We here at Metal Injection take pride in bringing our readers interviews with the biggest names in heavy metal. Now, prepare to read the biggest interview we've ever published. Did we speak to Bruce Dickinson? Ozzy Osbourne? James Hetfield? Nope! We sat down with Justin Bieber!
Now, before you start throwing a hissy fit, hear me out. Metal Injection has documented tons of times where the Biebs has been spotted rocking Metallica and Iron Maiden shirts. We know he hangs out with Marilyn Manson and Frankie Bello from Anthrax, too. Like it or not, Justin Bieber seems like he's a legit metalhead. But to find out for sure, we went straight to the source – the man himself, Justin Bieber. We reached out to him recently and he was kind enough to chat over the phone for a bit. I'm not going to lie, I approached this interview skeptically. It's easy to assume celebrity normals are just trying to curry favor with the metal community by wearing band t-shirts, but once we started talking it became apparent immediately that Bieber is a legit metalhead. Don't take my word for it, though. Read on and see for yourselves!
Metal Injection: Hi Justin, before we get started I want to thank you for taking the time to talk to Metal Injection. I know you're probably really busy.
Justin Bieber: No worries, buddy! I love talking about metal, and thanks for all the coverage on Metal Injection. I really respect what you guys do.
So here at Metal Injection, we've documented a number of times when you've been spotted wearing Metallica t-shirts in public. How long have you been a fan of the band?
I've been a Metallica fan for years. They're one of the first bands I really fell in love with, man. When I was a kid I practiced drumming by playing along to "Enter Sandman". Lars gets a ton of shit for his drumming and he's no Mike Portnoy, but the guy can lay down a groove!
What's your favorite Metallica album? Are you into their 80s stuff or are you more a fan of their more mainstream, late-period material?
Master of Puppets, all day every day! I know people like to argue about Ride the Lightning versus Master of Puppets, and Ride the Lightning is a close second, but my favorite is always going to be Master. How can you beat that album? You can't! "Battery," "Damage Inc," "Orion," "Master of Puppets." Every song on that album is flawless.
Right on, man! I have to be honest, I'm really surprised to hear you're a Metallica fan. Are you a fan of the band specifically or are you a full-on metalhead?
Oh, I get that all the time. Look, I'm a pop music performer; I get that people view me in a certain way. But no one listens to one type of music exclusively unless they're boring. That's like eating pepperoni pizza every day. I love To Pimp a Butterfly, but the last Behemoth album is fire, too!
Oh wow, I definitely didn't expect Justin Bieber to be into Behemoth!
Why? They're great performers who put on a great show. If there's anything pop music and heavy metal has in common it's spectacle. Have you seen King Diamond live? His stage show is amazing. Yeah, it's on a smaller scale than what I do, but it's a spectacle and it's meant to entertain the audience. Even the corpse paint black metal artists were is a gimmick. I saw Taake a few weeks ago and even though it was in a smaller club they did the corpse paint and spikes thing and it was so dope, I had to cop a t-shirt. These guys are entertainers at heart. They're putting on a show. It's all the same thing. Just different size audiences.
Whoa, wait. How the hell does Justin Bieber go to a Taake show?
I wore corpse paint! I'm from Ontario, Canada so I went up there for one of Taake's Ontario shows. I met up with some of my boys, we put on make-up and our best black metal gear and went to the show. No one recognized me! Who expects Justin Bieber to be at a metal show?
Your new metalified Mark Riddick logo makes so much more sense now.
I know, right? I'm at the point in my career where I can demand artistic freedom. I dabbled in electronic music on my last album which was so much fun. Now I want to branch out into metal. Even I was skeptical, but the popularity of Babymetal showed me there's an audience for pop and metal hybrids.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BCx4nWWDGpm/
Are you worried about alienating fans?
No way! I mean, I'm sure it'll turn some people off, but that's not my problem. I've got to be true to myself and I want to bring some wicked riffs to the masses!
Can you give readers some hints of what's in store for the next album?
I can't say too much now because nothing's been finalized yet, but I've been talking to some people. I've been hanging out with my dudes Marilyn Manson and Frankie Bello. Metallica just happens to be in the studio right now, too. You never know who's going to pop up, ya know? You might hear me dropping in on some upcoming albums, too. The world's crazy. You never know what's going to happen! I actually posted a little teaser on my Youtube page a few days ago.
Well, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious. Thanks so much for taking the time to talk to me. I'll be waiting to see what you've got planned.
It was my pleasure, son! Keep it sleazy! Now I've got to go blast some Seventh Son of a Seventh Son!
