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METALLICA: Yes, We Are ‘Beliebers’

Manos Spanos
The members of METALLICA were asked in the latest issue of Q magazine if they were "Beliebers" — a.k.a. fans of pop singer Justin Bieber — after Bieber recently claimed that theMETALLICA songs "One" and "Fade To Black" were his "jams." Frontman James Hetfieldreplied, "Are we Beliebers? Yes." while drummer Lars Ulrich offered: "Is it possible to have respect for him without being a Belieber? I think the kid's really talented and obviously to go through what he's going through at that early age must be a mindfuck. So the fact that he still goes out there and does it, I admire that and I think he's super talented, so I guess I am kind of a Belieber. If he likes 'One', and Liam Gallagher likes him, OK, there you go." Bassist Robert Trujillo added: "As long as he stays out of trouble, I'll be a Belieber." A backstage video of Justin Bieber performing an impromptu cover of METALLICA's "Fade To Black" can be seen below. The 15-second clip shows Bieber playing air guitar while he tries to recreate the guitar solo from the classic 1984 METALLICA track with his voice. Bieber is accompanied by his musical director Dan Kanter on guitar. According to NME.com, Bieber previously revealed that he is a big fan of METALLICA, naming"Fade To Black" and 1988's "One" as two of his favorite METALLICA cuts. "Those are my jams," he told GQ last year. METALLICA's manager Peter Mensch, who has certainly seen more than his share of childish behavior, told the U.K. tabloid The Sun earlier this year that he would "take Bieber to the woodshed and spank him." Mensch was asked to comment on Bieber's recent bizarre behavior, who has reportedly seen the 19-year-old pop singer being caught speeding around his neighborhood and getting into altercations with neighbors. The 60-year-old Mensch reportedly told The Sun that he has warned Bieber that his antics would ruin his career. "His manager Scooter Braun is scared shitless," said Mensch. "I don't know what Bieber's problem is. His career is over in three years anyway."
02 min read

METALLICA’s JAMES HETFIELD: ‘Writing Music Is Somewhat Important To Us’

Manos Spanos
The four members of METALLICA spoke to HuffPost Canada about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the long-awaited follow-up to the band's 2008 album, "Death Magnetic", tentatively due in 2015. "Writing music is somewhat important to us," METALLICA frontman James Hetfield said. "We focus. Focus." "That's the plan," added guitarist Kirk Hammett. "We'll start writing the album. We were supposed to start last year [laughs] but there you have it; we'll see how it goes." "We are looking forward to making a record," drummer Lars Ulrich said. "It's not even penciled anymore," said bassist Robert Trujillo. "We're going to have to do this." "Up at HQ in northern California, we've already done, what, two or three dances there," saidUlrich. "We've got a lot of the basic stuff waded through. When we write, we have a very peculiar writing process; we don't sit down and go, 'Okay, A to E to let's come up with something.' Ninety-five percent of our records come from jams — literally pre-concert jams, tuning room jams, all this kind of stuff — so everything we do is always recorded," he explains. "The biggest time consuming element of us making a record is listening to all the stuff that we've recorded. So there's five years worth of stuff. We've listened to about 80 percent of it. We've done two or three dances maybe, collectively six weeks to just listen through the ideas and kind of grade them." "Process of elimination, too, at the same time," Trujillo interjected. Continued Ulrich: "Grade them. Five stars, four stars, three stars, and then we take all the five stars bits and try to make songs out of them." "But during that time we're having a blast, really a lot of fun doing it," added Trujillo, "so if we can continue with that spirit, we're gonna have a good time making this record." Ulrich acknowledged in a new interview with U.K.'s Kerrang! magazine that the band's next studio album is unlikely to arrive before 2015 at the earliest. The drummer explained: "Obviously, there are a lot of people asking where the next record is. We're going to make another record, but like I said before, we don't really feel this kind of… what's the word? I guess 'responsibility' is probably the right word. We don't feel this inherent responsibility to just churn out records whenever people want them. [Adopts a sarcastic voice] 'I'm sorry! Let me slap myself on the wrists and go make a record for you!' We'll get 'round to it again." Asked about a possible release date for METALLICA's next CD, Ulrich replied: "Actually, we know the date… no, we don't! If I was betting on this, I would say 2015 — that's where my money is. So if you think of the actual age of this planet, if it's been 75 billion years since dinosaurs walked the Earth or whatever, then one year is basically a blink of an eye, right?" Ulrich also spoke about METALLICA's mindset going into the songwriting phase for the band's next album. He explained: "The only thing I can tell you is that there seems to be a consensus in the band that [2008's] 'Death Magnetic' was a really good record that we're proud of, that had good legs on it — meaning that it still sounds really rocking five years later. And I can tell you that with most of the previous METALLICA records, I found any faults, I had any issues with them way, way sooner than five years. So the stuff that we've been jamming on is certainly not a million miles removed from where we left off from 'Death Magnetic'. But two years from now, when I sit and talk to you about the new record, it'll probably be a different story from the six-year-old looking for the ice cream shop." According to Lars, there is no shortage of ideas for METALLICA's next CD, with the guys having met up twice in the last six months to cook up some tasty riffs in the studio. "We have more riffs than we know what to do with," Ulrich said. "We talked about setting up a special riff thing, where maybe we could share some of these riffs with others, like an eBaykind of thing for leftover riffs. Some of them are actually quite decent, but we won't be able to use all of them."
04 min read

METALLICA To Perform In Antarctica?

