Would Cliff Burton have been on board with Metallica’s sound during their ‘90s commercial peak? James Hetfield has pondered this question in an interview with Metal Hammer, discussing the changes ushered in on The Black Album, Load and Reload.
The interview dates back to 2009 and scans Hetfield’s upbringing and career success. In response to a question about what former bassist Burton would’ve made of Metallica’s stylistic shake-up in the ‘90s, Hetfield was ambivalent.
“Well, I certainly would have thought there would have been some resistance, for sure,” he said. “I think The Black Album was a great album and I appreciate the fact that we did have the balls to do that and have [producer] Bob Rock to work with us. It had to be – it really did.
“You know, when I go back and I listen to [1988’s] …And Justice For All, it couldn’t have stayed on that path. We needed to bring in another set of trusted ears. [But] I think Cliff would have probably interjected some different stuff, getting his bass heard and some more musically challenging things, probably.
“I would certainly think that the Load and Reload [era], I would have had an ally that was very against it all – the reinvention or the U2 version of Metallica.”
1991’s Metallica (aka The Black Album) has been certified 16x platinum in the US and shipped somewhere in the vicinty of 31 million copies worldwide. It was Metallica’s first collaboration with Rock, whose previous credits included The Cult, Mötley Crüe and David Lee Roth.
Rock also oversaw 1996’s Load and 1997’s Reload, which saw Metallica largely abandon their thrash beginnings in favour of anthemic hard rock. This is what Hetfield refers to as “the U2 version of Metallica,” which he continues to have mixed feelings about.
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“There are some great, great songs on there but my opinion is that all of the imagery and stuff like that, was not necessary,” he told Metal Hammer. “And the amount of songs that were written was… it diluted the potency of the poison of Metallica. And I think Cliff would have agreed with that.”
Check out ‘The Unforgiven’ by Metallica:
