After leaving an indelible mark on the world of music with a four-decade-long career, 10 hugely successful studio albums and countless live shows, one might wonder what's left for the world-dominating heavy metal four-piece that is Metallica.
But for James Hetfield and co, it's clear: channel all the knowledge and experience gained from years of relentless writing and touring, and teach their loyal fans how to create and be in a band.
Yes, MasterClass – the online platform which connects experts from hundreds of fields from acting and music to cooking with aspiring students all over the world – has partnered with probably the most authoritative source available for their latest course.
Metallica Teaches Being a Band comprises 15 videos, totaling 2 hours and 45 minutes, and sees Hetfield, Kirk Hammett, Rob Trujillo and Lars Ulrich offer guidance on everything from the creative side – crafting songs, writing lyrics and honing sounds – to ensuring a band's longevity through constructive criticism and managing egos.
Also included in the course are deconstructions of some of Metallica's biggest tracks, including Master of Puppets and Enter Sandman, as well as a full live pro-shot performance.
To watch the course, you need to subscribe to MasterClass, which costs $14.99 (billed annually). With your subscription, you'll gain access to over 100 other courses from instructors including Tom Morello, St. Vincent, Herbie Hancock and loads more.
In the meantime, we're still waiting on the band's next album – which Kirk Hammett hopes will cut through “the division in this world”.
“I think the sentiment now is that people need music more than ever to bring everyone together and collectively celebrate that we've got to this point,” Hammett told Classic Rock back in August. “There's a lot of division in the world, and hopefully this Metallica album will cut through [it] and bring people together in ways that are more beneficial for everyone overall.”
For the past few months, Metallica have been celebrating the 30th anniversary of their seminal self-titled album, most commonly referred to as The Black Album.
Back in September, the band unleashed The Metallica Blacklist, a sprawling compilation album in which 53 different artists pay tribute to Black Album songs with covers of their own. Highlights include Weezer's mostly faithful take on Enter Sandman, St. Vincent's industrial-leaning cover of Sad But True and J Balvin's hip-hop reworking of Wherever I May Roam.
For more information on Metallica Teach Being a Band, head to MasterClass.
