JAMES HETFIELD On How METALLICA Ended Up Inventing A Subgenre Of Heavy Metal: 'It Was Just How It Worked Out'

In a new interview with "The Project", an Australian news-current affairs and talk show television panel program, airing weeknights across Australia on Network 10, METALLICA frontman James Hetfield was asked how it feels to be credited — along with bands like SLAYER, MEGADETH and ANTHRAX — with inventing a whole new subgenre of heavy metal music. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I'd love to take credit for it, but it was just how it worked out. We were playing music that we wanted to hear. [It's] as simple as that. People don't understand how important things are in the moment, when you're doing them, until later on, which is great. 'Cause if we thought it was that important, we would have screwed it up, probably. [Laughs]"

James also talked about the ongoing "rock is dead" debate and why he thinks heavy metal has survived through all the different changes in the musical climate over the course of the last few decades. He said: "Gosh, [heavy metal is] a misfit music. It's an underground feeling still. It's like a rebel music. It's a thing you need to fight for. Every decade, [they say] 'rock is dead'. That is fuel for a hard rock band. Absolutely."

Hetfield is currently promoting METALLICA's latest album, "72 Seasons", which was released on Friday (April 14) via METALLICA's own Blackened Recordings. Produced by Greg Fidelman with Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, it is METALLICA's first full-length collection of new material since 2016's "Hardwired…To Self-Destruct".

In the seven years since the arrival of "Hardwired… To Self-Destruct", METALLICA has reissued some of its classic albums, released a second live album with the San Francisco Symphony, commissioned a covers album featuring the likes of GHOST, VOLBEAT, WEEZER, Corey Taylor and THE HU, and landed on the Billboard songs chart with "Master Of Puppets" after a prominent placement in the hit Netflix show "Stranger Things".

METALLICA's "M72" world tour will feature two-night stops in nearly two dozen cities. Presented worldwide by Liquid Death and Blackened American Whiskey (in North America only) and promoted by Live Nation, the 46-show trek will launch in Amsterdam on April 27 and will include shows all over Europe and North America through 2024. Each "No Repeat Weekend" on "M72" will feature two completely different setlists and support lineups. The "M72" tour will feature a bold new in-the-round stage design that relocates the famed METALLICA Snake Pit to center stage, as well as the "I Disappear" full-tour pass and the debut of discounted tickets for fans under 16 years of age. Opening acts for the tour include PANTERA, MAMMOTH WVH, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, ICE NINE KILLS, ARCHITECTS, VOLBEAT and GRETA VAN FLEET.