Roger Waters has launched a scathing attack on Metallica guitarist James Hetfield, branding him a “prick” amid a wider debate over the relationship between music and politics.
On October 10, during Metallica’s fourth of 10 shows at the Las Vegas Sphere, Hetfield appeared to take a shot at pop act Macklemore during a mid-show speech. He criticized musicians who use their platforms to push political views, seemingly referencing the controversy that saw Macklemore kicked off his tour with Ed Sheeran last month. All the other support acts, along with Sheeran’s own backing band, subsequently quit the tour in solidarity.
“Metallica is not here, like some other entertainers, to influence you with their bullshit, okay?” Hetfield said. “We’re here to forget about all of the outside shit.”
Waters, the former Pink Floyd frontman who has made political convictions a central part of his music and public persona, took issue with Hetfield’s seemingly apolitical stance. Speaking on Katie Halper’s podcast, he dismissed the Metallica guitarist in particularly harsh terms.
“Can we stop talking about this prick?” Waters snapped. “I’m so bored with him. He’s just showing that he’s a complete prick. He’s got an IQ of about three, and why we’re talking about him I honestly don’t know, because he’s a nobody.”
“He may have a few hundred million dollars or whatever, but he’s a prick, and he’s no musician,” Waters continued. “I heard them playing acoustic instruments, and they couldn’t. It was appalling.”
Hetfield’s comments also drew scrutiny from those who pointed out that Metallica’s own catalog includes songs addressing political and social issues. The band’s Sphere set opened with “Blackened,” which tackles environmental destruction, and closed in on its conclusion with “One,” a song about the horrors of war.
Nuclear annihilation, censorship and failures of the legal system have also featured in Metallica’s music over the years. The band’s high-profile lawsuit against file-sharing service Napster in 2000 further cemented its place in debates over music, technology and artistic control.
Waters, meanwhile, suggested Hetfield had missed a more fundamental lesson.
“I wish he had grown up with a mama or a dad or a friend or even a cousin or somebody in the family who took him to one side when he was little [and taught him kindness],” he said.
“It’s a shame this prick didn’t have somebody around him to explain that being kind is way more important than all that loud music and bouncing around and whatever.”
Interestingly, the day before Hetfield’s remarks, one of rock guitar’s most outspoken political figures, Tom Morello, offered a more nuanced take on the relationship between music and politics. Despite his own reputation as a politically engaged musician, Morello argued that artists don’t necessarily have to use their platforms to address political issues.
“My take is, in order for music to be great, it has to be authentic,” he told Star FM. “If I didn’t write songs about injustice, it would be false, and I couldn't make music that I think connected with people.
“Other bands — whether it’s Mötley Crüe writing about groupies and stuff — that’s authentic, so it comes across as something that’s powerful. So it’s like, ‘Don't make political music to please Tom Morello. Make music that’s honest to your heart, and that's how you can connect with people.’”
Morello’s comments took on added relevance in light of the Macklemore controversy, particularly when he explained what he sees as an artist’s responsibility.
“As an artist, you have one responsibility, and that's to tell the truth in your art,” he said. “If, however, you’re an artist that does have ideas about injustice in the world and you censor yourself because you’re afraid you’re gonna lose — the radio station’s not going to play you, or these fans are gonna write nasty comments — then that, to me, feels like you're doing yourself and your times a great disservice.”
Waters has also lambasted Sheeran for taking an apolitical stance amid the fallout from Macklemore’s removal from the tour.
Elsewhere, a Pink Floyd insider has lifted the lid on the factors that drove a wedge between Waters and David Gilmour. The bass player has also been dragged into Sammy Hagar’s recent public dispute with Alex Van Halen, who has since said he wants to bury the hatchet with his former bandmate.
