Metallica’s James Hetfield reveals the nightmares he has before heading out on tour
Metallica frontman James Hetfield has revealed the odd nightmares he often has before heading out on tour with the band.
During a recent appearance on The Metallica Report podcast, Hetfield explained that he can begin to “doubt himself” and feel “insecure” ahead of hitting the road for a run of shows (via Guitar.com).
The interview comes as Metallica continue their current ‘M27’ dates across Europe, with the North American leg scheduled to kick off this August in support of the group’s latest album ’72 Seasons’.
“Obviously before heading out on tour, sitting there trying to remember the myriad of pretty awesome songs we have and then just trusting that once we get together, it’s like, oh yeah, it’s muscle memory,” Hetfield said. “But yeah, over the last month, I will say that the normal thing happens where I start to doubt myself.”
He continued: “I start to feel insecure that, whoa, we’re old, we can’t do this and blah blah blah – all that bullshit that everyone tells themselves before they go into something that they care about and is important.
“So having the nightmares of, you know, I’m the only one who cares about what we’re doing here. You know, where is everybody?”
Hetfield went to to describe some of his weird dreams, adding: “I show up at the gig, everyone’s goofing off or there’s 200 people backstage and where’s my stuff? You know, where’s the setlist? What songs are we doing?
“And then typical things like, the guitar neck is made of rubber and there’s only two strings on it and where’s my roadie? And the guitar cord won’t let me get to the microphone. Silly stuff like that.”
But the singer said this “has to happen” and that he doesn’t “freak out over it”. He explained: “All you do is you practice and then you build – that comes back pretty quickly.
“It’s part of the cycle. It just is. You have anxiety build up, but don’t let it get the best of you because you have that balance of anxiety and faith. And as soon as you get up there, it’s all gonna be good.”
You can listen to the podcast in full here, or above via Spotify.
Last month saw Metallica play their longest song, ‘Inamorata’, live for the first time during a concert in Munich, Germany. The group have since shared pro-shoot footage of a ‘Master Of Puppets’ performance from the tour.
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Tom Skinner
NME
