Guitarist and singer James Hetfield has stated that Metallica would never be a band that simply performs their best songs.
The thrash metal band has been traveling the world on its formidable M72 World Tour since April 2023, when their most recent album, 72 Seasons, was released. In 2025, the enormous tour will resume with performances in the US and Canada.
Hetfield is asked in a recent episode of The Metallica Report podcast what he will take away from their previous touring experiences for their 2025 run.
“I believe the assurance, the positive reception of the 72 Seasons album, and the fact that some of the songs we’re performing live are well-received and blend in well with our entire portfolio and albums. We’re not overindulging in it, but we’re not scared of it either,” he starts.
Since we don’t want to be a legacy band that only performs the biggest songs, you know, we realize that people want to hear the best stuff, so you have to push them to listen to the new stuff too. Everything is a part of it.
On their tour, Hetfield also talked candidly about how they’re accepting any live setbacks. “There’s a freedom up there that the fans allow, there’s a grace that they allow us to be human, so there’s a confidence that you can’t go wrong,” they say if they have to begin a song over. “You come and you give it your all,” he says.