Metallica frontman James Hetfield recently opened up about his songwriting process and the dark inspiration behind ‘Fixxxer,’ a track from the band’s seventh studio album Reload.
Hetfield reflected on the lengthy creative process behind the song. He revealed how a deep personal obsession with voodoo culture shaped the track’s lyrics and visuals.
“Well, my memory’s a little fuzzy. There was about 40-some-odd songs we were working on, but, yeah, those long, epic-y songs, ‘Fixxxer,’ they didn’t come together, like, overnight,” Hetfield said. “It was a long work in progress, because you know you have something really special, and you want to give it the love it deserves, you know?”
Hetfield went on to describe the specific cultural fascination that drove the song’s imagery and lyrical direction.
“So we probably, you know, took a long, long time putting that song together, and lyrically, probably went a few different places, but I think I, at that point, I was so obsessed with voodoo, and the whole New Orleans, you know, three Xs on the graves, you know, the voodoo queen there, and all that stuff,” he continued. “I was obsessed with it, so the pins and all that stuff, a lot of visuals around that song.”
He further explained how the voodoo metaphor connected to real-life challenges and influenced both the lyrics and the music itself.
“And, you know, it’s like when your life’s going well, someone jabs another pin in your voodoo doll and gives you another challenge, you know, and you get to live through that,” Hetfield said. “And, yeah, I don’t know if it’s somebody else doing that or not, but yeah, the visuals for that helped me a lot in creating the music, too. So I think some of the lyrics came around before all the music.”
Hetfield’s comments offer a rare window into the creative world behind one of Reload‘s most ambitious tracks. The song, much like the album itself, represented Metallica pushing well beyond the boundaries of their earlier sound.
Reload was released on November 18, 1997, through Elektra Records. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Despite its commercial success, the album received mixed critical reviews, with many praising the performances while taking issue with its sprawling length and perceived lack of innovation. It remains a defining document of a band in deliberate artistic transition.
The album’s origins trace back to the same recording sessions that produced its predecessor, Load. The two records were originally conceived as a single double album before the material was split into two separate releases. Both albums were produced by Bob Rock and marked a clear shift away from the band’s thrash roots toward a harder rock and blues-influenced sound.
‘Fixxxer’ closes out Reload as the album’s final track. It functions as a slow-groove, expansive epic that critics singled out as one of the more adventurous moments on the record. Its atmospheric, unhurried construction stands in contrast to Metallica’s earlier, more aggressive work. The track is widely regarded as a song that successfully pushed the outer edges of the band’s sound.
The Reload era saw Metallica exploring broader, less conventional metal influences. That creative restlessness is evident throughout the album and finds its fullest expression in a closing track built around voodoo imagery, personal metaphor, and a sound that refused to be easily categorized. Hetfield’s remarks make clear that ‘Fixxxer’ was not simply a stylistic experiment, but a deeply personal piece of work shaped by genuine obsession and lived experience.
Source: SiriusXM
