Metallica has announced a second instalment of relief grants dedicated to lend a helping hand to those in need of financial support amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The band’s charity, All Within My Hands, has pledged a total of USD $295,000 to be divided between five charities: Feeding America, Direct Relief, Live Nation’s Crew Nation, the Bartender Emergency Assistance Program (BEAP) and MusiCares.
“We are truly overwhelmed by the generosity of fans and friends around the world as many continue to face unimaginable challenges in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic,” Metallica shared in a statement.
“Thanks to your support and kindness by contributing to our fundraisers during the #MetallicaMondays shows, our May Month Of Giving, and visiting the All Within My Hands website, as well as a substantial donation from our friends at Salesforce, we’re excited to announce that AWMH will be providing a second round of new grants totalling $295,000 to five organisations doing essential work during this difficult time.”
The first instalment of relief grants saw the heavy metal titans donate $350,000 back in April.
During this period of lockdown, Metallica have spent their time chipping away at new material via their respective home studios.
In an interview with The Vinyl Guide podcast, Rob Trujillo delved into the bands’ coronavirus creative process. “We communicate every week, which is really great, so we have our connection intact,” Trujillo said.
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“And what we’ve started doing is basically just really concentrating on our home studios and being creative from our homes and navigating through ideas and building on new ideas.”
“We’re creating, and I think that is really cool because sometimes it takes a while to get the band together and get four individuals who are living in different places in the same room,” he continued. “But it’s, like, ‘Hey, guess what? We don’t have to be in the same room right now.’ ”
“We can make music from our homes and work together and build stuff – and then we’ll get in that room together and we’ll bang the stuff out, but we’ll be 40 steps ahead.”
There’s no concrete date as to when we can expect new Metallica to drop, but Trujillo has emphasised that the band are, for now, “cultivating the terrain and getting kind of excited about it.”
