Posted by Livestrong on 18.04.2008 at16:23:
Interview with Kirk in the British Metal Hammer Part 1
I couldn't find any copy online so far, so I decided to type it for you my friends
Did it all start to go wrong for Metallica on June 3, 2003? The date when the band released their eight, and most fateful album, St. Anger, to a mixed response - probably the politest way of putting things.
Desoite topping charts across the globe - and the title track getting a grammy in 2004 - the general belief was that this was a band in crisis.
Just how much things had gone off the rails became obvious with the arrival of the tell-all documentary Some Kind Of Monster in 2004.
Here was a band barely holding itself together, and seemingly subservient to therapists, rehab and tennis-playing fathers.
But, at least on tour - with new bassist Robert Trujillo a more than welcome addition - Metallica were still a magnificent spectacle. Yet, by the time they arrived at the Carling Weekend Festival in August 2003, their set featured just two songs from St. Anger. Even the band seemed to have accepted they'd made a major mistake, something James Hetfield partially acknowledged in September 2004, when admitting the songs on the album should have been shorter.
By the end of that year, the band were already thinking of the next album, with Robert Trujillo announcing they had about 50 hours' worth of music ready, and hoped to start recording in february 2005. Well, he was only two years out!
Taking their time, it wasn't until Fbruary 2006 that it was confirmed Rick Rubin would produce the new record, thereby ending a 15-year association with Bob Rock. Talking about the choice of Rick, Lars _Ulrich said at the time: We want to work with the guy who's got the total finger on the pulse.
Mind you, the producer himself told MTV in late 2006 that, at first, he had reservsations. "I saw the documentary SKOM, and it made me really nervous", he admitted. "Then we started working, and it's the opposite direction of that. They're really productive, really communicative - it seems like they really like beeing in the room together. They say they're more excited than they have been in a long time about making music. I asked them not to re-invent themselves so much as to make a defining album, like the purest of what Metallica is.
In June 2006, the band hit the road again in Europe, debuting new track The New Song at various festivals, including Download on June 9.
They also celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Master of Puppets album by playing this in its entirety - even allwong Robert to perform the bass-oriented instrumental Orion, so associated with the late Cliff Burton.
On March 12 last year, Metallica had narrowed down their choice of songs from 25 to 14 and were in LA, getting into the groove at Sound City Studios - the first time they'd left the Bay Area to do a record since the Black Album.
By this time, Lars had explained that Bob Rock had given his backing to the change of producer: the latter himself added: "I think we're both happy to be taking some time from each other."
Of course, Metallica are incapable of doing an album without taking lenghty touring breaks - something they've been used to since headlining the Monsters of Rock Festival at Donington in 1995. So, it was no surprise when they did another extensive run of shows, even introducing another new tune - The Other New Song - in Spain.
Towards the end of last summer, the band were suggesting a February 2008 realease for the as-yet untitled album, and some working song titles had emerged:
19,10, German Soup, Glass Cow, Black Squirrel, One Minute Closer To Death (Than You Were A Minute Ago) and We Put The Riff In Riff Raff.
Don't expect any of these to turn up on the final tracklisting: Metallica typically come up with daft titles when pressed by the media, even if one or two have a certain logic. Glass Cow, for instance, was chosen because the song was written in... Glasgow!
However, things have now been pushed back, with a release date in September beeing likely, just after another major European tour. And the sound of the album? Kirk Hammet says it’s somewhere between …And Justice For All and the Black Album. Steve Wiig, Lars’s assistance, claims it has some fast stuff, some heavy stuff, and is not a re-invention so much as the band getting back to what they do best.
As of Lars, he appeared on Bruce Dickinson’s 6Music Radio show a few weeks ago and suggested: “I like what I’ve heard so far…and I’m one of Metallica’s harshest critics. So far it feels pretty good, but there’s still plenty of time to bollocks it up!
The rest of the world will find it out in a few months. Latest word on the street is still ‘it’ll be ready when it’s ready.’ With the world on the edge of its seat, Alan di Perna chatted with Kirk Hammet about life after Bob Rock, the new album, and, most importantly, wether the solos are making a comeback.