Toxic masculinity held Metallica together

In an interview, the members of Metallica spoke about the role of toxic masculinity in their band’s history. Kirk Hammett explained how male behaviors that are often seen as harmful to society seem to have held Metallica together.

The musicians on “tough men”

“Toxic masculinity drove this band,” Hammett said in an interview with “The New Yorker” on Monday (November 28th) – the same day that Metallica also presented their new album “72 Seasons” and the first single “Lux Æterna”.

The guitarist explained, “I still sit around and say, ‘OK, I’m going to write a really, really hard, hard-hitting riff.’ Check out my rhetoric: hard hitting, hard hitting riff. It’s an aggression everyone feels, but it’s been pumped up in us – this weird macho male thing.”

Indeed, looking back, the musician seems to be able to pinpoint exactly where this way of thinking originated: “We got drunk and just started. I remember James once getting up and pushing Lars, who literally flew across the room. We saw each other and started fighting. We could be in a room with 20 people and we were fixated on each other. Nobody else mattered.”

Perhaps Metallica’s toxic masculinity extended to the band’s business dealings as well. Looking back, drummer Lars Ulrich remembered Metallica’s fight against the streaming provider “Napster” in the early 2000s. “It was like: ‘You’re kidding us, we’re kidding you,'” said Ulrich. “And then it just went amok. Could we have seen this coming in hindsight? Probably.”

72 Seasons and Lux ​​Æterna

Metallica’s “72 Seasons” will be released on April 14, 2023. At the same time, the musicians will embark on a world tour until 2024, Tickets are available here.

The music video for the single “Lux Æterna”:

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