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Hardwired...to Self Destruct - New Metallica album - Live concert on Metallica.com

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R

RDreamer

Member
It's always kind of funny when people shit on the new output of old bands and say if it weren't that band no one would care. I actually think most of the time it's the total opposite. If a new band came on the scene and put out this album or Death Magnetic for their first album I think people would take notice. It's the fact that Metallica put out genre defining music that will inspire hard rock and metal musicians for ages a few decades ago that makes the new output slightly more underwhelming.
 
K

Killer Queen

Banned
Brian_FETO said:
I think Am I Savage is the best track because it flows nicely, doesn't overstay it's welcome, and doesn't rely on the sound of previous songs

Confusion should be the best but it's too long for no reason. Metallicas best work isn't built around jamming on the same two or three sections for 7 minutes.
Click to expand...

Creeping Death
Blackened
Harvester of Sorrow
Disposable Heroes
Roam
Plenty more I'm sure
 
C

Creamium

shut uuuuuuuuuuuuuuup
Reading up on some stories and I had no idea that Fade to Black was basically about Hetfield's amp that got stolen, and they searched far and wide to find it because it had an unique sound. If there are more good stories like this, please post
 
L

LegendX48

Member
The more I listen to "Moth Into Flame" the more it gives me "Broken, Beat and Scarred" vibes and I love that song. Starting to grow on me.

Murder One I'd say is the weakest song on the album. Listened to it three times and just don't care.

"Am I Savage?" has a cool swing to it and then that heavy ass riff before the solo is so good

