In 2013, 40 years after they released debut album Kill ’Em All, Metallica proved there was still new ground to be broken when they played in China for the very first time. Metal Hammer caught up with the band to talk state-mandated setlists, artistic exploration and their upcoming adventures in cinema with Through The Never.
Welcome to China. In terms of population, this is the second-biggest country on the planet. In terms of heavy metal, of course, there is no bigger band or more consistently unassailable force than Metallica. And here they are, performing in front of a sold-out Mercedes-Benz Arena in the vast city of Shanghai, spreading their immortal gospel of turbocharged rock’n’roll and resolute riff worship to a territory that, only a few years ago, would have been an unthinkable target for even the most successful band our genre has ever produced. Sometimes all it takes to batter down seemingly impenetrable walls is an instinctive urge to think big and act bigger. Metallica in China. It makes perfect sense.
Like most years in the life of metal’s supreme overlords, 2013 has already proved to be a monumental and unforgettable one. Metallica are about to unveil Through The Never, their first full-length feature film and a truly groundbreaking one at that: executed in eye-popping 3D and with a thick vein of invention and artistic alacrity throbbing through its deafening core, this movie could only have been made by a band that has repeatedly demonstrated its fearlessness and ambition over the last three decades.
An exhilarating and yet subtly thoughtful combination of incendiary live footage, it depicts Metallica in their supreme 21st-century pomp performing on the most elaborate and technologically daring indoor stage the entertainment world has ever seen. With its bold but poignant narrative focusing on the behind-the-scenes adventures of a roadie named Trip – portrayed by US actor Dane DeHaan – Through The Never is quite unlike any rock’n’roll movie ever released and looks certain to be another huge milestone in the already mindblowing story of our world’s most prominent protagonists.
Most bands, even those that share Metallica’s lust for new experiences and unerring sense of occasion, would probably be satisfied with releasing their own boundary-smashing feature film. But this is Metallica and their future looks as hectic and haughty as their recent past. Having spent the last few years immersed in all manner of projects, from their controversial collaboration with Lou Reed to the birth of their very own Orion Festival in Atlantic City and on to those incredible, star-studded 30th anniversary shows in San Francisco, the band’s metaphorical foot remains firmly planted on the accelerator.
With the wind, as ever, in their sails, Metallica have further plans for Orion, which looks set to take place in Detroit next year. They have also started their own record label, Blackened Recordings, through which the Through The Never soundtrack will soon be released and which should provide a launchpad for the first album of new material since 2008’s Death Magnetic at some point during 2014. As bassist Rob Trujillo explains in an exclusive interview with Metal Hammer, being in Metallica – and, indeed, being a fan of the band – continues to be an “edge-of-your-seat experience” as they notch up yet more huge milestones in their extraordinary history.
“China was really interesting,” he says. “We played in Shanghai, and you have this ultra-modern, surrealistic skyline busting out like Bladerunner and then, right around the corner, you have the most shanty old-school Chinese neighbourhood. It trips you out a little bit. We took a sidecar trip on these World War II motorbikes and went around the city, so we really got into the thick of it and that was fun! But at the same time we couldn’t play about 10 of our best songs. Ha ha! We couldn’t play Master Of Puppets, we couldn’t play One. You send your list of what you plan on playing and it’s either ‘yay’ or ‘nay’ and there’s no explanation. It’s basically about the lyrical content. We couldn’t play Battery, but we could play Blackened. It was pretty random. In the end, we just figured that we should play by the rules and have a good time with these people who rarely have the opportunity to experience music like this, and then try to come back and play those songs in the future. China’s changing and it’s growing, but it’s not quite there yet.”
Such is the significance of Metallica’s long-awaited arrival in China that the band made a point of filming and documenting their trip for use in a forthcoming documentary. Ever mindful of their status as heavy music’s most successful and celebrated representatives, they seem determined to build, strengthen and sustain links with previously unthinkable new territories, reflecting the band’s collective belief that, as Lars Ulrich stated during a press conference held in Shanghai during the band’s visit, “there has been a passion and an appreciation and a longing for this moment that is really special.
“We figured that if we filmed and shared an experience, then we could get to more [people in China] and get a next-level relationship between Metallica and China that could last for decades,” the drummer continued. “Being here and feeling the energy and excitement, the idea came up to celebrate it and to try to document it. We’re excited about that and we think that there is something cool that will come out of it. Whatever that is, we’re not quite sure yet, but we’ll do our best to make it shareable and worth everybody’s while.”
“I was told that people would be sitting down and clapping and very polite,” frontman James Hetfield added during the press conference. “And that would be fine as well, but we were very glad to see people singing the words and joining in and becoming part of the show, which is what we really love.”
