Metallica Singer 'Proud' of Music's Role in Torture

Tunes represented something detainees didn't like: Hetfield

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Oct 29, 2009 1:46 AM CDT

(Newser) – Metallica frontman James Hetfield is rather proud his band's music was played at top volume to break down the resistance of Guantanamo detainees under interrogation. "It’s strong, it’s music that’s powerful,” he told an interviewer from a German TV network. “It represents something that they don’t like—maybe freedom, aggression—I don’t know. Freedom of speech."

But he added that he was also "kind of bummed about it" because of his belief that politics and music don't mix. Several American musicians opposed to the use of their music on Gitmo prisoners recently joined a call demanding that the federal government release documents on the practice.

[Images (3)]

[Videos (1)]

James Hetfield of Metallica peforms in Berlin. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

James Hetfield of Metallica performs on stage at London's Wembley Stadium. (AP Photo/Anthony Harvey)

James Hetfield of the American heavy metal band Metallica performs with the band as they present their latest album "Death Magnetic" in Berlin Friday, Sept. 12, 2008. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

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Metallica frontman James Hetfield talks about politics in this excerpt from an interview with German network 3sat. (Pepc616)

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COMMENTS

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Showing 3 of 41 comments

John Magin

Jun 30, 2010 3:24 PM CDT

James, shut up and play. Same could be said for blasting Liberace or lady Ga Ga- it's not the genre, it's the volume.

mehrheit

Oct 31, 2009 3:10 AM CDT

I'll 2nd (3rd?) that! Though I'll admit to liking parts of the black album, especially when it was new, the albums that followed it were so unconscionably bad that they literally (LITERALLY!) reached back through time and exposed the black album as the prelude to SUCK that it had, in fact, always been.

yummines

Oct 30, 2009 12:48 PM CDT

well it depends on what kind of techno, some are pretty cool. however full blast of generic stuff like "Traffic" by Tiesto probably would work... I don't understand why the US government thought that rock was a more effective means of torture than annoying techno or hip hop...

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Iraq • Guantanamo Bay • Metallica • heavy metal • harsh interrogation • detainees

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Metallica Singer 'Proud' of Music's Role in Torture