

“Here's the LP cover,” sniggers Hetfield. ”Gee, I wonder what the backdrop will be like? We do have some unique ideas though.”  

Playing in the dark perhaps?

Last word, as usual goes to Lars on the subject of Metallica, or as James prefers to call it "The Snake Album," and the insinuation of a commercial cop out.

“I'd like to put the album on in a crowded room and watch the people listening to it.  Although a different mood, within 30-seconds They’d Know It's Metallica”.

Joe Mackett
Riff Raff
September, 1991

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