Hardwired, Atlas and Spit out the Bone are the best by far for me
 
K

Killer Queen

Banned
Behind the lyrics part one
Metallica.com said:
“HARDWIRED”
JH: Well, that being the last song written. When we were putting it together, the first number was a two, which was pretty remarkable. We’re talking Ramones or Misfits length.
SC: Two minutes?
JH: Yeah.
SC: Jesus.
JH: Then things got a little longer, but it’s [still] under four minutes which is greatly no matter what. It’s so simple. Whatever you think of lyric writing, it is not Shakespeare, I know that. But it’s a summation of the whole album. It gave us a little bit of a direction on where to go with the title of the record. Let’s just sum up all the parts of the record, you know, are humans really doing the right thing? And in the history of time, we’re a little blip. Are we gonna be gone? Are we phasing ourselves out with electronics? Are we becoming this? Are we gonna self-destruct because of our egos and all of the stuff that makes humans human? Should we be robots? Is that better? You get into science fiction, you get into all kinds of stuff, but you know, when man started, what was the idea?
That whole sentence, “Hardwired to self-destruct,” came from a friend of mine [who was] just throwing it out there as a struggling addict, as in, “Is that what it is? Is that what it’s like for us? Is our default to die earlier than we’re supposed to? Destroy our lives, are we ‘hardwired to self-destruct?’” That caught my ear.
“ATLAS, RISE!”
SC: I felt that it was about martyrdom, that’s what it felt like to me, an observation of self-created martyrdom.
JH: Sure, yeah. Just the mythology around Atlas and him being forced to carry the weight of the world because of what had happened before. That was his legacy, that was his duty. And there are people that I believe live in that lifestyle, live thinking that they’re the martyr for the people who can’t speak, or for the this, for that, save the this, and don’t save the that. Taking responsibility a little too far, and then putting others down when they don’t believe you, or don’t support you. How could you not support this? With martyrdom and guilt, it’s like a battle in a way, someone thinking that they have more responsibility than they do. And it’s like, “Man, lighten up. Just get rid of that shit, or give some of that to me.” All of that song kinda started with a little bit of a feel of, “Put the load right on me,” and basically, “You don’t have to carry [all] that load. Give [some of] it to me. Life’s really hard for you, I’m gonna help you.” But then you find out that, “Waaiiiit a minute, they just gave some of that to somebody else, and that and that, and WHOOAA. OK. All right. Stop using your woe as some martyrdom thing.”
“NOW THAT WE’RE DEAD”
SC: I felt it was a question of faith, or of comfort, in the death of us, with all being the same at the root.
JH: Yeah, at the end of the day we’re all the same. Having something to believe in, maybe there’s an afterlife. Maybe it started out as wanting to be more of a modern-day Romeo and Juliet. We’re in this together. Helping each other through life. And you know, “now that we’re dead,” I mean that could mean lots of things. Actually, you are dead. You’re onto the next life. Or you’ve gone through something horrible as a couple. Now you’re [both] on the other side of it. So, trusting in another person. And at the end of the day, your behaviors, whatever you’ve done, they’re just behaviors. You can amend them, you can make up for them, and together, move on with a clean conscience. There’s [also] an exploration feel of, like, “I don’t know what’s next – come on, let’s try it. Let’s go. Let’s do it.”
“MOTH INTO FLAME”
SC: It seems to be about the price of fame versus the seduction of empty temptations, sort of a meditation on all those.
JH: Yeah, “Moth Into Flame” is pretty literal. And these days everyone… think it’s an obsession with being famous. Being popular. Whether it’s your Facebook account or, you know, walking around the street, watching someone doing selfies of themselves, you know, as they’re walking down the street. Like what? What are you doing? You know, how self-involved and absorbed, are you? But I think the next generations coming up are more aware of things and accepting of things around them. The main inspiration for that was the Amy Winehouse movie AMY, where she got brainwashed in a way. She started “believing.” There was one scene that really, really disturbed me, when she was leaving her flat. She’s walking out to go do something, and the paparazzi are all over here, “Hey, Amy, how you doing today? How’s your friend blah-blah?” And a “k-k-k-k-k-k-k” [denoting camera sounds – ED] and, “We’re your friend,” but, “ooh, k-k-k-k.” So disturbing. And, God, how do you know when you’re in that bubble, how do you know what’s real, what’s not? You got people around you saying, “Yes, yes, yes.” And she got lost. She got totally lost, and she started to believe that, she believed that myth that fame is the best thing there is. And, yeah, the limousine turns into the hearse…
SC: Quite literal. Quite true in some cases.
JH: Well, in the opening line, too. After the gig, [where] you just did something great, you connected with all this [the audience – ED], and then you run into the limousine past all the people and you close the door. And then there’s all your stuff that you need, your drink, your thing, your friend, your whatever. You go from insanity to difficult insanity.
“DREAM NO MORE”
SC: Is it a conceptual follow-on from “...Sandman” nightmares stuff?
JH: Interesting.
SC: It’s a primordial riff and it’s a primordial vibe. It’s, I mean it’s probably one of the slowest songs I think this band’s ever written, but it’s so heavy.
JH: I love it too. It’s a great riff, especially that chorus, the “turn to stone.” You know, when you were just saying those words, it’s kind of like the media. You’re sitting [there], you can’t look away, you’re looking at the horror, you’re looking at the horrible stuff going on, and you can’t look away and then you eventually just turn numb to it all. But also, it was a basically a follow-up to “Call of Ktulu,” for me. It was, Cthulhu answers. In the mythos he rises up, and if you even gaze at his reflection you turn to stone he’s so hideous and horrible.
“HALO ON FIRE”
SC: I felt that this was a straight up look into battling darkness inside, depression.
JH: You can plug anything into that one really. Obviously “Halo On Fire,” there’s a juxtaposition in all of us, good, evil, and when does that come out, when does it show itself? Some people portray themselves as real saints, [and] the more their darkness is, the more they have to portray themselves as saints. So you’re basically getting away from the real “you,” like you’re making up for all of this [stuff] that you think is really bad.
I think also… what was that one show? Fifty Shades of Grey? I never saw it, but I saw some highlights of it where it was like, “Oh, this guy is well accomplished and look at this guy.” And then he’s got this basement of torture and horror all for his pleasure, and people [were] falling for it and wanting it. And then at the end of the day, they both bleed. It’s not good for anybody.
Click to expand...
 
