Metallica are particularly unhappy about certain actions the U.S. military has taken in Iraq.
Not the ones that resulted in the collapse of Saddam Hussein’s empire – the ones in which the band’s music was played to extract information from terrified Iraqi prisoners who’d never been exposed to heavy metal.
Speaking to the press in Europe, drummer Lars Ulrich told the World Entertainment News Network that he strongly objects to the use of “Enter Sandman” as a device of coercion. “I feel horrible about this,” he said. “No one in Iraq has ever done anything to hurt me, and I don’t understand why we have to be implicated in that bullsh-.”
Ulrich added that if the Army is intent on using loud music to break Saddam’s supporters, they should find something really grating on the ears. “What about firing up some Venom or some of those Norwegian death metal bands?” he proposed. “The problem with that is then it wouldn’t be a soundbite. Sometimes Metallica become the token heavy metal band that you can talk about.”
Despite his unhappiness, Ulrich said there’s nothing he can do about the current situation. “What am I supposed to do about it,” he asked, “get George Bush on the phone and tell him to get his generals to play some Venom?”
The band’s label had no comment.
