Metallica are worried about the future of rock music after they’ve gone, they’ve revealed.
The band discussed their concerns in a question-and-answer session with fans on Sirius XM as they continue to promote upcoming album Hardwired… To Self-Destruct.
Despite name-checking several rising-star acts, they expressed fears over what will happen to the heavy music genre in the future.
Frontman James Hetfield said he hadn’t heard much inspirational material recently, saying, “Where’s the syncopation? Where’s the heart? I get mad.
Hopefully somebody will be like me and just come up with something, and be the next cool different thing. Someone’s got to get pissed off enough to write something different.”
Drummer Lars Ulrich recommended Savages, saying, “Talk about pissed off – they’re insane. They’re this punky, super-dark, Siouxsie And The Banshees dark, weird Euro punk. They’re a little different.”
Guitarist Kirk Hammett said, “I saw a video for a band that really impressed me. Their name is kind of difficult – you pronounce it ‘Horror’ but it’s H09909.” But he went on, “Where’s the new generation of arena bands? Can anyone answer that?”
Bassist Robert Trujillo reported that he’d discussed the future with Black Sabbath counterpart Geezer Butler, saying, “I ran into him on a flight from London and he was like, ‘Who’s going to carry the torch? When Metallica’s done and we’re done, who will it be?’ I was like, ‘Let me think about that.’”
In other Metallica news, the band has revealed that the song, Murder One, from Hardwired…To Self Destruct, is about Motorhead frontman, Lemmy Kilimister, who passed away on December 28th, 2015.
Hatfield says, “Motorhead had a lot to do with Metallica sitting here right now. But just Lemmy, as kind of a father-figure, he helped us a lot. He was unafraid. He was a character. He was himself. He did his own thing to the last breath. No matter who you are, how could you not be inspired by that?”
Hardwired… To Self-Destruct is scheduled for release on November 18th.
source: Metal Hammer via teamrock.com
21 Responses
At this point there are no other bands even on the same trajectory as the older bands in the rock/metal world. It’s all EDM and dance/pop/rap/DJ or bro country.
The newer bands like Rival Sons, or Ghost or whomever, will never have the audience Metallica, Sabbath, Rush, Bon Jovi (the old rock version), Rolling Stones, Van Halen, Kiss or U2 had.
Where are the guitar heroes? Maybe the selfie generation is too busy snapchatting to pay attention or care. It’s just not valued on the same level it once was.
Have to agree here, but will keep the faith. Seeing Ghost in Portland on 10/16. What future there is of heavy rock, bands like them will write the songs.
Yeah, I hope to see them in Seattle on the 14th, if I can get off of work. I’m thankful for the songs they write, so don’t get me wrong, there’s great bands out there, just on a smaller scale.
Aerosmith not to be forgotten, of course.
Ghost is great. No Ghost is absolutely unreal. If you have to lose your job to see them let’s just say there’s other jobs. I don’t care if another rock band ever comes out. As long as Ghost keeps releasing music I’m happy because there will never be another band like them period.
Onto Metallica, what one has to remember that back in the 80’s there bands ‘making it’ that had no business making it. It was a decade of pure unadulterated ‘take the bad with the good’ and there was more bad than good. So people want the good old days again now that we’ve had 20 years of reality. This could be said for the 90’s as well to a point. So the 80’s screws things up for us when talking about all those great bands. In retrospect there were maybe 20 bands that really deserved the success they had.
Rock will be dead when Doug R isn’t around anymore. So I think we’re in good hands for awhile with Doug R and Ghost. Horns up Mother F–kers.
“LONG LIVE ROCK,” be it dead or alive!
Same goes for my other brother from another mother, DR, rock on bro!
I think there are a lot of great newer rock and metal bands out there today playing great music (Ghost, Spellcaster, Holy Grail, Hatchet…to name a few). I believe the internet and social media crippled the music business, and that has tempered the next big arena act. With people illegally downloading music or listening to Spotify, bands aren’t getting their money. As a result, bands tour more often to make their money When bands tour more often, fans get less interested to attend the shows. It’s no longer a special event when bands tour since they come around frequently. That’s not a way to draw attendance to an arena.