K

Killer Queen

Banned
Part 2

“CONFUSION”

SC: This squarely hit me as being about PTSD…

JH: Absolutely, yeah. PTSD in general. Shellshock in the military and being put into horrific scenes is one pretty obvious sign of PTSD, and coming home from that, trying to come home and still living that, and having a fear of seeing something that’s affected you so greatly as a trauma inside you that it’s carried home. The movie American Sniper [was] a great, great portrayal of that. Hooked on the, “I gotta save my brothers, if I don’t go back they’re gonna die.” Using again that kind of “martyr” as an excuse for the addiction of the drama of the war, and neglecting his family at home. So, it kinda ties into the other songs, but PTSD is everywhere, man. Things that happen to you in your childhood, or you know, sports figures, anyone who wears a uniform, who’s gone out there and portrayed a life of service, giving, or using force, power. “Go out there and kill. Go out there and get ‘em.” There’s lots of different forms of PTSD, even being in a band. You’re out on the road, and this might sound as complaining but it’s by no means complaining, it’s just telling you how it is. You get on the road, here’s your itinerary. Here’s what you’re doing. Here’s your press. Here’s this, here’s that. And everything’s worked out for you. Here’s where you eat, and here’s where you’re gonna sleep and go up there and have a good time onstage, and it’s all planned out and you’re praised for it. That was a great show, and uh, then you get home; “What’s my plan? What am I doing today?” Feeling a little lost, trying to plug into your family. And they’re [saying], “Where are you? Hello?” Everything’s taken care of. Why am I needed? I’m not needed! I could talk forever about it…

“ManUNkind”

SC: This felt thoroughly, biblically apocalyptic. I mean, just a full on “zero reset,” it’s dystopian and it’s pretty bleak. Just as we like ‘em!

JH: Yeah…biblical, the Garden of Eden. “Wow, you’ve got it all, but you want more?” You’ve got all this greatness and then it’s torn… the biblical story… but let’s get back to the goodness of man. Man is sinful and has to crawl and try to make up, it’s like we’re always down below in the higher power’s eyes, [and] we have to prove ourselves over and over daily that we’re not evil. And having faith in this world [where] everyone’s out for themselves. Finding the negative in a bunch of stuff is… at the end of the day, have faith in man. Instead of just blaming it on mankind. Yeah, there are some unkind people out there, but having faith that we get through that, or they learn about it, or somehow they become more part of the solution instead of the problem.

SC: It feels like you’ve become more, much more observational than judgmental about all these things over the years. Do you think that’s a fair comment?

JH: Yeah, I’d say so. I think going through what I’ve gone through, having compassion for others that are struggling too, and not just looking at the result of their struggle. Like, “He just stole that thing,” or whatever, going back and [seeing] what happened instead of the judgment. Finding something in common.

“HERE COMES REVENGE”

SC: I felt that it was very much about many of these sad stories you read of a child being killed? Coming to terms with that, how do you, how can you?

JH: Yeah. There’s Morgan Harrington. Just tons of stuff about families that have someone taken from them. There’s a friend of mine whose son died, and I won’t name names, there’s a couple that has followed us on tour for a long time that has been very instrumental in that song and inspirational to me. Their daughter was killed by a drunk driver. And she loved Metallica, and the way this family is staying connected with her is coming to the Metallica shows and enjoying what she enjoyed, and maybe connecting that way. I find that pretty amazing. And very strong. It’s such a vulnerable thing to have happen to you. I mean [it] destroys your life; [you] just sit there and think about it all the time, ruminate on it over and over. “What could I have done to change things? What if, what if?” And how could you not be pissed? How could you not be angry at the person who took your child’s life? That is real strength, to me. Because I’m just writing in my perspective what I would do. You know, I would pray for revenge to happen and think that’s the answer, when at the end of the day I know it’s not.

“AM I SAVAGE?”

SC: It touched me as full on werewolf mania. There might be more behind it, but there’s a full werewolf and it felt a little less allegoric than maybe some of the other stuff.

