Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo has revealed how the “stealth” release of latest track Hardwired took him by surprise.
The lead number from 10th album Hardwired… To Self-Destruct was launched just two days after they’d shot the video that accompanies it.
It was the last song to be completed for the follow-up to 2008’s Death Magnetic, and the band went on to perform it live just five days after they’d played it together in rehearsals for the first time.
Trujillo tells WJRR: “It was a bit stealth. I didn’t know when Hardwired was going to come out officially. It was a surprise to me – that’s how it is sometimes, even with the band members.
“We’d done the video on a Tuesday in a basketball gym around the corner from our studio. I remember sitting in a lounge on the Wednesday asking, ‘When’s this video going to be reelased?’ Usually it would take a few weeks.
“‘Thursday!’ ‘Okay…’ That’s something that wouldn’t have happened even a couple of years ago. You deliver quick – but at the same time, it took as a long time to make this record.
“Things are happening quicker than we’re used to at one end. But the music is strong and it’s been nurtured the right way.”
Trujillo joined Metallica in 2003, but Hardwired… To Self-Destruct is just the second album to feature his contribution. He’s recalled how his life changed almost the moment he joined the band, as he took a call in a restaurant near his home on a Sunday evening.
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“It was like, ‘We’ve got a photo shoot, so you’re going to need to come up here.’ It’s about 6.30 and I said, ‘I’m thinking I’m coming in on Wednesday, right?’ ‘There’s a flight leaving at 8.30 – do you think you could be on it tonight?’”
He reflects: “From the moment I left that restaurant and got on that plane, I didn’t come home for half a year.”
Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich said last month that the band were planning to commence a US tour in January. Asked for more details, Trujillo reports: “With the States, we really want to come in and there’s no experimenting. We want it to be right and solid.
“So we will be touring the States next year. It’s just we’re still developing the production. People are just going to have to be a little bit more patient with us.
“I know it took a while to get the album finished and mixed and mastered. Now we’ve got to get the show right – and it’s all going to be happening.”
Metallica previously confirmed a South American tour to start next month. Hardwired… To Self-Destruct is released on November 18 after the band took final tweaks to the wire.
Metallica's epic journey from Death Magnetic to Hardwired... To Self-Destruct
Metallica 2016 Latin America tour dates
Oct 26: San Juan Coliseo De Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico
Oct 29: Quito Parque Bicentenario, Ecuador
Nov 01: Bogota Hipodromo De Los Andes, Columbia
Nov 03: Guatemala City Estadio Cementos Progreso, Guatemala
Nov 05: San Jose Estadio Nacional, Costa Rica