James Hetfield has written ‘Lots of tracks’ since Metallica’s last tour but they still haven’t been released

In the latest episode of the weekly Metallica Report podcast, James Hetfield confirmed that he has been writing new music during the downtime between tours.

What James Hetfield Has Been Up To

Metallica’s last concert was in December, and the band is gearing up for more dates this spring and summer. During the break, Hetfield has stayed busy. “The time off has been pretty fantastic and, at the same time, I miss playing with the guys,” Hetfield shared on the podcast. “I let them know, ‘Man, I miss jamming with you guys.’”

He highlighted the band’s recent appearance at the Gershwin concert honoring Elton John and Bernie Taupin as a notable experience. “The Elton John thing was so fantastic. I had a blast there. Elton, what a beautiful soul.”

In addition to music, Hetfield has enjoyed skiing, taking advantage of the “tons of snow” in Colorado where he lives.

James Hetfield Has Been Writing Music

Despite the break from touring, music remаins a central part of Hetfield’s life. “[I’ve been] writing lots of music, playing guitar pretty much every day,” he said. “I have to. It’s like breathing.”

Hetfield did not specify his plans for the new music. He expressed gratitude for his continuous flow of ideas, noting that his “idea machine” never shuts off. He spends much of his time in his basement music room, which is equipped with a computer, a few guitars, and a small rig setup. This space is his “soul-nourishing place to go in there and just play and write.” He clarified, “Not too much practicing, it’s just writing.”

Hetfield also discussed how he draws inspiration from various musical influences. The recent experience with Elton John and Bernie Taupin was particularly inspiring. “Watching [them play] ‘Rocket Man’ and seeing how they wrote… Elton is just such a visionary in a way that Bernie sets a set of lyrics — a poem — in front of him and he sees the music just appearing which is bizarre to me,” Hetfield explained. He contrasted this with his own songwriting approach, which is more focused on building everything around the riff, akin to Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi’s method.

Metallica on Tour

Metallica’s M72 world tour will resume on Friday, May 24, in Munich, Germany. The band will return to North America in August, stopping in six cities during that leg. For all upcoming dates, visit the Metallica website.