Watch Metallica write Moth Into Flame

james hetfield
Gih-gih shape: Hetfield

Metallica have released a nine-minute video that follows the band as they write latest track Moth Into Flame.

It’s the second song to appear from 10th album Hardwired… To Self-Destruct, which arrives on November 18.

In the video below, drummer Lars Ulrich takes the lead as they discuss the composition, which at the time had the working title Plow.

After he persuades James Hetfield to reorganise a series of phrases, the frontman says: “That’s awesome – going into that fast riff is so awesome!”

Hetfield goes on to discuss adding a “guitar doodling thing” that “might work.”

Producer Greg Fidelman then offers his own advice about being aware of repetition and thinking about the end of the song.

Later, Hetfield complains of playing a fast-moving riff he describes as “gih-gih-gih-gih,” adding: “I like gih-gih-gih-gih, but I’ve got to get back in gih-gih shape.”

Earlier this week Hetfield discussed the thinking behind releasing the 12-track follow-up to 2008’s Death Magnetic as a double-disc title, saying it was a matter of sound quality and adding: “For the extra dime it costs to make it a double, we think it’s very worth it.”

Ulrich recently described Hardwired… To Self-Destruct as a “lean” piece of work, continuing: “The last record, as it went along, kept getting bigger and bigger. The songs got longer endings and that type of stuff. This record was quite different – the songs got tighter, leaner and more concise. I feel this is Metallica at the leanest we’ve been for a while.”

Metallica commence a run of tour dates starting next month, with more to be revealed in due course.

Metallica: Hardwired… To Self-Destruct tracklist

Disc 1

  1. Hardwired
  2. Atlas, Rise!
  3. Now That We’re Dead
  4. Moth Into Flame
  5. Am I Savage?
  6. Halo On Fire

Disc 2

  1. Confusion
  2. Dream No More
  3. ManUNkind
  4. Here Comes Revenge
  5. Murder One
  6. Spit Out The Bone

Metallica tour dates

Oct 22: Mountain View Shoreline Amphitheatre, CA
Oct 23: Mountain View Shoreline Amphitheatre, CA
Oct 26: San Juan Coliseo De Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico
Oct 29: Quito Parque Bicentenario, Ecuador
Nov 01: Bogota Hipodromo De Los Andes, Columbia
Nov 03: Guatemala City Estadio Cementos Progreso, Guatemala
Nov 05: San Jose Estadio Nacional, Costa Rica
Feb 03: Copenhagen Royal Arena, Denmark
Feb 05: Copenhagen Royal Arena, Denmark
Mar 25-26: Lollapalooza Brazil
Mar 31-Apr 01: Lollapalooza Argentina
Apr 01-02: Lollapalooza Chile

Watch Metallica play Moth Into Flame on live TV

Freelance Online News Contributor

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.