METALLICA's HETFIELD: 'I've Got Nothing Against GUNS N' ROSES' - Sep. 22, 2010

[inthisriver]

After one listen of King Nothing, you know all you need to know. That song was written about Axl.

Not so sure about that. The song was recorded in 1994, while Axl was still the king of the castle.

Nirvana,Soundgarden,Alice In Chains,Red Hot Chili Peppers,NIN,Pearl Jam and the entire Seattle movement would probably disagree with you on that one. By 1994, MTV and American youth had already moved far beyond Axl Rose.

Besides, I'm pretty sure King Nothing was confirmed to be about Axl. I remember reading about it in Metallica's forum years ago.

Hadn't they just finished the longest tour in history? A lot of which was in the states. While temporarily the focus shifted if Guns had put out a proper album in 95-96 they would have been all over the U.S. media. Thats just a fact. The record company was begging them to do a record. Hardly seems like something the suits would do for a band that had no marketability.

That tour ended in 1993. Were you alive back then? Were you in high school? In America, no one was wearing Guns N Roses shirts anymore. Just bringing up the name Axl Rose got you laughed at. We all had greasy hair, torn baggy jeans, converse and Nirvana shirts on. MTV and the entire youth culture had shifted by this point. Guns N Roses were thought of as "your dads music" and they were no longer "cool" by any stretch of the imagination. Lollapalooza was all the rage.....it was a different era by that point. Seattle had taken over and won in America.

I was in only first grade, but I definitely agree with this post. Even little kids were affected by that shit because that's what was cool to the older kids we looked up to.

[Atlas Shrugged]

After one listen of King Nothing, you know all you need to know. That song was written about Axl.

Not so sure about that. The song was recorded in 1994, while Axl was still the king of the castle.

Nirvana,Soundgarden,Alice In Chains,Red Hot Chili Peppers,NIN,Pearl Jam and the entire Seattle movement would probably disagree with you on that one. By 1994, MTV and American youth had already moved far beyond Axl Rose.

Besides, I'm pretty sure King Nothing was confirmed to be about Axl. I remember reading about it in Metallica's forum years ago.

Hadn't they just finished the longest tour in history? A lot of which was in the states. While temporarily the focus shifted if Guns had put out a proper album in 95-96 they would have been all over the U.S. media. Thats just a fact. The record company was begging them to do a record. Hardly seems like something the suits would do for a band that had no marketability.

That tour ended in 1993. Were you alive back then? Were you in high school? In America, no one was wearing Guns N Roses shirts anymore. Just bringing up the name Axl Rose got you laughed at. We all had greasy hair, torn baggy jeans, converse and Nirvana shirts on. MTV and the entire youth culture had shifted by this point. Guns N Roses were thought of as "your dads music" and they were no longer "cool" by any stretch of the imagination. Lollapalooza was all the rage.....it was a different era by that point. Seattle had taken over and won in America.

lies, all lies.

[inthisriver]

After one listen of King Nothing, you know all you need to know. That song was written about Axl.

Not so sure about that. The song was recorded in 1994, while Axl was still the king of the castle.

Nirvana,Soundgarden,Alice In Chains,Red Hot Chili Peppers,NIN,Pearl Jam and the entire Seattle movement would probably disagree with you on that one. By 1994, MTV and American youth had already moved far beyond Axl Rose.

Besides, I'm pretty sure King Nothing was confirmed to be about Axl. I remember reading about it in Metallica's forum years ago.

Hadn't they just finished the longest tour in history? A lot of which was in the states. While temporarily the focus shifted if Guns had put out a proper album in 95-96 they would have been all over the U.S. media. Thats just a fact. The record company was begging them to do a record. Hardly seems like something the suits would do for a band that had no marketability.

That tour ended in 1993. Were you alive back then? Were you in high school? In America, no one was wearing Guns N Roses shirts anymore. Just bringing up the name Axl Rose got you laughed at. We all had greasy hair, torn baggy jeans, converse and Nirvana shirts on. MTV and the entire youth culture had shifted by this point. Guns N Roses were thought of as "your dads music" and they were no longer "cool" by any stretch of the imagination. Lollapalooza was all the rage.....it was a different era by that point. Seattle had taken over and won in America.

lies, all lies.

wrong.

Apparently even in the past, there were people living in the past.

[Cdlove]

Even I was part of the whole greasy grunge look in High School. Except I didnt listen to Nirvana like everyone else; I listened to Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, GnR, Metallica, and NiN.

[Atlas Shrugged]

LIES

[Storm88000]

That tour ended in 1993. Were you alive back then? Were you in high school? In America, no one was wearing Guns N Roses shirts anymore. Just bringing up the name Axl Rose got you laughed at.

I disagree. Well people may have laughed at me, but fuck them. I wore and still wear my GNR shirts that I bought when I was 12 years old back when that tour ended, in fact I wore one last week.

