Metallica’s James Hetfield Says He’s Written “Tons of Material” During the Quarantine

Metallica took part in a SiriusXM “town hall” (it was all virtual, natch) on Thursday, August 27. As part of the chat, frontman James Hetfield revealed how he’s been spending his quarantine:

“For me, and I don’t wanna sound ungrateful, ’cause I know there’s a lot of people out there that are struggling because of this COVID… Where I live, it’s all service industry. And, obviously, the music industry, it’s tough — it’s taken a big hit. For us, we’re road dogs — we’ve been out on the road forever — so you’re either on the road or you’re writing.

“So the obvious thing is, ‘Well, we’re not on the road. Start writing.’ So, [I’ve written] tons of material. And I’m sure there’s lots of musicians out there that are just, like, ‘Okay, what can I do? I’m gonna write and just get into that,’ which I love doing.

“I’d say the other huge thing that’s come out of this is getting to stay home in my hometown here [in Colorado], so [I’ve been] building community with friends, doing outdoor stuff.

“We’re pretty fortunate here up in the mountains that COVID hasn’t really locked us down as much as some other places. And I feel for the people that live in the big cities. But out here, you can still get out, bike ride, raft, fishing, shooting, hunting — whatever it is.”

Metallica’s latest release, S&M², came out yesterday.

[via The PRP]