James Hetfield Says He Might Not Be Done Writing “The Unforgiven” Songs
During a recent episode of The Metallica Report podcast, Metallica frontman James Hetfield was answering some fan questions when he was asked whether he was done writing “The Unforgiven” songs after completing the trilogy on 2008’s Death Magnetic. It’s a great question, honestly, and one that elicits a bit of a chuckle from Hetfield before giving the biggest “who knows” answer he possibly could.
“I’m not dead! I’m not dead yet, so it’s not finished.
“I don’t know if we’re going to have “Unforgiven XII” or not. I don’t know. If I say I know then it’ll be different,” Papa Het continues, again with a laugh before turning more serious in explaining the lyrical differences between the songs.
“‘Unforgiven III’ it’s obviously about self-forgiveness and I didn’t have any of that, especially in the first one. “II” was kind of the middle ground. ‘Unforgiven III’ [was about] ‘How can I forgive you if I can’t forgive myself?’ That is kind of the wrap-up to that,” he says, “but there could be more. I don’t know.”
I don’t know about you, but when I picked up Death Magnetic back in my college days, I laughed at the prospect of there being a third “The Unforgiven” track. Don’t get me wrong, the first one is great, the second one is good (but I’m also a ReLoad apologist), but a third one just felt superfluous.
Yet after listening to that album again and again over the years, I get where James is going. If the songs are about his journey of self-reflection, then it makes sense that on an album where Metallica’s trying to return to form, he’s got some things to say about his struggles and demons.
Later on in the podcast, Hetfield also shares the two songs that he and his bandmates regularly consider adding to the setlist, yet never feel up to pulling the trigger on it: “The Frayed Ends of Sanity” and “Dyer’s Eve,” both from …And Justice For All. Given the fact that Metallica’s not the band it was back in 1988, it makes sense why. Especially when you consider at least one member can’t get the timing down on some of the songs from that era…