Manos Spanos
According to the Colombian web site of Coca-Cola Zero (the low-calorie variation of Coca-Cola), METALLICA will play a very special concert in Antarctica. The Coca-Cola-sponsored event will take place between December 2 and December 15 and will see the group performing on Earth's southernmost continent, about 98% of which is covered by ice that averages at least 1 mile (1.6 km) in thickness. METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich told a San Francisco radio station in an interview last month that the band has something coming up in December that will surprise fans. Asked what the group had in store for the immediate future, Ulrich explained, "There's a very interesting thing coming our way in December . . . There's another frontier heading in METALLICA's direction in December. Which, if anybody (at the band's management) even knew that I just said what I just said, they would hunt me down and silence me. But there is another frontier coming in December, which we're very excited about." The first rock concert ever performed in Antarctica took place on July 7, 2007 at British Antarctic Survey's (BAS) Rothera Research Station, one in a series of Live Earth concerts that took place on the same day in all seven continents. The science team's indie-rock house bandNUNATAK performed as the lone act. NUNATAK's concert, though performed in front of only 17 people, was broadcast all over the world. Coca-Cola became the first corporation to participate in an expedition to Antarctica. Each year an international group of Coca-Cola employees and bottlers join the expedition and embark on a journey of inspirational leadership and teamwork. Over the years the Coca-Cola employees have supported the design and building of the worl's first education station in Antarctica, The E-Base.
02 min read

TESTAMENT Guitarist: I Don’t Hear The Metal In METALLICA As Much As I Would Like To Hear

Manos Spanos
The Great Southern Brainfart recently conducted an interview with guitarist Eric Peterson of San Francisco Bay Area metallers TESTAMENT. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below. The Great Southern Brainfart: I have to congratulate you on "Dark Roots Of Earth". What a fucking masterpiece. You guys clearly aren't out of ideas but you have captured this kind of youthful. Where did that come from? Eric: For me, that second wind all started with [1999's] "The Gathering". It's been so long between records but "The Gathering" was the fire for me. It was fast stuff mixed with modern sounds. Definitely with [2008's] "The Formation Of Damnation", we came back strong and with the original lineup and "Dark Roots Of Earth" as well, I feel, was really strong. I think, in a way, we've come full circle with our sound and going back to our roots but not copying it. I also feel like technology has gotten so much better, you know? It's easier to record now and things like Pro Tools have made things a bit more simpler. The Great Southern Brainfart: TESTAMENT seems to have really found a good place to be musically and, as you said earlier, have come full circle. Is this a place where you're happy and how do you see TESTAMENT progressing from here? Eric: Well, we know what we want now. When we were younger, we just kind of went into the studio and let the producer get the sounds and we just played the songs. Of course, we gave our opinions but I don't think we knew then what we wanted as much as we do now. Now we know exactly what we want. Chuck [Billy; vocals] knows exactly how he wants to sound and I know how I want to sound. I know what I want the drums to do and everything. The Great Southern Brainfart: TESTAMENT has 25 years behind them now. Is it weird to look at yourself and say, "I'm a classic metal act now"? Eric: [laughs] Yeah, definitely. We both think that, don't we? [laughs] I think it's weird that time flies. When we were kids, we looked up to JUDAS PRIEST and BLACK SABBATH and those guys who are older, seasoned rock guys. Well, that's us now. [laughs] The Great Southern Brainfart: Looking back on TESTAMENT's 26-year career, is there anything you look back on and think, "I wish we would've done that differently"? Eric: Yeah, definitely. I think the production and some of the mixing on our past albums. I also wouldn't have rushed out "Souls Of Black" like we did. That album could've been something different. It is a classic record now, but it was just thrown together so quickly. The Great Southern Brainfart: You've said before that seeing METALLICA for the first time was what really drove you to put TESTAMENT (back then LEGACY) together and start doing this kind of music. What is your opinion on METALLICA's change in approach and sound over the years?
04 min read

JUSTIN BIEBER Sings METALLICA’s ‘Fade To Black’ (Video)

