Here's an inside look on what the Boys really think about certain issues. Click on the name of who you want to hear from. JaymzLarsJasonKirkCliff
Jaymz
"1963, when I was born... and flames have some significance to this side of my body. A reminder that, you know, you are alive, and... stay alive... heh heh." -Jaymz explaining his tatoo in the S&M Special Bouns Video - the tatoo is 4 playing cards: Ace of Spades, 9 of Diamonds, 6 of Hearts, and 3 of Clubs, surrounded by flames, with the words Carpe Diem underneath.
"It's all fun and games 'till someone loses an eye, then it's just fun you can't see."
In reference to recording Load: "I don't want to really give any preconceptions, but, it's more, deep, uh, personal stuff that... I had to kind of go visit some kind of messed up places within where I thought, 'Well I'm all better now, I don't have to write that kind of crap anymore.', but once you're messed up, you know...ha, ha..." - Metallica Star Profile-Audio Documentary CD
"We write for ourselves, and that's it. And when you do write for yourself and there's a hundred percent honesty in the music, people...people really can see that. They can tell if you're writin' songs for, you know, for, uh...say, doing The Black Album over again. Who would be happy with that? Maybe, a small amount of people, but, if we're not happy with it, it's gona' just drag us down. And, it's just that honesty factor shines so brightly...through it all." - Metallica Star Profile-Audio Documentary CD
On "Until It Sleeps": "That song is, I think, extra special, at least to me and I...I'm pretty sure the other three, and Bob, because it was something I think Bob was a little concerned that we don't really jam and create things, like all four of us. Like, Lars and I sit and we construct the songs, you know. But, this was something... We were just loosenin' up before some drum tracks, or somethin'...and, uh, we just started goofin' with something, and he, you know, whispered, 'Hey, push record, man.', and got some stuff on tape. And within a couple days we worked at it, kind of twisted things around, and it came out to be that song, and we built it. And it was so cool. It was like, 'Hey, we can do it guys!'" - Metallica Star Profile-Audio Documentary CD
"But it's the life we choose and it's one of the extremes of it all, you know. You're at home for...six months, relaxing and going insane there and then you're on the road, you know, the exact opposite, just...you know, completely mental every night, just letting all of this energy pour out of you. And that's probably the most difficult, coming down off of the tour or getting geared up for the tour, both of those things. But once you're out there and you...the big wheel is rolling, just crushing all over the place... There's no better feeling, really, when you're on and people can see it, and they feel it. The Black Album kept us out for two years, you know, and there's so many places that opened up for us, you know. Uh...a lot of the Pacific Rim, and then some stuff, you know, even further into Europe, the eastern block, and then even further south there, Greece and Turkey, and things like that. Just...I mean... We wana' play everywhere. Just let us in. We'll scare ya', you know." - Metallica Star Profile-Audio Documentary CD
A few more words on the process of Load:"What can I say about Metallica now, I couldn't say five years ago... mmmm... I think we cherish our freedom a little more and the fact we can do what the fuck we want. We've always said that but there's always been this unwritten law in Metallica, 'you can't do this, you can't cut your hair, you can't do that ...' Now all that's shit, just blown out of the window."
"There's total freedom but there's such a unity in the band now with that freedom. It's so weird. Everything is out in the open; everything is - there's no clouds. I think everyone is very respectful of each other and, err, just glad things are out in the open and we can do basically what we want. I think Jason has starred big time on this record (Load) with his playing and Kirk has surprised me too with his rhythm and chops and things."
"I think we really wanted these songs to be their own entities, have their own characters and I think we did pretty good at that. We tried to give each song its own flavour, even more so than on The Black Album."
"Yeah, there's a lot in the songs. It's inner feelings but this time it's a little different because there weren't really any subject matters I was going for. The way it always was before was I got all these subject matters, I got all these titles, put 'em all together. This time, it's like 'that's so fucking stale. Okay, throw that fucking book away. Let's try something else. Just start writing just whatever comes into your head, just start writing. I might have an idea about where I wanted to go but I just started writing and things came out and turned into stuff and it's like 'whoa, I didn't really want this but I got it, you know."
