The “bullshit” bands James Hetfield never wanted to become
If you wanted to pick a genre to comfortably label Metallica, it would be thrash metal, but there is a lot more to them than that.
One of the biggest worries that a lot of bands have is that they get pigeonholed too much, with too many instances of a band making a hit song and then being unable to deviate from the sound of that song. There’s nothing wrong with staying with one specific genre, but staying within one specific sound must be deeply frustrating and not the most exciting thing that creative minds can do.
There are a number of ways that bands have tried to stop themselves from being slapped with one specific style and told to stay with it for decades to come, like when Kiss tried wearing make-up. When Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons were talking about the decision to paint their faces, they compared themselves to The Beatles, in that they looked like a unit and were able to experiment with different sounds and have it still be recognisable as Kiss.
“We also took pride in having the same freedom The Beatles had,” said Simmons, “Their philosophy was, ‘No matter what kind of music we do, it’s still The Beatles’. That’s what was amazing about them… The Beatles were not trapped in that way. They could do music hall, psychedelia, anything, and they did. Yet somehow it always sounded like The Beatles.”
Whether or not you agree with Gene Simmons comparing himself to The Beatles, you have to give credit to the band for attempting to broaden their horizons when it came to making music. Of course, not every band wants to paint their faces like how Kiss did, so what are the other solutions if you’re keen on making multiple styles of music under the same name? Well, for Metallica, the solution was to just make varied music and hope people get on board with it.
‘Fade to Black’ was considered a pretty controversial tune at the time of release, as it saw Metallica move away from their thrash metal roots and opt to make something slightly more ballad-heavy. A lot of fans didn’t like this new direction, but it was Metallica’s effort in avoiding being stuck with one specific sound. When talking about the song, James Hetfield mentioned Slayer and Exodus, saying that while they might be good bands, they’re stuck playing the same music over and over again.
“That song was a big step for us. It was pretty much our first ballad, so it was challenging, and we knew it would freak people out,” said Hetfield, “Bands like Exodus and Slayer don’t do ballads, but they’ve stuck themselves in that position, which is something we never wanted to do; limiting yourself to please your audience is bullshit.”
While a lot of fans might not have liked the move Metallica made with ‘Fade to Black’, had they not gone for the more ballad-driven approach, a lot of their other classics may have never been written. Think of songs like ‘Nothing Else Matters’, for instance, a track which means a lot more to fans than just a standard thrash metal song, but which is also incredibly soft. While ‘Fade to Black’ was a transitional track for Metallica, it was the likes of ‘Nothing Else Matters’ which saw them really reap the rewards from their adventurous experimentation with sound.
“It’s about being on the road, missing someone at home, but it was written in such a way, it connected with so many people, that it wasn’t just about two people, it was about a connection with your higher power, lots of different things,” said Hetfield, “I remember going to the Hells Angels Clubhouse in New York, and they showed me a film that they’d put together of one of the fallen brothers, and they were playing ‘Nothing Else Matters’. Wow. This means a lot more than me missing my chick, right?”
