The “absolute master of lyrics”, according to James Hetfield

Recently guesting on the “Metallica Report” podcast, billed as “your official weekly guide to all things Metallica, straight from the source,” Four Horsemen frontman James Hetfield discussed what goes into writing lyrics. During the chat , the 61-year-old singer and guitarist especially lavished praise on Tom Waits, calling him the “absolute master of lyrics.

“Tom Waits is a true lyrical master: he can paint a picture with one sentence, and I find that fascinating. It takes a lot of work,” Hetfield said, as reported by Blabbermouth: “I saw Tom living it. He was also the his vocabulary: he could sit down and talk like that. I can’t.”

During the chat, the frontman of the “Kill’em all” band also indicated, against all expectations, Green Day as a source of inspiration for the lyrics of the songs. “(Writing lyrics) is a bit like building a vehicle, or anything else: you collect lots of little words,” said James Hetfield, before asking rhetorically, “How do they fit together? What do they really mean? sufficient for a topic?”. He added: “Then I go and see a band like Green Day, who have simple lyrics like ‘Know your enemy’. It’s catchy and engaging, it sticks in your head, but it’s not really a masterpiece of literary genius.”

Already in 2016, the Metallica frontman had spoken of his favorite songwriters of all time and, in a list that already included Tom Waits, he had named other artists: “I only wish I was as good as Tom Waits, Phil Lynott, Nick Cave, Leonard Cohen, a lot of great lyricists,” Hetfield had explained during a lecture given by bandmate Lars Ulrich: “It’s really cool to read about them and hear how they make up their own stuff.”

Metallica released their eleventh studio album, “72 Seasons”, in April 2023, released seven years after the previous “Hardwired… to Self-Destruct” in 2016, and which last May 29th was presented by I also live in Italy during the band’s concert in Milan (here is our story of the evening).