Manos Spanos
A backstage video of Justin Bieber performing an impromptu cover of METALLICA's "Fade To Black" can be seen below. The 15-second clip shows Bieber playing air guitar while he tries to recreate the guitar solo from the classic 1984 METALLICA track with his voice. Bieber is accompanied by his musical director Dan Kanter on guitar. According to NME.com, Bieber previously revealed that he is a big fan of METALLICA, naming"Fade To Black" and 1988's "One" as two of his favorite METALLICA cuts. "Those are my jams," he told GQ last year. METALLICA's manager Peter Mensch, who has certainly seen more than his share of childish behavior, told the U.K. tabloid The Sun earlier this year that he would "take Bieber to the woodshed and spank him." Mensch was asked to comment on Bieber's recent bizarre behavior, who has reportedly seen the 19-year-old pop singer being caught speeding around his neighborhood and getting into altercations with neighbors. The 60-year-old Mensch reportedly told The Sun that he has warned Bieber that his antics would ruin his career. "His manager Scooter Braun is scared shitless," said Mensch. "I don't know what Bieber's problem is. His career is over in three years anyway."
01 min read

METALLICA’s LARS ULRICH Wants To Tour With U2 And GREEN DAY

Manos Spanos
METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich has revealed that there has been talk about his band touring with fellow rock giants U2 and GREEN DAY. In an interview with MTV News, Ulrich said: "U2 came to San Francisco two summers ago and we ended up having a lot to drink with them and GREEN DAY following a dinner. "I was told in the wee morning hours following this outing that members of U2, GREEN DAY andMETALLICA agreed to tour together. We haven't talked about it since, but speaking for myself, I'd be very up for that." In a 2010 interview with Australia's Faster Louder, Ulrich referred to himself as "the hugestU2 fan — I would borderline call myself a groupie, actually," he said. He added: "Playing withU2… I would fucking play on the parking lot. They're one of the only other bands that are still functioning after 30 years, just like we are, and I feel a lot of kinship in what they do and I just really admire and appreciate… They're really inspiring to me. I love their music, I love their way of reinventing themselves, and I love their way or thinking big and small. And it sort of works on all levels."
01 min read

METALLICA’s JAMES HETFIELD: ‘We Want To Make A Record’

Manos Spanos
METALLICA frontman James Hetfield recently spoke to The Detroit News about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the follow-up to the band's 2008 album "Death Magnetic". "We have been pushing that further and further away," Hetfield said. "We want to make a record, that's what we do best and that’s what we've gotta do in springtime. We've got skeleton bones that we're starting to lay out to make something out of it, but there's a lot of work ahead of us that we're really excited about doing. And that will be next year." Hetfield was also asked if the group planned to stage a third installment of its Orion Music + More festival in Detroit next year, after bringing the show's second edition there last June. The guitarist/vocalist replied: "I sure hope so, that is the plan. The festival itself is not 100 percent greenlit yet. There’s gotta be a powwow where all of us get together and make sure we’re on the same page." This year's Orion two-day event drew at least 20,000 people a day to see METALLICA, RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, DEFTONES, SILVERSUN PICKUPS, RISE AGAINST and more. METALLICA surprised fans at Orion Music + More on June 8 by playing its 1983 debut disc "Kill 'Em All" from beginning to end on a smaller stage at the event. METALLICA was officially announced to play a headlining set on June 9 to close out the festival, but hit the stage at 4:30 p.m. one day earlier for a 10-song set that started with "Hit The Lights" and finished out with "Metal Militia".
02 min read

METALLICA’s LARS ULRICH: ‘I Love SPOTIFY’

Manos Spanos
During a brand new interview with NME TV, METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich was asked if he thinks the streaming service Spotify is the future of music. "I don't know if it's the only future; I don't see things that 'black and white' in my life," Ulrichreplied (see video below). "But certainly it's been a great experience. And I love Daniel Ek[Spotify CEO and founder]; he's just a great man. You can tell a lot about a company and the experience by the people; that's my belief. And Danny, he's a great man and he has a great soul. And I love Spotify. Now whether… we'll talk about this ten years from now, whether it's the future or not. I don't know if it's limited to a 'yes' or 'no,' but it certainly is working right now." Last December, METALLICA made all nine of its studio albums, as well as various live material, singles, remixes and collaborations, available on Spotify. The move was significant becauseSean Parker, who co-founded Napster, now sits on the board of Spotify. METALLICA waged a battle with Napster more than a decade ago over the illegal sharing of the band's music, which resulted in both legal action and a battered public image for the band. At the press conference in New York announcing the Spotify deal on December 6, 2012 Parkerand Ulrich appeared together and seemingly buried the hatchet. Ulrich said, "When [Parker] and I saw each other a few months ago. We could see that we had been put down as adversaries. We realize we had much more in common and sitting down was long overdue . . . We were younger, maybe somewhat more ignorant. We sat down and had a heart to heart." In a statement at its web site, METALLICA said, "We are extremely proud to be a part ofSpotify, who not only has a proven track record, but is by far the best streaming service." METALLICA is now able to make these deals directly since, as of last year, the band has complete control over the master tapes of all its audio and video recordings. The band has also launched its own label, Blackened
02 min read