Metallica frontman James Hetfield has opened up in a rare and expansive interview for official Metallica fanzine So What!. Speaking to journalist Steffan Chirazi, Hetfield discusses his return to rehab in 2019, the impact of the pandemic on himself and his bandmates in Metallica and the band's imminent new album, 72 Seasons, which arrives this week.
When asked how he felt and where he was in his journey at the start of the pandemic in March 2020, Hetfield replies: "The feelings of 2020, early spring of 2020… for me, there was a rebirth again, realizing my life was needing some help. Going away to rehab, putting the halt on some band stuff again out of personal health, mental health reasons, you know? That takes priority, even though I just want to keep running and let the band just keep going and run away from problems. I needed to deal with stuff. A lot of rawness at that point. It’s really difficult when there’s so much stuff going on around you in the rest of your life to take time for yourself, to get yourself at least to a point where you feel like you’re functioning. And for me, it hasn’t been easy at times to just shut out the rest of the world.