"I guess a lot of the time I start writing and 'boom' THAT part happens but then you have to start thinking 'well, this part needs help now' and really kind of tweak it and get it happening. I'm never really satisfied with them, ever, you know. You think they could be better always. But it's damn good. This record's damn good. Good stuff."
"When the song is great and you add a lyric that takes it to another level, there's no better feeling. There's a big satisfaction in that. But I don't know, it's a proud kind of feel."
On "Bleeding Me": "It's thick as snot, man. It's full on. It's a great song. It's got it all."
"Heh, heh, heh... The gears are turning again. The fact that new record - it's hard to believe. We struggled; no we didn't struggle. We put a lot of work into it. A lot of fucking time. We shaped, we moulded, we tried so many different things; we push pulled, there were battles internally. No doubt, this was the biggest group effort of all the records from the four of us. But, yeah, the fact it's really done. Coming home from New York after the war ... we were in New York two months, mixing and finishing up vocals and I'm still writing fucking lyrics and shit while I'm mixing the fifth song and it's 'oh, I'd better get going'."
"After being there for so long and not really hearing all the songs together - especially as there's 14 songs, that's the most we've done on a record - so, yeah, on the flight home I just put the DAT on and listened to it, like top to bottom, and it's like 'fuck, it's done man'. I didn't know whether to cry or scream or what. Really, really, a good feeling, a really good feeling."
"When you start overdubbing it gets tighter and you get more anal about things, like it's gotta be exact and 'oh, you're not on the beat' and all that shit: we threw that out the window."
"This time it was more GET IN THERE with your own microphone and start yelling, blast the speakers and we'll go with it. I found myself in the mixes saying, 'hey turn the vocals up'. I never, ever, would have said that before. I guess I'm proud of it or something. I really want people to hear all the songs. Yeah, I do."
"Once you start worrying about what other people are going to do if you do something and if...what if...all these what if's start to... They mess with you inside and you can't be honest with yourself so, it's not a great thing when it happens..." - Metallica Star Profile-Audio Documentary CD
"The first time I played sober was because I just forgot to drink. 'Damn', I thought...'I'm playing better'."
"We do this basically for ourselves. People appreciate it, which is cool, but I think they appreciate that we're doing it for ourselves. We're doing it our way, and how people like it is not up to us. We like it."
"There is something powerful in Metallica, a will, a drive."
When answering the question: Will you ever return to the old Metallica style? "We don't give a fuck. We are playing this song for us. Do you walk backwards? There is one Metallica. We have many styles, it's called METALLICA!"
"I sit there and I go 'Oh God, what am I gonna write?', and all of a sudden, it happens. The first line's down and all hell flows after that."
"Make metal......not love."
"I like playing different cities every night. The worst part of touring for me is playing two nights in the same city. The crew loves it since they don't have to work, but I like moving around. The second night you play in the same arena just doesn't feel right. To be honest, there isn't a whole lot we can drastically change from night to night. I wouldn't see us two nights in a row. That's only for people who are really, really bored." (1992)
"Lars was always nervous on stage, so he'd play faster and faster. Nobody wanted to wimp out and tell him that he was playing too fast. We just figured, 'Hell, we'll just play faster too.'" - Guitar World, August 1992
"Everything that happens, happens for a reason, good or bad. We've got the money to explore our own lives now and do things we wanna do and that comes out in the music as inspiration"
"We don't want any kinda label, we just want to do whatever the fuck we want to do."
"Less jaws drop now, but I still see some and I like that."
"There's a lot of people there just because, 'Ooh play "Enter Sandman".' So we play it first to get the fucking thing out of the way. So they have to sit through the rest of the shit! They gotta hear the old shit. You gotta use it against 'em y'know?"
"We'd record a song that people liked and wanted to hear on the radio, and the radio wouldn't play it because it was too long. Or they wanted to edit it, which we wouldn't allow." - Guitar World, October 1991
"No rules but Metallica rules. Here it is, black sleeve, black logo, fuck you." - Speaking about the look of the Black Album
3 reasons why James said that his Black Sabbath record was important: "First it scared the shit out of me. Second, it crushed the fuck out of all the peace'n'love'n everything's groovy bullshit that was still hanging around in the early seventies. And third, my friends' moms wouldn't let them own it!"