I also think internet and social media crippled the rock star IMAGE. Fans have immediate access to bands, and the bands frequently reply to the fans. Interviews and news about our favorite bands are available all over the internet. Prior to the internet and social media, fans had to rely on the music fanzines to hear news abut their favorite bands. The mystique, magic, and heroism of bands is now lost due fans’ access to them. I think the demise of the rock star IMAGE is another reason for the concern of the future of rock music.
But I think its simply perception. New rock music is alive and well. It’s just times are different today than before the internet and social media.
Well said Rattlehead. I agree there’s still many great acts out there and growing. Just not by the template we”ve know, nor with the focus on one genre by a band and fans along with the allure of being on stage being gone.
Lars said a few years back during the release of DM that the mysticism surrounding new releases was long gone. Neil said it best, ” All the World’s indeed a stage and we are merely players.” I guess were in that time and never going back to the way it used to be. We should all thank Thomas Edison for all this change. Who knew it’d be called Youtube. Hahahaa
Totally 100 % agree that the internet, social media and even television have ruined the mystique. There was Gene Simmons Family Jewels, The Osborn’s and Jack and Ozzy’s World Detour for example. I remember when I would buy Metal Edge and Circus magazines to get the latest. Especially the Kiss special issues. And the best thing about those magazines were they always left you wanting more. Those were great days. Although it’s nice to have immediate access to our favorite artists nowadays, I still miss and prefer the old days. Midnight record store sales, the mystique, all of it is long gone.
You can apply the old adage here: if you have to ask the question, you already know the answer. So, for effect, let me answer the question. There are no new arena acts to hand the torch off to. None are able to carry the flame.
People mention Rival sons. Let’s be frank. How many others bands are going to redo Led Zep? Kingdom Come tried it, and it didn’t work. They were talented with a great singer too. Rival Sons has a cool vibe, but no soul. That’s why you forget about them two minutes after the song is over.
Music and entertainment is changing. The kids of today have lowered their standards, and truthfully don’t know quality music, regardless of genre, when they hear it. The kids of today pay to go see singers lip sink while dancing, sing karaoke, mad to watch DJs press buttons on their laptops.
Not many kids willing to put in the 10,000 hours in to learn the guitar these days.
Heaven help us.
Kingdom Come was a great band. I think they got a bum rap. We’re far enough removed from Zeppelin as an actual band that artists like Rival Sons don’t seem like quite the copy.
There are lots of kids learning guitar though. Take a meander through youtube and you’ll find 12 year old virtuosos on the guitar and drums all over the place. Everyone want’s to be a Youtube star. Nobody want’s to play in bands or put the effort in. For what? Dreams of being a rock star are dead because nobody buys albums. Spotify and youtube for cheap or free music force artists to tour relentlessly to make the payment on their 2010 Nissan whatever.
The internet was supposed to usher in the new era of awesome music and artists. They are out there, but it’s so much more splintered and small peanuts compared to the mega rock gods of yore. Valhalla, I am coming.
RS opened for Sabbath here a couple of weeks ago, and while they’re obviously talented I was underwhelmed. It’s just too deriviative of the music I grew up listening to in the 1970s.
Society being more “democratic” killed a lot of the piss and vinegar that drove the hard rock we grew up with. Think of how many bands were born in the image of the rebellious kid vs. the authoritarian schoolteacher – and when was the last time a new band put out a video on that theme?
The band full of anger and rebellion seems an image from another time, like Oliver Twist begging for more soup in an English Poor House.
I agree with you Mark E. RS, Redfang, Black Tusk, Kying and many others, while good and all with some cool hooks, it’s just stoner sludge rock that has little staying power or is even memorable. More of the same chords/riffs we grew up on that originated with Sabbath, RUSH, Zepp, Kiss and Metallica. etc.. They take one riff a ride it into the fukn’ ground. Glad we have it in our musical lexicon but it’s just filler.
“It’s The End Of The World As We Know It…(And I Feel Fine)” 😉
“Future In The Past” – Chickenfoot, that says it all. Cheers! 🙂
R.E.M. Bro?
I think its great to read the love for Ghost here on these threads. I see them again (for the 3rd time) in about three weeks here in California. While they may not be metal, they are a great rock band. To me, they are today what KISS did in the 70’s. They keep some mystique going with their masks, imagery, and gimmick. Their songs are long enough and simple, with catchy hooks. And I think their mystique and desire to remain anonymous has helped them build their success and rise towards the new breed of “rock stars”. Hail, Ghost!!
What can I say? I’m all over the map! 😉