Metallica, Las Vegas Sun, Sept. 10, 1998

Mysterious Metallica Lisa Ferguson Thursday, Sept. 10, 1998 | 9:48 a.m. Mum's the word from Metallica. The monsters of metal music are not saying much these days. Guitarist Kirk Hammett, calling from a recent stop in Vancouver on the band's current tour in support of its commercially successful "Re-Load" disc, was tight-lipped about a handful of topics. "Unfortunately, that's the way it has to be with us, you know," he explains. The band performs Saturday at Cashman Field. Meanwhile, the Metallica rumor mill runs rampant. "People get wind of certain tidbits of information and it ends up being misinformation at the last minute," he says. "We just don't want a lot of misinformation floating around." So, press though you may for details, Hammett choses his words carefully, especially when it comes to the current tour. Instead, the short acoustic set that the foursome -- Hammett, drummer Lars Ulrich, frontman James Hetfield and bassist Jason Newsted -- indulges in during the show is a definite departure from Metallica's norm of chest-rattling drum and guitar riffs and pyrotechnics. Unplug the amps, toss in a tambourine and Hammett on slide guitar, and you've got the idea. "It's just something different for us to do," he says. "We're always trying to break out of what people expect us to do." While the acoustic spin is not feasible for all of the band's greatest hits, it does work on such tunes as 1983's "The Four Horsemen" and "Low Man's Lyric" from "Re-Load." But, so as not to let the cat entirely out of the bag, 35-year-old Hammett stops short of divulging the entire song list. "I don't want to ruin the surprise." Still, the change in musical formats has not been sitting well with some Metallica concert-goers, prompting episodes of name calling during shows. "Many audience members were clearly upset with Metallica's apparent abandonment of its hard-rocking roots, and they shouted epithets at the band to show it," Sacramento (Calif.) Bee writer J. Freedom du Lac wrote in a review of the band's recent performance there. Freedom du Lac suggested that Metallica, "instead of flashing its collective finger at the establishment, as it did in the past ... is now flipping the bird at its own fans." Not so, according to Hammett. "We have a good time doing it, and that's why we do it," he contends. "One of the reasons we're playing this acoustic set is so that we can play songs like 'Low Man's Lyric' and ... a couple of other acoustics songs in there just to round it out. "We can't go into a concert situation with the aim of pleasing every single audience member a hundred percent. There's no way you can please all of them; someone will find something to complain about," he says. "But, you know, we like it and most of the audience seems to like it, and that's enough for us." Could it be that the once mighty Metallica is losing its edge? It's been a topic of debate between fans and music critics for several years, in the face of the band's growing mainstream popularity. Its 1991 self-titled CD entered the music charts at No. 1 and produced sizable hits in "Enter Sandman," "The Unforgiven" and "Nothing Else Matters." It was followed in 1996 by another chart-topper, "Load," and the tune "King Nothing." Its musical sequel, "Re-Load," released last fall, has so far birthed four singles -- "The Memory Remains," "The Unforgiven II," "Fuel" and "Better Than You." Both Freedom du Lac's review and a St. Louis Post-Dispatch article earlier this year, however, referred to the band as a "kinder, gentler" Metallica. The insinuation rolls off Hammett like water from a duck's back. "You know, whatever they want to call us is whatever they want to call us," he says. "Everyone has a different perception of what Metallica is these days, and if one journalist likes to call us 'kinder, gentler' Metallica, so be it. "I don't think that we're that much kinder, that much gentler than we were in the past. Of course, we've done some things in the last few years and explored some different musical styles, bit I wouldn't say that equates us with being gentler and kinder." Admittedly, the one-time wild boys have calmed down a bit as the responsibility of parenthood has set in for Hetfield and Ulrich, both of whom became fathers this year. "It's still really young," Hammett says of his bandmate's new roles. "James' baby is only about 3 months old, and Lars' baby is only a month old. It's still early in the game. But people are slowing down a little bit, not as wild ... I mean in a party sense." But certainly not slowing down when it comes to the music. Immediately after the tour wraps up later this month, the band heads back into the studio to record songs for a cover album expected to be released in November, about the same time a concert film of the "Load" tour is due out. "It was such a great show with such extensive production that we decided that we should film it for posterity," Hammett says. And the piece d'resistance: Well, no one's really sure. The band has let it slip that a new Metallica project is slated for next spring. Don't look to Hammett for any inside information. "It's top secret," he says. "I don't really want to comment on that. I'm sorry." archive