"The fans like the idea that we do what we want. It's not an act. Screw the record company and the beaten path. Without MTV or radio, we still have a huge underground following." (1997)
"I don't remember doing anything else; I don't remember not living in the studio. I'm itching for people to hear this album because I'm sick of hearing it myself." - Guitar World, October 1991
"I remember this guy (Cliff) lit my couch on fire a couple of times."
"Knowing Cliff's attitude, he'd kick our butts if we quit."
"He was a wild, hippie-ish, acid-taking, bell-bottom-wearing guy. He meant business, and you couldn't fuck around with him. I wanted to get that respect that he had. We gave him shit about his bell-bottoms everyday. He didn't care. 'This is what I wear. Fuck you.' He loved music. He was really intellectual but very to the point. He taught me a lot about attitude." (1993)
"People probably thought 'Oh, they're not going to do the heavy lyrics now because of what happened.' Man, those lyrics mean a lot more to me now."
"I'd rather regret doing something than not doing something."
"People were throwing shoes at us in SF and LA. I don't know why. It's like 'You guys are great. Here's my shoe.' People must have been walking around with one shoe."
"We went out drinking one night recently, and on our long ride to this club, we listened to a radio station playing Metallica from A to Z. And it was really wild to hear some of our old material again. When they'd play something like "The Frayed Ends of Sanity" from ...And Justice For All we'd sit there and go, 'Whoa? Where in the fuck did that whole middle section come from? What were we thinking?' There was a lot of urgency to that material, but a lot of it was just wank...just us showing off. But that's where we were at that time." (1998)
"The band? No way! There ain't no band. The band is not 'the band' right now. It's just three guys."-Guitar World, July 1993
"We don't plan concepts. We didn't write "Ride The Lightning" about death, or "Master Of Puppets" about manipulation. That just happens."
"Metallica is the world to me - it always has been, and that's not going to change." - Guitar World, July 1996
"When people start copying your style, you know that something must be happening."
Lars
"It's come a long way, and I think in a bizarre way this is the most we've ever been a band right now." - VH1's Behind The Music, November 1998
In reference to recording Load: "I think James felt more comfortable opening up and letting his inner-most stuff out." - Metallica Star Profile-Audio Documentary CD
"Our music comes from our hearts... And it always has."
"Isn't that the whole integrity of this fuckin' band...to do different shit? We've always tried to avoid following what everyone else is doing. It's a challenge to come up with things that are origional. It's not easy, but that's part of the fun."
"What's the message in Metallica? There is no message, but if there was a message, it really should be look within yourself, don't listen to me, don't listen to James, don't listen to anybody, look within yourself for the answers."
"People can interpret the lyrics any way they want, and we're always careful to say in interviews that we're not trying to tell anybody what to think or how to feel about any particular subject. If there is one thing that we're trying to say, it's 'Be independent, don't listen to anyone - don't listen to US.'"
"To go from one extreme to the other, with no boundaries. That's the best. That's what Metallica is all about."
"What's this all about? It's about music, it's not about anything else, it's not about having the coolest cover, or the coolest title, or about anything. It's just about music..."
"If you sit there and know that rule #1 is just that everything you do is honest and is just a natural and instinctual extenstion of yourself, then there you go."
"We formed this band when we were 18-19, we couldn't play... We were just like, 'Let's get together and play some cover songs, drink some vodka...' A year and a half later we were touring the world, releasing records!"
"Things are so deep and people are always trying to read shit into things that are real simple. Some people try and tell you what the songs are about and it bores me to death." - So What!, 1996
"The lucky thing about us is when James and me start writing and the four of us start playing together we're incapable of doing something that doesn't sound like Metallica. We've been saying for 15 years since we started, 'If you want to ride with us you've got to be prepared for a ride that will take you to a lot of different places'. The true Metallica fans will always know that and will go with us wherever our musical hearts take us. There's always somebody that will say 'Master of Puppets forever' and that's fine but I really do believe that the people who know about where our heads are at and understand what Metallica's about-going in all these different directions-is the main thing about the Metallica experience, and our true fans know that."
