The song James Hetfield called a turning point for Metallica: “That opened the door”
There are many changes that bands have that have to happen over time. Even though biopics love to mythologise the idea that someone deciding to change their sound or make one of the biggest career decisions of their life happens in one moment, there’s normally a lot more that goes into it than having to work out everything in a 24-hour window. But for all of the great music that Metallica have amassed throughout their career, James Hetfield does remember those moments when everything seems to turn on its head.
Granted, if it weren’t for some important people behind the scenes, though, Hetfield may have never taken the band to new heights. He and Lars Ulrich are practically the co-captains of the group in many respects, and as much as both of them have the final say in what makes it onto a record, it took people like Dave Mustaine and Cliff Burton in the early days to see what potential they had when making their first tunes.
Outside of jacking a lot of Mustaine’s licks for their own once he was fired, it was Burton who first introduced them to different harmonies. He had been a child of classical music, and hearing him develop some of their harmonies and signature riffs felt closer to what a band like King Crimson would have done than a typical thrash metal tune. And with that level of harmony, Hetfield was bound to become better at constructing melodies.
Whereas ‘Master of Puppets’ benefited from having that beautiful interlude in the middle and ‘To Live Is To Die’ worked as a stunning tribute to Burton’s memory, Hetfield had been keeping certain songs in the background. While ‘Nothing Else Matters’ had the makings of a hit, it certainly wasn’t the kind of tune that was going to make it past the quality inspection when Ulrich was looking for the next ‘Harvester of Sorrow.’
“When the guys heard it they were amazed at how much they, I guess, related to it.”
james hetfield
When Bob Rock took the song out of the can, though, Hetfield remembered thinking that they were making a mistake. This was far too personal for him to pour into a Metallica song, but once they added those signature guitars into the mix and the lush orchestra in the background, they found that there was a lot more for them to work with beyond guitars, bass, and drums.
Looking back on it, Hetfield felt that the song marked a major turning point for the group, saying, “When the guys heard it, they were amazed at how much they, I guess, related to it. It turned out to be a pretty big song on that record. I would say [it was a turning point]. That opened the door even further and gave us carte blanche to play many different styles of songs. It touched a lot of people.”
That sudden shift led many people to think they had sold out, but there was a lot more left to explore in the rest of the album. There were still the heavy hitters like ‘Sad But True,’ but a track like ‘Wherever I May Roam’ was their biggest departure, keeping in the realm of metal while having a gong, chimes, and an electric sitar playing in the background of the tune as they set up the scene.
Although it’s hard to please everybody when making a record, Hetfield knew that he couldn’t go wrong when he started laying down ‘Nothing Else Matters.’ Fans could debate about whether they had gone soft all they wanted, but the metal icons had the kind of openhearted song that no one could take away from them.