JH: Yeah. I mean, that’s a lot deeper than it might seem. There’s this line in there about inheritance. That was such a strong, strong word for me on this album. I was thinking that could be the title of the record, you know, Inheritance. Good or bad, you’ve inherited something. Whether it’s in your genes, in your blood, in your bank account, in your looks, whatever. You inherit things. And having a teenage boy is difficult for a dad at times. You’re proud of your boy but I tell you, the girls are a different story. The girls and the mom have an issue. The boys and the dad have issue, because they’re gonna grow up to be you and they don’t want to be you. They want to be something else. They want to be their own thing, and gosh, I was trying so hard to have Castor be what I wasn’t. Or, “You gotta learn this because my dad never taught me that!” I felt it was my purpose as a dad; if I didn’t teach him the stuff, I was a shitty dad. When in the end, he wants to do his own thing. And when I back off, he blossoms. He does what he wants. He gets to rise to his life. So the whole “anger behind a good intention.” My good intention here is to teach you something, and then when you don’t want it, I get angry! It’s more about me. So from my dad using anger as a big tool in the house to be heard, same with me. That was my inheritance and I started to pass it down to my boy, and I stopped. It’s pretty huge.

SC: Do you think that you are any closer to understanding that “inheritance?” Do you feel closer to it? Do you feel more confident in being able to see “the wolf in the mirror,” if you will?

JH: Yeah. I’ve given my family permission as well. You know, “Dad, calm down.” And that word right there would trigger me off into some other thing. But it’s kinda human I guess, or at least it’s part of my humanness, and I’m working on it. I’m more there than I was.

“MURDER ONE”

SC: Lemmy.

JH: Yeah. Murder One. Not many people know what Murder One is, and I’m just trying to dig deep, go around corners, and talk about him without being extremely direct. But yeah, Murder One was his rig, the name of his favorite amp. And I know he had more than one, but that’s one that stood out to me. Yeah, just paying respects to Lemmy, because without him I don’t think Metallica would be around at all, and probably [not] a lot of other bands. He was an inspiration. He was an unwavering strength, but not unapproachable. Very down to earth, very real. Had great philosophies on life. He was a lovable character, even though he looked completely menacing, he was loveable. And he’ll be greatly missed. So I thought why not celebrate him and his life in one of our songs. That’s what it means to me.

“SPIT OUT THE BONE”

SC: And, well, the conclusion to the record, which is another cracking riff, suggested future leaping into a place where machines and AI take over, à la 2001 in hell.

JH: Yeah, and thank you GBH for [the] “spit out the bone” line. I know their song was a little different. Their song was about the Donner Party and cannibalism. This is a little different, just the wonder and fear of, again, what’s happening to man. Without future tripping too much, just the possibilities of Terminator, stuff like that, you know. We’re wearing smart watches, things are getting closer and closer to just being in us. Why would I not have the internet in my head all the time? Why do I have to worry with all these “emotions” and stuff? Falling in love and getting your heart broken? That doesn’t do anybody good. You know, the heart and blood? It’s in the way of efficiency! We could be a much more efficient race if we just allow computers to help us. And yeah, they are helping us, but how far does that go? All of that craziness. So “Spit Out The Bone” is that your bones aren’t needed. They break!
Click to expand...
 
C

Creamium

shut uuuuuuuuuuuuuuup
LegendX48 said:
The more I listen to "Moth Into Flame" the more it gives me "Broken, Beat and Scarred" vibes and I love that song. Starting to grow on me.

Murder One I'd say is the weakest song on the album. Listened to it three times and just don't care.

"Am I Savage?" has a cool swing to it and then that heavy ass riff before the solo is so good

Hardwired, Atlas and Spit out the Bone are the best by far for me
Click to expand...

I kinda have that going on with 'Now That We're Dead'. At first I really didn't like it (because of the chorus), but the intro and bridge keep bringing me back. I was like 'man I hate this song, yet I can't stop listening to it'
 
C

Combichristoffersen

Combovers don't work when there is no hair
Finally soon done with listening through the album in its entirety. It will need some more spins before I can decide what to think of it. But so far I'd say:


1: I'd probably say it's the best 'Tallica album since Load/ReLoad.

