For years, I’ve maintained that one of the best “rock documentaries” is Metallica: Some Kind of Monster. It was filmed over twenty years ago, when the band was at one of their lowest points and James Hetfield had to go to rehab in the middle of recording their album. The band (and the label) brought in a therapist to help them get through the rough period. It’s a great rock documentary because it shows the band as massively dysfunctional, with Hetfield particularly unwilling to open up or deal head-on with the band’s many problems. Even back then, Hetfield treated the band as more of a 9-to-5 which he could skip whenever he wanted to for personal reasons. Well, Metallica is still together and they’ve got a Las Vegas residency at the Sphere. Over the weekend, Hetfield spoke about what fans should NOT expect from their Vegas residency: politics.
James Hetfield told fans during Metallica’s Las Vegas Sphere residency over the weekend that the band does not use its concerts to push political messages.
“Unless you live in Vegas, you’ve come a long way to spend some time with Metallica,” Hetfield said during the Bay Area band’s Saturday, Oct. 10, concert. “We’re grateful for that — your travels, the money you spend, the time it took. Thanks for coming to celebrate with us.”
Then he drew a line between Metallica and performers who use the stage to promote political causes.
“I just gotta say, Metallica is not here, like some other entertainers, to influence you with their bulls—, OK?” he said, drawing cheers from the crowd. “We are here … no bulls— … we’re here to forget about all the outside s—, OK?”
“Metallica’s agenda is love, energy and heavy music, baby!”
Hetfield has spent years saying he would rather leave politics outside the concert hall. In a 2017 interview with the Chilean newspaper La Tercera, he declined to discuss his political views, including his opinion of President Donald Trump.
“I keep (my opinions) to myself,” Hetfield said at the time. “I’m an artist, a singer who plays guitar in a band.”
“I hate politics,” he added. “I don’t want to talk about politics, it separates people, and I want to connect them through music.”
[From The San Francisco Chronicle]
Put on your thinking caps, people! It’s it MORE punk rock to simply forgo “politics” as a white man? Isn’t it METAL AF to just shut up and never use your privilege to speak out on anything? Michael Jordan famously said that “Republicans buy shoes too.” I guess James Hetfield figures that MAGA buys Metallica tickets. Come on, let’s fight THE MAN while also never saying the man’s name or specifying why we’re fighting him. You know what? Maybe we should let the Man operate in peace, he seems like a smart businessman! Let’s write some trash metal about how corporations are people!
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
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- Celebrities outside the ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ studios Featuring: James Hetfield, Metallica Where: Los Angeles, California, United States When: 10 Apr 2023 Credit: BauerGriffin/INSTARimages
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- Metallica performs during a special tribute concert to Jon and Marsha Zazula of Megaforce Records performing music from Kill ‘Em All and Ride the Lightning at Hard Rock Live held at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on November 6, 2022 in Hollywood, Florida Featuring: James Hetfield Where: Hollywood, Florida, United States When: 06 Nov 2022 Credit: Robert Bell/INSTARimages.com/Cover Images
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- Metallica performs during a special tribute concert to Jon and Marsha Zazula of Megaforce Records performing music from Kill ‘Em All and Ride the Lightning at Hard Rock Live held at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on November 6, 2022 in Hollywood, Florida Featuring: James Hetfield Where: Hollywood, Florida, United States When: 06 Nov 2022 Credit: Robert Bell/INSTARimages.com/Cover Images
Super dissapointed. White male privilege all around him.
I’ve never once gone to a concert to hear about politics.
Nah punk is very political. Metallica is metal.
Look, I get the desired escapism some musicians go for, but metallicas back catalogue is full of heavily political lyrics and themes. Creeping death, one, the unforgiven, hero of the day, just to name a few.
Disappointed, but not surprised. James is a really nice guy, but he’s always sucked at reading a room.
Right?! Tell me King Nothing wasn’t political. FFS.
I live in Vegas and want to go see them at the Sphere but tickets are astronomical! I agree, King Nothing, And Justice For All (hello? an entire album), the Breadfan remake… disappointed that he made the statement. Still a fan, though. Their music got me through some horrible times in my life (2 different family member’s suicides – Fade to Black)
Planet earth is in the middle of a literal dumpster fire and these millionaire entertainers like Metallica and Sheeran only care about how much more money they can accumulate…. Went to a Metallica concert about ten years ago and it was the most lifeless, empty performance. They were just phoning it in, clearly hated having to be there, the opening act was a just a washed up former SNL comedian from the 1990s doing really lame attempts at jokes. That kind of signaled to me the audience they were looking for and the politics they catered to, and I completely lost interest in their music after that experience.
