Hetfield: Monster movie is still hard to watch

James Hetfield insists Metallica are glad they made their infamous movie Some Kind Of Monster – even though they still find it hard to watch.

The 2004 documentary charted the near-collapse of the thrash giants as bassist Jason Newsted left, Hetfield dealt with addiction issues, Lars Ulrich faced Dave Mustaine over the Megadeth man’s firing, and “performance coach” Phil Towle became embroiled in the bandmates’ issues with each other.

Despite its controversial contents, Metallica will release a 10th anniversary edition next month, with a 25-minute additional feature shot last year.

Asked if the movie makes difficult viewing, Hetfield tells US radio host Elliot Segal: “Yeah –hearing yourself, watching yourself, seeing the mirror back at what other people see. Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky, the directors, ended up being pretty much fly on the wall, so you really kind of forget the cameras are there and you’re being yourself.

“A lot of times I’m not really comfortable with myself, seeing myself in the situations. But, man, I learned a lot about what I don’t like about me, which was good – and I think everyone involved pretty much felt the same way about themselves.”

Metallica will close this year’s BlizzCon gaming convention in California next month, with the show broadcast via US pay-per-view services. The band continue work on the follow-up to 2008’s Death Magnetic, while Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward this week hailed Ulrich as an “exceptional” drummer worth learning from.

Not only is one-time online news editor Martin an established rock journalist and drummer, but he’s also penned several books on music history, including SAHB Story: The Tale of the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, a band he once managed, and the best-selling Apollo Memories about the history of the legendary and infamous Glasgow Apollo. Martin has written for Classic Rock and Prog and at one time had written more articles for Louder than anyone else (we think he's second now). He’s appeared on TV and when not delving intro all things music, can be found travelling along the UK’s vast canal network.