METALLICA Bassist TRUJILLO: 'There's A Lot Of Challenge In What We Do'

October 9, 2009

Chris Riemenschneider of StarTribune.com recently conducted an interview with METALLICA bassist Robert Trujillo. A few excerpts from the chat follow below.

On the notorious clash of egos between METALLICA's co-founders, singer/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich:

"There are definitely times there's still that tension.

"The key thing is you really gotta let those two head-butt within reason. That's the magic of what happens in the band. There's a certain energy that bounces off the two of them, and you've gotta let that flow and then offer suggestions or butt in when it's really necessary. The difference is nowadays, the band has figured out a way to defuse anything that could potentially be more destructive."

"James Hetfield, to me, is so special in terms of writing riffs and melodies; he's just an amazing musician. Sometimes, if there's a part he's not picking up right off the bat, he gets a little impatient. That's where you get a little nervous. That's where you'll see a chair fly.

"But, to me, that's all about the passion of putting a song together, and that's one of the beautiful things about this band. There's a lot that goes into this. There's a lot of challenge in what we do, it's not the easiest thing learning riffs or trying to develop a part in a METALLICA song."

On how Rick Rubin pushed METALLICA "outside its comfort zone" during "Death Magnetic" recording sessions:

"The other guys might disagree, but I think the fact that someone like Lars Ulrich had to go to Van Nuys, California — which is very industrial and not glamorous, so you have nothing else to do — I think the angst came out of that. It served as a great creative ground."

On regaining lost ground by going back to the thrashier sound of earlier albums:

"[It] feels right for me personally. The direction — in terms of being progressive, and challenging ourselves again — is very exciting. And it seems that our fans have picked up on it. They're excited about the guitar solos again. The guitar solos had taken kind of a breather there for a couple years. They're back with a vengeance. And the riffs are back and in your face again."

On the way the band goes about touring now (since all of the members are dads now, the band generally performs for a week or two, then takes a week or two off):

"It extends the tour cycle a little longer, but it balances things out well. We've been playing tighter than ever. The new songs are great fun to play live, and we're playing a lot of the old stuff, too. It's almost like we're playing a lot of the old, a lot of the new, and just a little bit of everything in between."

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