Just as an explosion of interest in and enthusiasm for our music and its culture has begun to enable countries like India and Indonesia to become more active members of the global metal community, so the recent opening of commercial and cultural doors in China seems to mark a monumental change in the way that metal and its importance to those who love it are perceived. By performing in Shanghai, Metallica have provided a hugely significant service for the entire metal scene, demonstrating to the authorities in China that, despite their undoubted reservations, the world of heavy metal is not something to be feared. Instead, the powers that be have hopefully now witnessed the vast positive impact of heavy music – not just in commercial terms but also in terms of the way it brings people together in a celebration of energy, community and inspiration.
“Oh, absolutely!” Rob Trujillo agrees. “It’s such a great opportunity and it’s also a great challenge, because a lot of these places probably wouldn’t have been able to handle a show like this in the past. The last time Metallica tried to play in Indonesia there was a riot and there were a lot of problems. The infrastructure in these places needs to be much more solid. But we didn’t have those problems in Asia this time around so it’s getting better. In China, we went in there with the music and we weren’t going in to bring any political or religious angle. Some bands don’t wanna deal with it that way and they wanna go in and make a political statement, and I understand that, but sometimes the best political statement is made through your music. That’s what’s important to us, and the fans feed off that. They really embraced the moment. There was a lot of magic in there. We feed off that, so I’m happy to say that we’ll be getting over to Asia a lot more than once every 10 years now.”
There is something uniquely admirable about the way that Metallica – a band, lest we forget, who are already so unfeasibly massive that they have no pressing need to win new fans – continue to exhibit such enthusiasm for spreading what Rob describes as “the gospel of rock’n’roll and heavy metal”. As a result, the release of Through The Never seems much less like a perfunctory cash-in on their existing popularity than yet another demonstration of their unerring creative ambitions and collective desire to reach out to people around the world, offering fans both old and new a unique and synapse-frazzling glimpse into Metallica World. Presented in eye-mangling 3D and with its refreshingly original blend of live footage and dramatic narrative, Through The Never isn’t just another wildly ambitious project from a band that never seem to run out of new challenges to take on, it’s also a very purposeful tool in their ongoing drive to reach as many potential new converts as possible, from Shanghai to Santiago and Anchorage to Adelaide.
“We certainly hope that this movie, this new challenge, will break down more doors and get us to more people,” states Rob. “In general terms, in the places where Metallica are more well known, there are plenty of people who aren’t fans yet, so hopefully with this unique 3D experience they’ll embrace the band and check us out live or check this show out live when we take it on the road in the future. Hopefully they’ll jump onboard. The film could be really good for that. I always say that being in Metallica is a real edge-of-your-seat existence. When you do something like have a creative, experimental experience with Lou Reed, it’s a real challenge but something we really enjoyed. Obviously the fans are gonna be like ‘What is this?’ and they might be a bit confused. Same thing with the film project, they’ll go ‘OK, what are they up to now? Can’t you just make an album?’ I understand that. But at the same time, that’s what makes Metallica special over all these years. Whether it’s the S&M record, playing with an orchestra, the 30th anniversary shows or any of these things. We just jump in the water and start swimming, you know?”
James recently explained the motivations and reasoning behind his band’s decision to throw themselves wholeheartedly into the world of big-screen filmmaking:
“Over 10 years ago, IMAX came to us and said. ‘We want to capture the energy of a Metallica show!’” he recalled. “At that time they were doing National Geographic type of things, like finding the Titanic or climbing Everest. We felt honoured but it never really happened until recently when a couple of ideas combined. We’ve been wanting to do a movie to capture the best of the Metallica stage that we have built. All the people who haven’t seen Metallica, from Kill ’Em All to now, we have all the props and crazy stage, the crosses from Master Of Puppets, the coffins from Death Magnetic and just all of the things that we’ve done over the years. We wanted to make the movie even more different so we added a storyline to it. I’ve seen it and I am absolutely proud of it. I think it was a big risk for us. Well, everything good usually is. But it’s totally worth it. If it breaks even one day, it’s totally worth it to have this thing as a part of history, where people can see the best of Metallica. Hopefully it becomes a part of everyone’s music or movie library.”
“The new stage had been built and management had an idea to put together a concert film that was really just a concert,” Rob explains. “We checked out the stage plot and saw the layout for the band and we thought that it was really exciting, but we wanted a narrative. We wanted something different, like maybe taking a page from the Pink Floyd model or Led Zeppelin’s The Song Remains The Same but bringing it more into the Metallica realm.”
Their exploits in the world of cinema are by no means the only endeavours propelling Metallica forward in 2013. Their new record label, Blackened Recordings, is a venture that once again confirms the thrash legends’ determination to move with the times and embrace the limitless possibilities offered up by the ever-evolving landscape of the modern music industry. According to Rob, the nature of Blackened’s business has yet to be clearly defined, but the project fits perfectly with Metallica’s endless passion for diving fearlessly into the unknown.
