Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo has revealed why he hasn’t written much music for the band.
Trujillo joined Metallica in 2003, and received his first credits for the band as a composer on every track on their 2008 album ‘Death Magnetic’.
Since then, in 2016 he was credited as a writer on the ‘Hardwired… To Self-Destruct‘ track ‘Manunkind’, and is listed as a co-writer on three tracks on their last album – 2023’s ‘72 Seasons‘: ‘Screaming Suicide’ ‘You Must Burn!’, and ‘Sleepwalk My Life Away’.
Now, the bassist has shared why he’s not so invested in the writing process. Speaking to Toby Morse on the One Life One Chance podcast, Trujillo said: “I’m joining Metallica, and these guys write amazing songs, and I’m just not going to suddenly insert myself into [it].”
Trujillo goes on to say that his priority is maintaining peace among the band. “As long as the river flows the right way, that’s the most important thing. [Also] how you cater to the personalities.
“It’s like, you’re going to live with these people; it’s like a family. It’s a brotherhood. You gotta respect that, and respect people,” he continues. “And when you’re in each other’s space, you gotta respect each other. You gotta help lift people, and all that kind of stuff plays into it.”
In other news, in December, Metallica played two sets full of hits, deep cuts and some unexpected covers during their annual Helping Hands benefit show.
Shortly before that, The Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan said that Metallica’s ‘Feel’ is “awfully close” to the Pumpkins’ song ‘Tales Of A Scorched Earth’.
“James has written some of the greatest, most amazing riffs, and he’s still writing them. But if you listen to ‘Tales Of A Scorched Earth’ and you listen to that Metallica song, ‘Give me fuel, give me fire, give me that which I desire.’ … Now, which song came first?”
He continued, outlining that he doesn’t harbour any frustration over the move as he doesn’t think it was done deliberately. “Now, I don’t think James would rip anything off from me, but the first time I heard [‘Fuel’], I was, like, ‘That’s awfully close’… But I love me some James.”
Elsewhere, it emerged that Metallica and Linkin Park had been set to earn several million dollars apiece for their headline sets at Sick New World 2025, before the festival was cancelled.
