James Hetfield of Metallica is insistent that Metallica won’t ever rest on their laurels and become a ‘legacy’ band.
In a recent appearance on the Metallica Report podcast, the frontman discussed how the band were slotting in songs from last year’s 72 Seasons album into setlitsts on their current world tour and how they will never rely wholly on their extensive back catalogue.
“The fact that the 72 Seasons album is well received and some of the songs that we’re playing live work and they kind of fit seamlessly in with all the catalogue, all the albums we have,” explained Hetfield.
“We’re not afraid of (playing new songs), but we’re not overindulging in it as well. We know people want to hear the best of, and you’ve got to challenge them to listen to some of the new stuff as well.”
“We certainly don’t want to be a legacy band that just plays its greatest hits and then that’s it,” he added. “(Playing new material is) all a part of it.”
Becoming a ‘legacy’ or ‘heritage’ band is something most, perhaps all, A-list acts end up having to succumb to eventually. Rare is the artist whose work is still vital after 25, 30 or 40 years on the rock n’ roll treadmill.
Some embrace it fully, others begrudgingly accept that their best years are behind them and fans invariably come to shows not to hear the latest album but for ‘the hits’ that they associate with their own summer years. Metallica sound like they’ll be in the latter camp, forever raging against the dying of the creative light.
In the same podcast Hetfield said that the band were currently playing with a lot of confidence, The reason, he suggests, is because they’re comfortable with making the odd mistake. Indeed, by the sounds of it, they are - in the sage words of Brian Eno - honouring them as their hidden intention.
“All mistakes are a part of the show,” Hetfield argued. “That’s part of what we say before we go out. ‘Hey, all mistakes are free.’ And it’s not a mistake, really. That word is kinda ridiculous. It’s just a unique way of playing (a song) that night.”
“Frankly, I think it's a challenge, when a song falls apart and it could be devastating to other bands,” he continued. “For us, it's just, ‘OK, we fucked it up. Let's start it again. Or, ‘Hey, let's take it from here.’ Or, there's been times when I've edited out a whole middle section and then at the end of the song say, ‘Oh my God, I forgot to play that part. Here, let's just play it for you.’”
“There's a freedom up there that the fans allow. There's a grace that they allow us to be human. So there is a confidence that you can't go wrong. You show up and you do your best and you know it's from the heart.”