"Today we think about him a lot and talk about him, even joke about him. I often think, now much more than ever, how much of a character and personality Cliff actually was. He was just one in five billion people on this earth, and we will never, ever, even be tempted to come up with anyone like him."
"The whole way that me and James write songs together... That was very much shaped when Cliff was in the band, and was very much shaped around Cliff's musical input. The way he really taught us about harmonies and melodies and all that kind of stuff... His vibe is always with us, and he was certainly a big part of the whole way that we got our chops together in the early days, about our attitudes and our musical vibe and our everything."
"We always miss Cliff, but he is kind of on the record (...And Justice For All). The song "To Live Is To Die" is really based on a number of riffs that Cliff wrote a couple of years ago. It's kind of cool to have something written by Cliff on the new album." (1988)
"I know Cliff, more than anyone else in the band, would have been the first guy to give us a kick in the ass, and wouldn't want us to sit around. It's what he would have wanted us to do."
"Metallica is the only band I've ever been in. I'm not sure that when it ends in five, ten years, I'm going to put an ad in the paper saying 'Stupid drummer looking for stupid people to play music with.' Metallica is it and I think when that ceases, that's it."
"We don't sit and write music for the masses. We suck up a lot of what we see out there and then we write it for ourselves. Then a lot of people cling onto it."
"We're just a continuation of the stuff we've been doing for years."
"We've always done things our own way. Sure, we've heard that a group that looked and sounded like ours would never be anything but a cult band. That made us laugh because we didn't care. We never considered how popular we could become or how many albums we could sell. We made the music we liked, and if other people could get into it, then that was great. If they couldn't, we understood. But it is really nice that the new album ("Master of Puppets") has done so well. The record company was saying, 'Hey, give us short songs this time.' We didn't, and the people liked it--that's got to say something." (1986)
"The 'not-giving-a-fuck' meter is as far into the red-zone as ever before." (1996)
"Doing things the way you see it, going by your own heart and soul, that is pure artistic integrity. Whether the hair is six or sixty inches long, the eyes have make-up or not, the riffs are in 'E' or 'F' sharp, the amps are Marshall or not, all those things don't matter if you are doing it for the right reason, which to me means doing it for yourself!"
"I think if people sit down and consider the amount of dedication we put into what we do, we are at the paramount of that scale." - So What!, 1996
"I don't like to be pigeonholded, and i really like that people never really know what's going on with Metallica." - So What!, 1996
"We've always known that there's been a need or a want for a band like us. We've fought back and broken through all the bullshit of the business, and now it's great to be able to say 'Fuck off' to the whole business, and 'We did it our way' and blah blah blah. We've always had our own way of doing things..."
"Sometimes I'll be walking around in a ponytail and beard and walk right by someone with a Metallica T-shirt who doesn't even notice me, which is pretty funny."
"We've been a victim of rigid categories. A lot of the time, people approach Metallica with a bit of caution. Once they see us live or hear our records, they usually come around. But until then, Metallica is one of these bands they hear about and go 'Hmmm...I dunno.' Our music has to be experienced before people make up their minds."
"A couple of years ago, I think we were concerned with trying to prove ourselves as musicians. Everyone was doing these solo trips, drum fills and bass solo runs and guitar things, which were fine for back then. But now it's much more about doing what's best for the song and for the group instead of everyone trying to steal the spotlight..."
"I hope that Metallica will be remembered or looked upon as a band that cut through all the political and business bullshit. So then people will realize that it's possible to control yourself and gain a certain level of popularity without having to cater to anyone else's ideas or thoughts other than your own. If that's all that Metallica will ever stand for, then that's news enough."
