The metal bands James Hetfield couldn’t keep up with: “How can you?”
Metallica is considered by many as one of the greatest live bands out there.
They have a standing in the world of metal that the majority of music lovers seem to be fans of. For instance, Dave Grohl has spoken plenty of times about how much he loves the sound of Metallica and is drawn to their exciting style.
“I love Lars Ulrich,” said the Foo Fighters frontman when talking about the band, “He’s always been a huge influence. I bought the first Metallica record the month it came out. I am a die-hard fan, and you will have to pry their CDs from my cold, dead hands.”
Their magnificence doesn’t just exist within their studio recordings either. When Guns N’ Roses and Metallica went on tour with one another, Slash was ashamed by how tight their live sound was and how well organised they were. Given that Guns N’ Roses were going through a tricky spell, he hated seeing how a band on tour should operate compared to how his band were going about things. It got so bad that he could hardly look Metallica in the eye towards the end of their run.
“It was a very tense time; a major straw on the camel’s back for me and for everybody in our camp. It was actually a huge issue for me because I’d lost face with everyone in Metallica,” he said, “We didn’t keep our promise to them, the fans, or to ourselves to put on the best show possible. I felt like an ass and I couldn’t look James, Lars, or anyone from their band in the eye for the rest of the tour…”
Metallica may well be considered one of the biggest bands in the world of heavy metal, both on stage and in the studio, but even they admit there are some acts that they pale in comparison to. When James Hetfield was talking about the artists he is often in awe of, he spoke of bands who move away from conventional song structure and time signature, and instead enjoy revelling in a strange pocket of chaos.
Two bands he referenced in particular were Meshuggah and Loincloth, both of which have an incredibly unique and unpredictable sound. Despite James Hetfield being one of the biggest and most metal musicians on the planet, he said that he doesn’t understand how they can efficiently keep putting out songs like they do, because they are so hard to keep a hold of.
“And then you get the bands that are really sideways: Meshuggah or Loincloth,” he said, “They make me wonder, ‘How in the fuck can you remember this song? How can you?’ It’s unbelievable. With some of this stuff, it’s almost too much and hard to listen to at times, but I’m just stunned. It’s a pretty exciting time.”
Hetfield certainly has a point. When you listen to the music of these bands, it’s packed with the energy and chaos that people love about metal, but also has a sense of freedom that you can’t hear much in other bands. The fact that these musicians are able to keep up with one another while still playing something so rooted in carnage is otherworldly.
