James Hetfield Writing Material For Next Metallica Record

Metallica guitarist/vocalist James Hetfield has revealed that the kings of thrash metal have amassed a stockpile of material in preparation for their next album.

In a recent interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Hetfield said that despite Metallica’s unrelenting schedule, the group had collectively written more than one thousand riffs. “I only have 846 riffs,” remarked Hetfield. “In iTunes, you can see how many things you’ve got. And that does not include the soundchecks, the stuff we goof around with here. You plug in an amp. Suddenly, it makes you feel good — you come up with a riff. ‘Dude, did you get that?’ You can’t get away from being recorded here.”
 
Bass player Robert Trujillo, who joined Metallica in 2003, told the magazine that he has been far more active in the writing process of the new record than on the two previous Metallica albums to bear his name, ‘St. Anger’ and ‘Death Magnetic.’ “I have about 20 ideas that I feel really good about, whereas on ‘Death Magnetic’ I had one or two,” Trujillo explained, before acceding, “Hetfield — he’s a writing machine.”
 
Trujillo added that lead guitarist Kirk Hammett had also found the time to muster his own barrage of material. “Kirk has over 300 ideas. There’s so much stuff from the tuning-room jams, from all those years of touring.”
 
Meanwhile, Metallica are preparing for their Orion Music + More Festival, an upcoming 3D concert film, as well as a bunch of headlining shows in Europe, including Download festival. Hetfield explained that due to the bands hectic schedule, it is hard to find the time to transform riffs into songs. “This week is interviews, photo shoots, shooting videos for things. When are we going to start writing? ‘We’ve got to rehearse the ‘black’ album.’ I would love to sit and write without having to think of other stuff.”
 
Full interviews with each member of Metallica are now available in the latest ‘Big Issue’ of Rolling Stone magazine.