2: CD1 is way better than CD2.

3: Although there's nothing as bad as Invisible Kid on the album, ManUnKind, Am I Savage and Dream No More are the worst of the bunch I'd say.

4: Hardwired, Atlas, Spit out the Bone and Murder One are so far my faves (MO has grown a lot on me).

5: Shorter songs for the next album plz. Not every song has to be 6+ minutes. Some shorter, rockier songs like Fuel would be nice.
 
K

Killer Queen

Banned
Combichristoffersen said:
Finally soon done with listening through the album in its entirety. It will need some more spins before I can decide what to think of it. But so far I'd say:


1: I'd probably say it's the best 'Tallica album since Load/ReLoad.

2: CD1 is way better than CD2.

3: Although there's nothing as bad as St. Anger on the album, ManUnKind, Am I Savage and Dream No More are the worst of the bunch I'd say.

4: Hardwired, Atlas, Spit out the Bone and Murder One are so far my faves (MO has grown a lot on me).

5: Shorter songs for the next album plz. Not every song has to be 6+ minutes. Some shorter, rockier songs like Fuel would be nice.
Click to expand...


Blasphemy
 
H

Horseress

Member
"Now that we are dead" reminds me of old Load/Reload fun groovy hard rock tracks, like "Wasting my Hate", "Attitude", "The Cure", "Poor Twisted Me" and others.

btw "The Cure" is one of my favorites of all time. Yeah, it is, come at me
 
HF2014

HF2014

Member
Brian_FETO said:
I think Am I Savage is the best track because it flows nicely, doesn't overstay it's welcome, and doesn't rely on the sound of previous songs

Confusion should be the best but it's too long for no reason. Metallicas best work isn't built around jamming on the same two or three sections for 7 minutes.
Click to expand...

Its unbelievable how this album got everyone taste differently. The two songs you said are my least favorite. Guess we all find a part in it that we like!
 
psychotron

psychotron

Member
Horseress said:
"Now that we are dead" reminds me of old Load/Reload fun groovy hard rock tracks, like "Wasting my Hate", "Attitude", "The Cure", "Poor Twisted Me" and others.

btw "The Cure" is one of my favorites of all time. Yeah, it is, come at me
Click to expand...

Everyone seems to need the cure! I love Load from start to finish, and I'm a lifelong fan of the band. Seen them live so many times I lost count, even flew across the country for the big 4 show.

Every song on the album has grown on me except Confusion. It's not bad, I just love the rest.
 
M

Mathieran

Banned
Hmm I'd kinda written this album off, as I haven't loved anything by them since Load/Reload save for a few songs. Maybe I should check this out.
 
R

Ravensmash

Member
LegendX48 said:
The more I listen to "Moth Into Flame" the more it gives me "Broken, Beat and Scarred" vibes and I love that song. Starting to grow on me.

Murder One I'd say is the weakest song on the album. Listened to it three times and just don't care.

"Am I Savage?" has a cool swing to it and then that heavy ass riff before the solo is so good

Hardwired, Atlas and Spit out the Bone are the best by far for me
Click to expand...

I absolutely loved Murder One on my first listen through.

I reckon the album will hold up well to repeated listens.
 
C

Calm Killer

In all media, only true fans who consume every book, film, game, or pog collection deserve to know what's going on.
Combichristoffersen said:
2: CD1 is way better than CD2.
Click to expand...

I agree

Combichristoffersen said:
3: Although there's nothing as bad as Invisible Kid on the album, ManUnKind, Am I Savage and Dream No More are the worst of the bunch I'd say.
Click to expand...

I completely disagree with this as I think those are my 3 favorite songs.



Combichristoffersen said:
4: Hardwired, Atlas, Spit out the Bone and Murder One are so far my faves (MO has grown a lot on me).
Click to expand...

Hardwired is easily the worst song on the album for me. I can't get past the childish lyrics. James is so much better at writing than this.

Combichristoffersen said:
5: Shorter songs for the next album plz. Not every song has to be 6+ minutes. Some shorter, rockier songs like Fuel would be nice.
Click to expand...