I feel like Metallica is one of those bands everyone feels some connection to -at least in a certain age range -but let’s be realistic about who the biggest consumers of their albums has historically been. They have an audience to not offend.
Meanwhile, U2 dropped a surprise EP of protest songs last February. It’s some of their best music in years. Listen to “American Obituary”, about the siege of Minneapolis, and the ICE killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Some bands are not afraid to use their platform when the times demand it.
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/u2-days-of-ash-ep-six-new-songs-1235518020/
Links to lyric videos are in this article. Read the quote about Ed Sheeran’s involvement. It’s taken on a new dimension after what’s happened on his US tour.
Bands like U2, REM, Green Day always stand up. And they are global superstars who sell out arenas (well not REM because they broke up but in their heyday). So yeah you can be political and super rich.
Love these. Let’s please add Shinedown. Maybe not as explicitly political but some of there songs definitely give the vibe. Way better vocalist than James here.
We went to the Power to the People festival last week in Columbia MD. Foo Fighters, Springsteen, Cypress Hill, Public Enemy, Tom Morello, Joan Baez, Dave Matthews, and so many more I can’t even remember at this point, lol.
All artists who are not afraid to use their voices for change and to “be political.:”
Huge Shinedown fan, I know they were booked for the MAGA music festival, but they did pull out when it became clear it wasn’t quite what they signed up for (I Believe firmly it was a 3-1 decision, looking at your Barry). Songs like Devour dating way back for example, more recent ones like America Burning. They’re not blatantly political and try to ride the middle for better or worse with their statements, but they’re a good band (and Brent Smith outstrips many vocalists, hard rock and others, with his vocal talent).
For some proudly political bands, check out REM, Dropkick Murphys, Rage Against The Machine, Green Day, System of a Down, Ministry, Rise Against…
@Becks1 – Springsteen is the real one. OMG coming out in Reagan era America with Born in the USA slamming the treatment of veterans and voicing working class America, becoming one of the best selling artists of all time with a message that still resonates.
Yea…once Cliff passed…it’s pretty much been a bigger no with each album & AFTER they went after Napster?
I canceled them permanently…and YES…their documentary is one of the BEST I’ve EVA seen to…watch that one and the “Pump” documentary about Aerosmith…and you’ll TRULY start disliking BOTH bands from a human standpoint 😱
@Kaiser I really appreciate the analysis in this piece. You might have changed my mind on his stance. I am not American so I can’t imagine what you’re going through on the frontlines. I send love to my neighbors who are righteous in their desire for justice.
Metallica needs to apologize to the creator of Napster. They had no issue using politicians to bring Napster down.
“Metallica’s agenda is love, energy and heavy music, baby!”
That sounds pretty political to me since 1 political party in the US and many other countries are outlawing or worse a whole group of its citizens for who they love and who they are. That same political party also wants to control people’s lifestyle and behavior (unless you are an old white republican man, of course), pretty sure heavy music is the kind of music that they’d disapprove of.
Well how nice for them.
Whatever.
In a world of James Hetfields, be Tom Morello.
THIS
I don’t know, Tom Morello just announced that he couldn’t get himself to vote for Kamala so nah, he’s off the “good guys” list too.
I have my feelings towards people, particularly privileged whites ones, who say this and that’s no secret. But something that irritates me even more is the need to publicly proclaim that you hate politics and don’t want to talk about it. So then just don’t talk about it. The need to proclaim this publicly feels dare I say political. Like just walk the walk and don’t talk politics then, show don’t tell, dont keep telling and telling and reminding us that you don’t talk politics.
Good for him to be lucky enough to make that call.
The rest of us live in the real world where politics affect everything we do.
I totally agree on the documentary, I saw it a few years back and it was absolutely fascinating.
White rich Boomers gonna Boom.
Metallica does not discuss politics because the members of Metallica have very different political beliefs from one another. Many, many years ago – like back in the 1990s, Hetfield was a Republican. I doubt he has changed his views on that but that doesn’t necessarily mean he supports Trump. Lars Ulrich is very liberal. Political debate would probably rip the band apart. They did demand that Trump not play their music during his 2016 campaign.
Way to shit on the entire original Metallica catalogue, which was all about resistance to conformity and complacency. OK boomer.
Fuc* this old white rich guy.
Plenty of old white rich guys will speak out, thanks Bruce
Thanks Tommy Lee
Extremely tone-deaf and embarrassing during these times. Everything is political, and ‘wanting to say’ who you support, tells everyone exactly WHO and what you support. Such a shame.
Oh, so Master of Puppets never happened. 😂😂😂 What a tool. You know he’s maga and won’t admit it.