Metallica spent time on the road in 2023 supporting their latest record 72 Seasons, where they tackled a handful of new songs alongside a raft of classics. So what songs are frontman James Hetfield and bassist Robert Trujillo enjoying playing live these days? In the latest episode of The Metallica Report podcast, both first weighed in on their favorites from 72 Seasons.
"It depends on the gig, it depends [on] how I'm feeling sometimes," said Hetfield. "I love playing those [new] songs. 'Shadows Follow' is kind of the next one that I really enjoy. It's just a forward moving, pushing song and it's not your typical song. You need to pay attention to it because there's little things here and there you've got to remember. It's just bouncy and pushes. I like that a lot."
Trujillo added: "'Shadows Follow' is a lot of fun to play because it's great balance between backup vocals that are throughout the song and that's always a challenge for me. It just sort of grooves and it was a lot of twists and turns that I like. The other song for me is 'You Must Burn.' That's a fun song. James and I have sort of a nice harmonized vocal moment in that one too."
As for the classics, Hetfield admits he's still fond of Metallica's biggest ballad. "'Nothing Else Matters' is always a song that I enjoy playing. I see people – they're hugging each other, they're crying… whatever. It's a very different emotion in the show from just lose your mind and mosh and go crazy. It's like that, but [that energy] goes inward. So I love seeing that. I like seeing peoples vulnerability to emotion during that song."
As for Trujillo, he's been down with Metallica's old school instrumentals. "I've been enjoying 'The Call of Ktulu.' I feel like I kind of found my stride with this classic song and it's the ultimate statement to Cliff Burton — both 'Orion' and 'The Call of Ktulu' — so I've enjoyed that song live."
