Heavy-metal Metallica: 'We don't cause trouble'
Heavy-metal Metallica: 'We don't cause trouble'
By Johannes Simbolon
JAKARTA (JP): Two members of the heavy-metal group Metallica
-- guitarist-vocalist James Hetfield and bassist Jason Newsted --
arrived here last week to promote their new album Load, which is
due to be released worldwide next month.
This was their second visit, after a first in 1993. But at a
press conference last week for the new album, the press seemed
more interested in discussing their April 1993 concert, held at
the Lebak Bulus stadium in South Jakarta. The show ended in a
riot in which 13 were seriously wounded and another 38 slightly
injured.
During the press conference at Planet Hollywood, the Metallica
band members flatly refused to comment on that chaotic show.
Later, in an interview with The Jakarta Post and Kompas in his
room at the Sahid Jaya hotel, Newsted was initially reluctant to
talk about the incident. Yet, after several questions, he was
willing to comment on the 1993 riot. His comments indirectly
illustrate how Metallica felt about the violent concert in Lebak
Bulus.
Excerpts of the interview are presented below, although he
first talked about the new album.
Question: Could you tell us something about your new album?
Newsted: We finished Load two weeks ago in New York. We went
into the studio in April, 1995. Thirty songs were the (initial)
idea of the recording. All of these songs (would) make a double
CD package... We got about to November and realized that it just
was not really a workable task. There was no way we were going to
get the songs done and still be able to get out on a tour in the
summer... So...we focused on the 14 songs that became Load. So
from about November to about two weeks ago, we finished the
record. So it basically took about six months to create the
album.
It was a conscious effort to make more of a live-feeling
album, not so tight like Metallica (sixth album released in
1991), ...And Justice for All (fifth album released in 1989) and
other albums. You know everything had to be so perfect in those
albums. This time (for the Load album) we tried to keep it so
that it's a little more real, a little more imperfect, more human
factors, something you play live, where you make a few wrong
notes here and there, a few noises that aren't so great. It came
out being a groovier kind of record, like more listenable.
As soon as we're finished with this press tour -- Lars
(Ulrich) (drummer) and Kirk (Hemmet) (lead guitarist) are in
Europe doing the same thing as we are doing right now and we'll
meet up by the end of May -- we'll start doing some rehearsals
and some one-off shows and club shows getting ourselves together.
We're gonna try to go back after one year of full touring and
finish those other songs and put together another record so you
will see two Metallica albums in an 18-month or two-year period.
Is there the opportunity to play again in Indonesia, given
that your former concert caused a riot?
I can't say. Ask me something else.
Is there any specific theme in the album?
James has written lyrics in the past that have been very
direct. On Master of Puppets (third album, released in 1986)
or ...And Justice For All there were songs directly about things,
directly about the army, directly about suicide, directly about
drug abuse. These have all taken place before on other albums.
This time, on this album, there's more of a introspective kind
of things, a lot of things from inside. The lyrics are more
vague, not so pinpointing on any certain thing or subject.
The first single is called Until It Sleeps. What is "it" to
you? What is "it"? It's the first video and the first video from
the album. It's up to anybody to interpret their own way whatever
"it" is for them. That's the whole idea behind this record.
You mean there is no theme in each song?
There may be a couple songs that are obviously about
something. There is one song -- it's my particular favorite --
called Mama Said. It's obviously about James singing about his
mother. She passed away many years ago. It's gonna be something
that everybody can relate to in a separate way. Everybody has a
mother. I feel the song so ... I've heard the song two thousand
times already. But each time it still ... (gasping in amazement)
because it sings to me, singing about my mom.
That's obviously about a mother. But 12 of the 14 songs are
not direct.
How did you feel seeing your concerts creating riots and
injuries, including the one in Indonesia. Do you feel guilty?
I really don't want to talk about this subject so much as far
as concerning Indonesia's incident 'cause we had no idea that any
of that was taking place.
But riots don't happen only in Indonesia.
No. Just like in any other time, we go to do what we do. We go
to play this music just in any other time. It'd be the same if we
played in Jakarta, if we played in Moscow, Russia. It's always
the same.
We still go to play these certain songs, this certain way.
Every time. It's not we go in and say, "Call in trouble". We do
the same thing we always do everywhere. We do not change that
wherever we go on the whole planet. However (any) organizations
(or) whatever handle it, that's their own thing. We are still
going as ambassadors of our music. We do what we do.
We don't cause trouble. We're not the kind of band that earn
their merits from gimmickry, antics, troublemaking, paparazzi,
that s... We earn our merits from touring hard, from working
hard,... from always trying to do the right thing. You don't see
Metallica in trouble for drugs, in trouble with police.
Metallica's worked hard and people are seeing that.
Do you want to say you don't feel guilty and the organizers
are to be blamed?
I'm not gonna blame anyone. I have nothing to say about blame.
All I have to say is that we do what we do with a clear mind, we
do what we do with good intention, we do what we do because we
love to play loud and people like our music. We are entertainers.
Right? We are not politicians. We play music because that's what
we're good at and that's all. We are only there to help people to
have a good time, to enjoy life.
Do you mean, that despite the riots you made a lot of good to
people?
Absolutely. I tell you what man, there was a lot more people,
lot more kids, they come up to us, and say "Thanks for being you.
Thanks for writing this certain song because without that I would
have killed myself a long time ago. Without you guys, I wouldn't
have been there, I wouldn't have been able to get through life".
It happened many more times than I can count like this. I can say
easily, at least 50 times in the past 10 years, the kids have
come to me -- big guys, little guys, girls in all countries and
languages -- and looked in the eyes or touched us and said "If
it was not for Metallica, I would have died right now. You help
me through, you know, you stopped me from committing suicide"
Because of the lyrics?
Because of the lyrics, because of the meaning, they feel part
of it. Sometimes they say there's so much good in it, just
because the music doesn't sing about flowers or rainbows. Not
everybody wants to sing "Listen to the flowers and rainbows".
When we get out there and play, even if we play the song hundreds
and thousands of time, it is still easy to get excited about
playing the song because people are there and they wanna hear and
every time they say: "Yes. Thank you for letting us be a part of
this magnificent time". And it's always there. Always. There's no
city on the planet where we play that is not like that. Ever.