James Hetfield Explains What He Admires About His Metallica Bandmates
When Metallica released Some Kind of Monster in 2004, it was a startling and honest look at the inner working of a band at both high and low points. It pulled back the curtain on the challenges of dealing with the personality and ego clashes as well as strong points of each band member. In a new interview, James Hetfield spoke about what he admires most about this bandmates.
The Calgary Herald spoke with the frontman ahead of one of Metallica's Canadian stops on the 'WorldWired' tour in support of their latest record, Hardwired... To Self-Destruct. Hetfield was first asked what he admires about bassist Robert Trujillo, to which he responded, "Been in the band longer than any bass player. He will forever be the new guy. Hopefully there’s not another new guy. He’s extremely dedicated. He’s always practicing. He challenges us: ‘How ’bout we try this?’ A dedicated musician."
Hetfield and Lars Ulrich make up the core of Metallica and the frontman spoke about the drummer, stating, "He does not take no for an answer. That’s good and bad when you’re a partner in a business. (Laughs.) When you sic that bulldog onto somebody else, it’s great. He’s really good at the big picture, where I can get stuck in details. He’s very into what a fan would love — he’s the biggest Metallica fan there is."
"He’s got an innocence about him," said Hetfield, addressing guitarist Kirk Hammett. "He’s not really concerned about life, he flows through it really well and good things happen to him. He doesn’t feel the need to control things."
Ulrich recently announced plans for a remastered reissue of Master of Puppets with hopeful eyes on a 2017 release. The drummer stated the project is ambitious considering the history of the album and that there will be a box set edition accompanying the release.
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