Kirk
"I just wish that people would just like go past, you know, what they think Metallica is about, you know...heavy metal, thunder and lightning, Satan...and just listen to the music." - Mtv's Metallica Rocumentary
"I'm not into that whole Satanic thing. It's just something to fall back on if you don't have much imagination. Singing you fiftieth song about having lunch with Satan-I'm not into it. It's silly." - Guitar World, 1988
"There's just a certain dynamic between the four of us that seems to keep the spark alive." - From Mtv's Metallica Rocumentary
"I didn't want to fall into the trap of competing with all these other great guitar players. I just want to sidestep the whole thing and get out of the race." - Guitar World, 1992
"I'm very fortunate to be doing the thing I do best, which is play guitar. There aren't many other things I could do."
"Just because you know umpteen billion scales, it doesn't mean you have to use them all in a solo." - Guitar World, 1988
"We wanted to offer something new to our audience. I hate it when bands stop taking chances." - Guitar World, 1991
"I don't think sucess has changed us as people at all. We are the same lunatics that we were when this band first got going. We never see ourselves as being on a higher level than our fans."
"Basically I just had to say, 'Screw everyone around me-from now on I'm just gonna play what I think is important to me and our music.' So I gave the big finger to all the current trends and technical wizardry, and just went off and did what I felt was best for the songs." - Guitar World, 1992
On the bus accident: "I've never told anyone this, by the way, but...um... Our manager just said, 'Well, why don't we just draw cards?'. We said, 'Sure'. So, we shuffled the cards and said highest card gets first choice of bunks. So, you know, I reach for a card and I pick two of hearts. Cliff reaches for a card, he gets ace of spades. You know... James gets a card. Lars gets a card. So, uh, Cliff gets first choice of bunks. So he says, 'I want your bunk, Kirk.' I go, 'Fine, fine.', you know. So he gets my bunk. I end up with a bunk in the front of the bus, which is like, not as good. And, that night the accident happened, and uh... It was a horrible thing because Cliff was in my former bunk... What happened that night, was that, um... The driver supposedly hit a patch of ice, and the bus skidded. It shattered the windows, and Cliff got thrown out of the bus, and the bus landed on top of him. And, uh...when it actually happened, I got thrown out of my bunk and knocked unconscious for like three or four seconds. And when I came to, I heard everyone screaming, but I didn't hear Cliff, and I instantly knew something was wrong because I didn't hear him. And I got out of the top of the bus, because there's an emergency hatch at the very top of the bus, and I turned around and there was Cliff. And I just said, 'Oh, my God.' And I walked away, and I was just in absolute shock. And uh, I was delirious, I was in shock, I was hysterical. Everyone was screaming and crying..." - Metallica Star Profile-Audio Documentary CD
"To this day, I think about him every day."
"We used to sleep four to a room. I had to share a bed with Lars, he used to take all the blankets. I would never sleep with Cliff, because he had really pointy elbows. Really bony. Actually no one snores much. We drool a lot."
"If we had hung it up, Cliff would've been so pissed off."
"He (Cliff) was always against looking too posey, he was always into just looking natural."
"In Denmark while recording Master Of Puppets, we hung out a lot. We'd go out and play poker for 8 hours straight after being up for 24 hours. We'd find a seafood restaurant that was open, eat raw oysters and drink beer, scream at the natives while we were drunk....that's some of my best memories of him."
"I had seen Cliff in this band called Easy Street when I was like 16 years old at a club called International Cafe in San Francisco... It always stuck out in my mind. This guy with wild, wild red hair flying all over the place and a Rickenbacker and a real distinct bass style, and I thought to myself, 'This guy is fucking wild!'"
"Sold out?! Sure we've sold out. Last tour we sold out almost everywhere we played."
"I would have to say I'm bored with the standard rock, guitar solo, but i've done it for five albums now, and this time i wanted to go in a completely different direction. I wasn't interested in showing off any more." - Guitar World, 1996
"We're the underdogs. We haven't had a Top 10 hit, and we look like a bunch of bums out there. Amidst all this glam and this huge production, we're going to stick out. But that's what we're here for-and that's what put us here is the first place." (1988)
"Both ears, lip, belly button, and nose twice. I'm working my way south."
