Metallica doesn’t want to limit itself to playing only the classics

Although we have surpassed 40 years of career and their repertoire includes songs now considered classics, Metallica has no intention of becoming one of those historic bands that limits itself to playing only its greatest hits.

During a recent appearance on the “Metallica Report” podcast, James Hetfield insisted that the Four Horsemen will never become one of those “legacy bands”, that is, a group that, despite its glorious past, mainly focuses on playing old hits rather than making new music. During the chat, the Metallica frontman spoke about how the setlist was built for the “M72 World Tour”, a world tour in support of the latest album “72 Seasons” which last May 29th also passed through Italy for a date in Milan (here is our story of the evening). In this regard, Hetfield talked about the choice to add songs from the latest album and discussed why the band will always offer new material at concerts.

“The fact that the album ’72 Seasons’ has been well received and that some of the songs that we are playing live work and integrate seamlessly with our entire catalogue, with all the albums that we have, is very positive”, explained the Metallica frontman: “We are not afraid of playing new songs, but we don’t want to overdo it either. We know people want to hear the greatest hits, but we also need to challenge them to hear some new material.”

Emphasizing that Metallica have no intention of relying solely on their past repertoire, Hetfield added:

“We certainly don’t want to be one of those ‘legacy bands’, a historical band that just plays their greatest hits and then that’s it. Playing new songs is part of that.”

Reflecting on the “M72 World Tour” and also looking ahead to the band’s concerts planned for 2025, Hetfield noted that Metallica is playing with a lot of confidence. The reason, he explained, comes from feeling comfortable making mistakes and discussing them.

“All mistakes are part of the show,” the musician then explained: “It’s part of what we say to each other before going on stage.

‘Hey, all mistakes are free’. And it’s actually not a mistake. That word is a bit ridiculous. It’s just a unique way of playing a song that night.” For Hetfield, every mistake also serves to ensure that each concert is unique, night after night: “Everyone enjoys what happens in that moment,” observed the Metallica frontman: “And honestly, I think it’s a challenge when a song falls apart and it could be devastating for other bands. For us it’s just, ‘Okay, we messed it up. Let’s go again. Or, ‘Hey, let’s pick up from here.’ There were times when I cut out an entire middle section and at the end of the song I was like, ‘Oh my God, I forgot to play that part. Wait, I’ll play it for you now.” He continued: “On stage we have a certain freedom, which the fans grant us: “They allow us to be human. There is trust that you can’t make mistakes. You go on stage, do your best and you know it comes from the heart.”