Deseret News did an interesting interview with Metallica’s Robert Trujillo about recording of Death Magnetic, working with Rick Rubin and going on the World Magnetic tour.
Metallica’s Death Magnetic marks the ninth studio CD of original material for Metallica. For bassist Robert Trujillo, it marks his first studio recording with the band. “It was a wonderful experience,” Robert Trujillo said during a phone call from the Sprint Arena in Kansas City, Mo. “It was an eye-opener for me to see how this band works in the studio.
“First off, the work ethic is very strong,” he said. “And I really felt like I was a part of the songwriting and recording of the album.”
While Metallica has a history of in-band squabbles during recording — especially between guitarist/vocalist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich — Trujillo said the two band leaders are passionate and want what’s best for the group.
“It was interesting seeing Lars and James go at it and write songs,” Trujillo said. “It was unreal.”
Adding producer Rick Rubin into the mix only pushed the band — which also features lead guitarist Kirk Hammett — to a higher level of music writing.
“Rick and the band were all on the same plane,” Trujillo said. “He guided us into writing songs we would do as if we were looking to sign a recording contract. It was like the beginning of our career.
“Rick knew what he was doing,” Trujillo said of the award-winning producer. “There were times when he’d tell us to try something and it only made sense later. Sure, we wanted to punch him and jump on his back and pull his hair out sometimes, but he pushed us to write better songs.”
The songs were written over a long period of time, Trujillo said. “By that I mean we always had a recorder we would use when we were jamming. We wrote a total of 25 songs, recorded 14 and chose 10 for the album.”
Choosing the songs wasn’t a walk in the park.”No,” he said, “we butted heads on some of them. And we hated to see some go. One in particular we didn’t include on the album because it wasn’t finished. But I think it would have been the most brutal and hard song Metallica has ever written.
He thinks the songs on the album are good for the band. “It’s nice to see us embrace the metal again. And we had a bunch of music. That’s why the songs are long again.
“What’s more is, the band members agreed 90 percent of the time on the choice of songs for ‘Death Magnetic,’ which, of course, is not congruent with the band’s history,” he said with a laugh.
Metallica also recorded the album in Los Angeles, as opposed to San Francisco.
“I personally thought that was good for the band,” he said. “L.A. is gritty, hot and the studio is in an industrial area. There was no escape. That’s different than recording in a place like northern California, where the air is cleaner and James’ and Lars’ houses are only a few minutes away.
“I think working in L.A. gave the album a meaner sound.”
Throughout Metallica’s career, the band has always done things on its own, according to Trujillo. “I mean the band members have creative control and they live in a bubble. They do what has to be done. And sometimes that isn’t what fans want. But in other cases it is.
“Metallica has made fans angry at times, but good or bad, the band has always piqued its fans’ interest. The sound of ‘Death Magnetic’ will be on fans’ minds for a few years,” he said, referring to the criticisms of the CD’s stripped-down sound as opposed to the bigger mix used for music video games such as “Guitar Hero III.”
Again, Trujillo said, “the band makes it interesting for the fans.”
That also applies to the set list for the current leg of the tour.
“We change it every night,” he said. “There are some we keep in all the time, but we want to play the new stuff because we’re excited about it. And we will play some old stuff because fans know it. But I have noticed that the new stuff is going over well. The people know the lyrics, and it’s been nice playing new stuff.”
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