No.
 
T

Tapejara

Member
Finished disc one. I've got to say the songs they released as singles are definitely the weakest so far (Hardwired, Atlas, Rise!, Moth into Flame). Now That We're Dead is my favourite track off the first disc, but Halo on Fire and Dream No More are also really good. The soloing near the end of Halo on Fire is great, but as others have said the solos in general have been pretty underwhelming. I haven't really liked Kirk's solos for a while now, so not like I was expecting much on that front.

Also, really glad the cover of Remember Tomorrow on disc 3 is the same one they did a few years back.
 
H

Higgy

Member
This is the best Metallica album since the Black album. Load and Reload didn't age well imo and Death Magnetic is too disjointed and cobbled together to be great. Manunkind is sooooo bad though. Loved sitting through all the videos for the album though some were pretty weak. Nice to see them getting the love after taking so much shit the last 20 years.
 
L

Lowmelody

Member
Ok Spit out the Bone is my favorite Metallica song. It sends me on a mental journey like none other. Hits this perfect nexus of concepts that have enthralled me my whole life.

In fact this album as a whole really speaks to me and is more relevant to my life than any other, helping me to deal with the state of the world at the moment.
 
Tarkus

Tarkus

Member
As a lifelong Metallica fan, it's still hard to get used to the Diezal amp tones. I can't help but think this album would have sounded better with a Mesa amp.

At least people can't say this album isn't heavy as fuck.
 
T

The perfect Dark

Banned
I'm listening to Reload just for fun. such a great album imo. Unforgiven II is so fucking cool.
And the rhythm guitar during the verse is amazing. Fucking hard to play while you're singing, holy shit.

edit: And LOAD. The House Jack Built is so underrated.

edit2: And yes, Hardwired still reminds me of LOAD/ RELOAD. It's just heavier. The first and the last song are pretty much thrash metal but the rest is fucking 90's Metallica. And I love it.
 
A

ascii42

Member
I like S&M a lot, but part of me really wishes they did a studio album version. I don't generally like listening to recordings of live stuff, because the crowd singing along rarely works like it does when you're actually there. It's cool for certain songs, like The Memory Remains in particular. But I could do without half of Master of Puppets being unintelligible. "End of passion play! Crumbling away! brrrr brrr brrr brr brr br brrrrrr"

I will say, the S&M version of One is probably my favorite thing Metallica has done.
 
Rest

Rest

All these years later I still chuckle at what a fucking moron that guy is.
I listened to a bunch of the songs on YouTube today, I definitely think this is a return to form. The songs might not be as good as any on their first five albums, but the style seems to have the best parts of Master of Puppets and the black album. I'm looking forward to actually buying another Metallica album.
 
B

Brian_FETO

Banned
Killer Queen said:
That's great and all, but that's not the point I was making.
Click to expand...
I didn't want to continue arguing for the sake of arguing as you're obviously set in your perspective

That said, the songs you listed do not have riff/jams that continue and lull for minutes at a time. Creeping Death is a weird example to bring up because it follows a pretty strict verse/chorus/verse/chorus/bridge etc format

So many songs on this new album just sit on the same couple of riffs, move into the solo with either the same riff or pace, it all blends together. If they want to jam on things live and extend them then whatever but it doesn't make for tight songwriting.
 
K

Killer Queen

Banned
Brian_FETO said:
I didn't want to continue arguing for the sake of arguing as you're obviously set in your perspective

That said, the songs you listed do not have riff/jams that continue and lull for minutes at a time. Creeping Death is a weird example to bring up because it follows a pretty strict verse/chorus/verse/chorus/bridge etc format

So many songs on this new album just sit on the same couple of riffs, move into the solo with either the same riff or pace, it all blends together. If they want to jam on things live and extend them then whatever but it doesn't make for tight songwriting.
Click to expand...

I wasn't trying to be a dick lol or saying its a negative thing i just thought it was funny for you to say that.
But I mean Creeping Death is pretty damn repetitive, but that makes it easier to learn.
 
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