Although Robert Trujillo has been playing with Metallica for over twenty years, you rarely see his name in the song credits. Now the bassist explained why that is so.
Team player instead of idea generator
“The boys write great songs, I don’t suddenly intrude in between them,” said the musician One Life One Chance Podcast. Robert Trujillo sees his place in the band differently: “I like to make sure people feel comfortable and stay happy. My role is to always support what the team needs,” he said. “You live with these people; it’s like family, a brotherhood. You have to respect that, respect other people when you’re around them and respond to their personalities. The most important thing is that the river flows in the right direction.”
He described the songwriting process of the biggest metal band in the world as follows: “We all always contribute something. Whether you see my name in the credits of a song or not, I’m in the room every time we work on music. I’m there, together with Lars and James.” So even if only drummer Lars Ulrich and frontman James Hetfield are mentioned, Metallica are not just a duo.
“And when I do write a song with the boys, I just contribute,” concluded Trujillo about his role. “After all, there are times when I say, ‘I have some cool ideas.’ James is always open to it. Listen to the middle section of ‘You Must Burn!’ on the new record – James and I first jammed in the tuning room, and later it became part of this song.”
Robert Trujillo is credited as a songwriter on three new songs
Robert Trujillo joined Metallica in 2003, replacing long-time member Jason Newsted. In the same year the album “St. Anger”, which Trujillo had not yet recorded. He was first heard in studio recordings on “Death Magnetic” in 2008. His first songwriting credits can also be found there: he is listed as a co-composer for every song on the record. On “Hardwired… To Self-Destruct” (2016) he only appears for “ManUNkind” is an appearance. He is more present again on the current album “72 Seasons” (2023): He is mentioned in the credits of the songs “Screaming Suicide”, “Sleepwalk My Life Away” and “You Must Burn!”.