Meet your new instructors: Metallica.
The heavy metal legends will share the secrets of its successful career as a band and what it takes to be one through its very own MasterClass.
“Metallica imparts their four-plus decades of rock & roll wisdom in their new class,” Rolling Stone wrote when the online lessons was launched last Thursday on the MasterClass platform.
MasterClass is a subscription-based platform wherein some of the biggest names in the creative and artistic industries, teach their areas of expertise. Neil Gaiman teaches writing, Martin Scorsese directing, Kelly Wearstler shares interior designing secrets, Tom Morello rock guitar, Margaret Atwood creative writing and Herbie Hancock imparting jazz knowledge are just some instructors of the many fields of interest that can be learned online in the platform.
“Metallica teaches being in a band” will see vocalist James Hetfield, drummer Lars Ulrich, lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo taking turns in sharing key elements to being in a band.
One of those is songwriting wherein Hetfield, as the key lyricist of Metallica, shares his techniques in building songs. “As far as lyrics goes, I will leave spaces, where I need a vocal,” as the accompanying trailer cuts to Hetfield’s lyrical drafts wherein sections are left blank with lines in lieu of words. “And then I’ll search my one liners (that he wrote down and saved) and go, ‘oh rhythmically, that one fits’, so I’ll plug that one in and start building around that,” the singer shared.
A key focus on Metallica’s lessons are “strategies for growing and staying together as a band,” and “how to collaborate creatively, and develop and maintain a relationship with an audience, among other topics.”
Metallica would know a thing or two about the former, seeing at the height of their fame, egos within the band ran rampant and the band teetered dangerously close to breaking up, as documented on films such as “Some Kind Of Monster.”
Metallica also touched on the audience, or the “Fifth member of the band.” “You’re moving another person with your music and you’re influencing another person that’s watching them. So, it’s so multilayered,” Hetfield said, as he discussed how integral interaction with the audience is to the whole process of performance.
Metallica will also band will break down their hits that includes “Enter Sandman” and “Master Of Puppets” as they touch on the dynamics of song writing and playing together. The class ends with a six-song performance from the band.
“We have sustained our bond for more than 40 years because we’ve learned a lot about each other and ourselves over time,” Hetfield said. “In our class, we not only teach MasterClass members how we write songs and find inspiration for our music, but how the experiences we’ve had together have contributed to successful creative collaboration.”