Speaking of playing live, the first time you performed the Hardwired song “Moth Into Flame” was at Webster Hall in New York City on September 27, 2016, the 30th anniversary of Cliff’s death [original Metallica bassist Cliff Burton]. How does Cliff’s work remain a key part of your musical life?
Well, he planted a harmony seed in me that I’ve never forgotten. He was a big, big Thin Lizzy fan. We were pretty—and I hate to use the word—bombastic, we were a little punk rock, and he brought in a little more musicality. He was the one that went to junior college and studied musical theory, and he loved all kinds of different music. Obviously, his bass playing, his unique sound, continues to live in the fans and live in us. So Robert [Trujillo] is respectful of him. And Robert is his own amazing player.
Some of the riffs on the new album have an early-Metallica thrash feel.
Well, “Hardwired” for sure. It’s short, sweet, it bashes it out, and there’s no question on where it’s going. With every album, we’re influenced or excited about something. And it’s just possible that this time, when we went in, there were a lot more riffs that felt like that. At least for me, after not having released a studio record of just Metallica after eight years, I missed the guitar layering, the harmonies, some of the melody stuff and the speed. So I wanted some simplicity from Kill ’Em All, combined with the good sonics and depth of The Black Album.
But I’ll tell ya, we just write the next record that we have. And when people say, “Hey, it reminds me of this and this and this,” that’s great, but we don’t see it. We just see it as the next Metallica record. And we’re not delusional that we’re gonna re-create Master of Puppets or Kill ’Em All. There’s no reason to ’cause there already is one there, and if you like it, listen to it.
We are explorers and we love to keep moving forward, and there’s always a better album, there’s always a better riff, there’s always a better lyric and a better gig for us.
λεει και αλλα ωραια . Οπως οτι το Ride ειναι ο αγαπημενος του δισκος.