[GeorgeGlass]

Yeah.....imagine that. If Axl is such a douche, then why does it seem like every single rock star gets asked their opinion about him? Seems to me like Axl is still one of the biggest name in the business and he has gotten nothing but bad press for like 20 years. I do like that James said he respects that Axl is doing what he wants.

It's not because he's one of the biggest names in the business (he isn't), it's because he is such an intriguing and mysterious figure. To disappear for the better part of 7 years, then to come back with whatever he came back with stunned a lot of people. He is a tragic arc figure.

And I highly doubt Hetfield has anything to be jealous about regarding Axl Rose. It's a tale of two careers. When rock and metal went away in the 90's, Metallica tried something new - Axl disappeared.

[moreblack]

Yeah.....imagine that. If Axl is such a douche, then why does it seem like every single rock star gets asked their opinion about him? Seems to me like Axl is still one of the biggest name in the business and he has gotten nothing but bad press for like 20 years. I do like that James said he respects that Axl is doing what he wants.

It's not because he's one of the biggest names in the business (he isn't), it's because he is such an intriguing and mysterious figure. To disappear for the better part of 7 years, then to come back with whatever he came back with stunned a lot of people. He is a tragic arc figure.

exactly, most of it is hype and mystique of the nutcase recluse, it's hardly to do with the music. Infact, a good deal of the articles about GNR's music, concerts and musical legend usually have more to do with Slash.

[dalsh327]

Yeah.....imagine that. If Axl is such a douche, then why does it seem like every single rock star gets asked their opinion about him? Seems to me like Axl is still one of the biggest name in the business and he has gotten nothing but bad press for like 20 years. I do like that James said he respects that Axl is doing what he wants.

It's not because he's one of the biggest names in the business (he isn't), it's because he is such an intriguing and mysterious figure. To disappear for the better part of 7 years, then to come back with whatever he came back with stunned a lot of people. He is a tragic arc figure.

And I highly doubt Hetfield has anything to be jealous about regarding Axl Rose. It's a tale of two careers. When rock and metal went away in the 90's, Metallica tried something new - Axl disappeared.

Trent Reznor's also been asked questions about Axl over the years, and I think he's made some negative comments waaay back when, basically about Axl being surrounded by yes men, but with Robin in both bands, I don't know if Trent and Axl have ever talked over the past decade... maybe?

Besides, isn't Lars the one that's hung out with Axl, not Hetfield? Even in "Some Kind of Monster", it's not like James and Lars hang out when they're not touring and recording.

I think Hetfield can relate to protecting the name of a band. They were a band that sold more t-shirts than albums when they made it big. When they toured with Ozzy, the merch booth was cleaned out of Metallica t-shirts. There was no Hot Topic, you would've had to go to a head shop or wait for the band to come in tow, or if the record store carried t-shirts, maybe.

Metallica had to do damage control after Napster. I've never seen fans turn so fast on a band. First it was the cutting hair and playing Lolla that people went WTF. Then the symphonic CD and video, but that was okay... but Napster really made them look like elitist pricks, and even though most Metallica fans know how douchey Lars can get when he's in front of a mic or with fans, the entire country got to hear it. I understood why he was pissed, an unfinished tape leaked out, but when he came walking with boxes of names, people were freaking out. However, Metallica's allowed tapes and trades for forever.

I'm not a fan of people who leak a CD before street date. And I think GNR made a huge error allowing the entire album on My Space before it was offiically released. Why bother releasing it if everyone could listen to it for free, and why bother going after one guy if you're authorizing the entire thing to be available?

Then this comment Lars made about "I don't support mp3 downloads because I like album covers" or whatever he said not that long ago - that's why they put out tapes? Because they want fans to enjoy and appreciate the artwork??

[wasted]

I dont get why he cares about Axl's rider. It's nothing compared to U2's or other primo divas in the pop world. He's got a bed and some oranges. I know Metallica just hit each other backstage with cans of Labatts but really does it it matter. What's the big deal!

Edited October 1, 2010 by wasted

[dalsh327]

I dont get why he cares about Axl's rider. It's nothing compared to U2's or other primo divas in the pop world. He's got a bed and some oranges. I know Metallica just hit each other backstage with cans of Labatts but really does it it matter. What's the big deal!

I'm pretty sure Metallica's tour rider these days is just as elaborate as any other band's. Hetfield stopped drinking booze, so he has to find other things to occupy his time. Most of the relevant stuff is from page 18 on.

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/backstage/hall-fame/metallica

I didn't think GNR's tour rider was excessive. Keep in mind Axl's dressing room wasn't just for him, and his essentials were 2 things...water and honey.

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/backstage/heavy-metal/guns-n-roses

The other tour riders on the site are interesting.