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Metallica to rock Singapore, again
Big return: Metallica returns to Asian shores to promote their latest record Hardwired...to Self-Destruct.
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Metallica in a concert in Beijing, China, January 18 2017. (Metallica.com/Brett Murray)
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conic heavy metal band Metallica is set to make its return to the Singaporean stage with a show this Sunday at the massive Singapore Indoor Stadium. Metallica has been to Singapore before, first in 1993 and then 20 years later on August 2013 at the Changi Exhibition Centre.
This concert will be part of the US band’s current tour to promote its tenth and latest album, Hardwired...to Self Destruct. The album has been hailed as one of its overall best by the media and fans. It seems one of the rare instances where the band was able to satisfy both fans of the old Metallica sound and its own need to progress musically, resulting in immediately-notable singles such as “Hardwired”, “Moth in Flame” and “Atlas, Rise!”
Still, drummer Lars Ulrich — who at 52 still plays live with a beastly prowess — balks at the idea that the record is a throwback to the band’s thrash metal roots instead of simply another progression to the band’s artistry. Indeed, as a band of Metallica’s stature, the band’s fan base is massive and insanely dedicated. However a good number of fans have, for the band’s last few albums, been extremely critical — wanting the band to simply regurgitate the sound of its legendary “old days”, which for a musical group formed close to 40 years ago is different for every age group. Simply put, the band has had a strong love-hate relationship with its “metal militia” fans.
(Read also: Metallica marks return with engaging music video 'Confusion')
Metallica — Urlich, vocalist-guitarist James Hetfield, guitarist Kirk Hammett, bass player Robert Trujillo – has also done some of its most ardent promotion for the new record. The band produced and released music videos for all 12 songs on the album, as well as a documentary to provide background for the process of sound recording to give a glimpse of the writing and recording process.
In an interview with Singapore’s The Straits Times to promote this upcoming concert, Ulrich stated, “Now that YouTube is the world’s biggest television station, we figured we may as well knock a video out for every song [on the new album].”
In the same interview, he also described how difficult it was to shoot 12 music videos while the band was flying all over the world to undergo the initial record promotions. The band’s last album before Hardwired was 2008’s Death Magnetic, which was initially praised upon its release due to its sprawling and classic metal sounds, but which was generally considered an unsuccessful Metallica release by critics and the fanbase. So far, Hardwired has fared much better.
(Read also: Ariana Grande, Metallica among 'Carpool Karaoke' spin-off hosts)
In its previous albums the band members have always found a way to keep themselves sane. At the height of their success (and debauchery), the band often found themselves leaving home for more than three years straight, which eventually culminated in a massive internal dysfunction, which was captured in the 2003 documentary Some Kind of Monster. The documentary also showed the difficult production of 2003’s
St. Anger album followed by the resignation of longtime bass player Jason Newstead after years of mental bullying. These days, the band tours only in twoweek increments, meaning they go home to be with their families and friends every two weeks.
As for starting off the latest tour with shows in Asia, the band wants to do something different than going straight around America and Western Europe, “We just like to shake it up in Metallica,” said Ulrich.