“It could end up being one of many things,” he tells us. “Obviously the first thing we do will be the soundtrack for Through The Never. It’s new territory but it’s also very exciting because there are a lot of possibilities. People ask ‘Are you gonna bring on any new bands or how is it gonna work?’ Well, the answer is that we actually don’t know what direction Blackened will take us in, but we’re all very excited at the endless possibilities. But I’ve got to say that our next challenge is pretty obvious! We’ve got to make a record!”
Five years have passed since the release of Metallica’s last studio album, Death Magnetic. Since then, the band have been extremely busy with all manner of other projects and tours, but even the most patient of fans must now be wondering exactly when they will return to the studio and create a follow-up. The good news is that Metallica have clearly defined plans to continue the songwriting process that began in earnest during 2012 but which was abruptly curtailed due to the sheer magnitude of the work involved to bring Through The Never to fruition.
“We had a bit of momentum last year where we actually got together a few times and had a lot of fun jamming,” says Rob. “There are a lot of great ideas. To me, Death Magnetic was the launchpad. We had five children born during the Death Magnetic era within the band. I had a couple of kids, Kirk had a couple and Lars had a child, so there was a lot going on and the whole experience was fairly long-winded but it was a powerful one. We learned a lot about each other and our engineer and about working with Rick Rubin. This next record, I believe, is gonna be very special. We had so much fun jamming. We have an overwhelming number of riffs. Every time James Hetfield turns a tone knob or tunes a guitar, he comes up with an incredible riff. He has, like, 800 riffs! Even his worst riff would be something most bands wish they could have!”
“We’ve gone through maybe one 10th of the material on our riff CDs,” James Hetfield told Loudwire.com recently. “We’ve got enough for an album, we just haven’t had enough time to dial in and start whittling it into these masterpieces, hopefully! I want it done yesterday and this movie is keeping us pretty busy at this point and it’s taking a lot of time and effort. We’ve been touring some obscure places. I guess what we’re trying to do is pay for this movie, so touring has been keeping us from getting in there and finishing the record.”
When you’re the biggest metal band of all time, it must be impossible to completely ignore the sheer weight of expectation as you plan your next creative move. With a support base that comprises several generations of fans, Metallica are in the complex position of being routinely confronted with wildly variable demands and desires from the potential audience for any new album. And while the general consensus seemed to be that Death Magnetic was a considerable return to good form, the less than positive reaction to Lulu, the band’s deeply flawed collaboration with Lou Reed, suggests that the next Metallica album will be a pivotal one in their history. In truth, it is obvious that Metallica are more than aware that their first five albums remain the ones that most fans regard with the greatest esteem; a fact strongly supported by setlists from the last decade or so, wherein very few songs from the post-Black Album era have usurped the band’s unbeatable armoury of undisputed classics. However, as they have consistently shown in recent times, Metallica are not about to bow to anyone or anything other than their own artistic impulses.
“At the end of the day we are artists, we are explorers,” James told MSN Entertainment in August. “We’re not out for attention. What other people think of me is none of my business. We are doing this for ourselves and if you don’t enjoy it then… don’t! We are not praying that you like it. That’s not living! So, the fans we like to attract are the ones who are open-minded and like to experience new things in life.”
“People will say ‘I’m all about the old school and the early years!’ but you know what? We’ve taken that on,” Rob insists. “We played Kill ’Em All in its entirety this year. We performed the Black Album in its entirety for the first time last year and that was really fun. We’ve done the same thing with Master Of Puppets. I do get it. I love Ride The Lightning too, it’s one of my favourite albums of all time, but I also love Death Magnetic, you know?”
All that remains now is for Metallica to reconvene in their jam room and start filtering and refining their new ideas with a view to constructing a new sonic landmark that will, whether more cynical fans like it or not, encapsulate the kind of band that Rob and his comrades want to be in 2014 and beyond. Thankfully, it seems that Metallica have already established a set of musical values for the new record that should, on paper at least, delight everyone from thrash diehards to younger fans weaned on the Death Magnetic era.
“For us, it’s got to be about the groove,” says Rob. “That’s something that we all feel. The groove’s imperative. The power of the groove is what makes the music great. Doing something new or different is always important too. At the end of the day we’re making ourselves happy and feeling great about what we’re doing. That is what’s important to us. Hopefully the fans will embrace that too. We take our time to try to do what we need to do, but then we had five children during the last writing and recording cycle. That probably won’t be the case this time! We’re all very excited and we’ll get there. 2014 is definitely about new Metallica music. It’s an exciting time to be in this band!”
Originally published in Metal Hammer issue 249, September 2013
