(antiMusic) "If we start writing songs for our fans, something's gone wrong," Metallica frontman James Hetfield told MTV News. We could leave it at that and join a lot in the mainstream media (CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, Fox, etc, etc)in the practice of lifting quotes way out of context to further some kind of agenda, but he was saying that in a certain context. That line was proceeded by "The last thing I want is someone to think, 'Oh, they had to go back to Puppets because that was the best album, and they're doing it because we want it.'" And he took it further, "The fans may think they know best, but hey, I'm the armchair quarterback when I'm watching my team too. At the end of the day, we have to write it because we love it and it's coming from our heart. That's why people connect with it. If you start doing it for the fans, you've lost the plot."
But is the band really going back to the classic Puppets sound on the new album as Lars has said? Going by what James says in this interview, the answer is yes and it sounds like it was producer Rick Rubin who helped them return to their metal roots after spending years being led down a softer path by Bob Rock.
"[Rubin's] mission statement was to get to the essence of Metallica," Hetfield said. "He told us, 'Think back to Master Of Puppets — what were you doing? What were you thinking? What were your influences? What bothered you? What was around you? Where did that hunger come from?' And that was a little bit of homework for us that was a little impossible to get to. You could dress up like you're in 1986, [but] you just can't be there again. We've been through so much — you can't erase the learning we'd done. What made sense to us was the hunger, the quest to impress. [Rubin] said, 'You're going to write a set list. Your next album is a set list of your best songs, and you're going to try and go get signed, do a showcase and impress people.' And that was a great mission statement for us."
But will it really be old school Metallica? We will find out September 12th when the album hits stores. We just hope Lars got a real snare for this album, that Teflon one on the last album just didn't cut it.