"The worst thing that can be said about me has already been said; that I'm a total shit crap guitar player. And you know what? On certain nights I have to agree! Hey, we're only human!"
"One thing that constantly pisses me off is what's happening with the environment nowadays. I'm an environmentalist, though I think I probably create more than my share of noise pollution every time we play."
"There was this incident when we were in New York and a friend of mine sent me a whole case full of liquor. So we celebrated its arrival and were there drinking it until four in the morning, then went to visit Jason... He sleeps with earplugs on and didn't hear us knocking, so what we did was call the doorman and said, 'Hey man, our friend's in there choking on his puke! We have to get in there!' We kicked the door in...turned the bed over on Jason, sprayed shaving cream everywhere, threw his money all over and took his blaster... He didn't say anything. It was really funny."
"It's so strange and completely needless that so many people become caught up with the whole idea of selling image rather than accepting people for who and what they really are."
"I would have never imagined that we'd be as popular as we are right now."
"I hate being treated like some kind of icon. That's totally uncomfortable for me. I simply want to be thought of as a musician."
"We're doing this for ourselves. If we write an album, it would be something we'd be satisfied with. We don't come up with something for the kids to like and put our demands on the back burner because our last album was so good we have to make a carbon copy of it. That was the furthest thing from our minds."
"My guitars are my umbilical cord. They're directly wired to my head."
Jason
In reference to joining the band: "I had to really keep a, straight head, professionally. I really had to see, further...you know... I had to, like, look beyond all of these kinds of things, these bumps and these curves, and obstacles..." - VH1's Behind The Music, November 1998
"Everybody always wants to be there for the other three guys. Nobody ever wants to let the other three guys down." - VH1's Behind The Music, November 1998
"James' music is his heart, you know and you don't fuck with it."
"It's getting more comfortable for me to offer up ideas to Metallica. James Hetfield especially is really a genius when it comes to writing. It really amazes me sometimes. He can come up with the heaviest, chunking riffs, and then turn around and do something so pretty it makes you tingle. These guys are all the upper sect of classy musicians."
On ReLoad: "James' thing that he kind of, uh, said through this recording of this record, or since we've been building it really... 'Dare to fail'...you know, you have to keep going. People say, 'So what is the direction of this new album?', or that kind of thing. The direction for Metallica is forward...that's it." - Metallica Star Profile-Audio Documentary CD
"Yes, we sell out... Every seat in the house, every time we play, anywhere we play." - VH1's Behind The Music, November 1998
"James may get angry with Lars with the time he takes on the drums, but if you looked him in the eye and asked him who his best friend is, he'd say Lars."
"I'm still a big Metallica fan. I've gotta' say that Metallica are the hardest working, most dedicated and determined band around. As an outsider I thought so, and now I'm an insider, I think the same thing."
"There was a huge shadow there. I'd always looked up to him so much." (upon replacing Cliff)
"He was a great and very special talent... Cliff's solos were absolutely brillant."
"Cliff had a lot of very loyal fans, including me."
"Metallica is going to be one of those bands you look back on in the year 2008, that people will still listen to in the same way I still listen to Zepplin and Sabbath albums."
"We do whatever we want, more than we could before, and we get away with it. It's really cool."
"We don't have to do any shit we don't want to. If it doesn't come out good, forget it. It has to be unique, something that really represents us."
"It was tough to get used to playing two hours. At Monsters we only did an hour. When you do two hours you can't be slamming the whole time. You've got to pace yourself so you can't be strong the whole time."
"I ended up gettin' a little Gibson amp and bass, because of Gene Simmons of Kiss. Myself and three other kids would pretend to be Kiss-I liked Gene the best."
"I eat two hours before we go on and practice for a half hour. I've been walking out in the crowds. I put on my incognito disguise and check out the scene. It's cool to do that, soak up the vibe of the kids. A few recognized me, so I gave 'em passes."
Cliff
"Control your life through insanity."
"Bach is God."
"We do what we wanna do, if they consider that selling out then WHATEVER."
"We're not trying to be something fancy, it's just us doing what we do and trying to keep it that way."
