James Hetfield recently revealed which Metallica songs present the greatest challenge during live performances. He shared his insights during an appearance on The Metallica Report podcast.
The Metallica frontman discussed the difficulties band members face when performing certain tracks from their extensive catalog.
“We all have our own certain songs that are a little difficult,” Hetfield shared. “‘Moth Into Flame,’ ‘Master of Puppets,’ those are two that are, ‘Wow,’ those are a little difficult.”
The vocalist acknowledged that each band member has their own list of challenging songs to perform live.
“I’m sure Lars [Ulrich] has his list, we all have our list,” he continued. “But we push through and we help each other with it.”
These performance challenges have been evident in high-profile live settings. The band’s technical demands become even more apparent under intense scrutiny.
“Moth Into Flame,” from Metallica’s 2016 album Hardwired… to Self-Destruct, proved particularly challenging during the band’s collaboration with Lady Gaga at the 2017 Grammy Awards. Guitar World reported that the performance was marred by technical difficulties that left Hetfield’s microphone silent for much of the song.
The Grammy incident highlighted how external factors can compound the inherent difficulty of performing complex Metallica tracks. Guitar World noted that Hetfield eventually moved over to share Lady Gaga’s microphone when his own failed to work properly during the first half of the performance.
Despite the technical setbacks, the collaboration demonstrated the band’s ability to adapt under pressure. Consequence of Sound observed that both artists overcame the technical difficulties to deliver a fiery performance. This showcased the resilience Hetfield mentioned when discussing how band members “push through and help each other.”
The incident serves as a real-world example of the challenges Hetfield described. Even seasoned performers must navigate both the musical complexity of their catalog and unexpected technical hurdles during live performances.
