We learned pretty quickly what the guys were up to during these crazy times, but we’ve all been engaged with various life stories of our own since COVID-19 became a part of our world. I wanted to get an idea of what your days have been like. We got six fans together and it proved to be both a great conversation and a reminder of how connected this global family remains.

Last week, we got a true taste of who Avi Vinocur is, where he came from, and the journey he’s on. A large part of that involves Metallica, and in this second part of our in-depth feature, we explore how the two came together and how it works.

Friendly yet quiet, Avi has never been one of those guys who needs to impose himself on a room. Which isn’t to say he couldn’t. Oh, he could. Avi could slowly spin proceedings around to his perspective without ever seeming like he’s pushing anything on anyone.

Tony Baldwin is the Housing Navigation Coordinator at Hamilton Families, a tireless job which requires patience, fortitude, and most of all, a passion to help others. He explains to Steffan Chirazi where he found the drive to enter a career helping not just to house those in need, but to understand their struggles.

The All Within My Hands Helping Hands Concert & Auction was a hybrid live experience which saw fans and band interacting in real time for the first time during this pandemic. Steffan Chirazi pieces together how technology, art, and passion dovetailed at another level to get this show on the digital road to your homes.

Contemporary illustrator, fine artist, political cartoonist, and owner of Invisible Industries, Munk One is an artistic force of nature. Steffan Chirazi learns how that came to be.

Lars is used to being the chief navigator. He is used to knowing the exact speed and coordinates at which Metallica is traveling, yet for the last 12 months, such things were often impossible to get ahead of. I wondered how all of this would affect Lars, and the fact is, he has weathered the turbulence with relative calm, carving out some continuity amidst those waves of the unknown.

Kii Arens and Steffan Chirazi sat down to chat for So What! about both his work as an artist and his poster for the 2020 Helping Hands Concert & Auction. What actually followed was an illustration of a life not to be contained by expectations.

As ever, Rob Trujillo is the river that helps connect Metallica and ensure there is always flow between the four band members. He remains – in my opinion – the quintessential rock’n’roll renaissance man: a supremely creative, connective, empathetic, and enlightened person who constantly seeks fresh creative energy and always wants to learn more about everything.

Intertwining spirituality with an innate sense of curiosity and appreciation of nature, Zeb Love is an artist motivated by literature whose journey has no defined paths. Steffan Chirazi speaks with the wolf as man.

One of life’s great mysteries occurs when people look better older. And when I saw Kirk Hammett at the winery some weeks back for the Pandemica filming, he continued to present that mystery in spades. Rude of health, positively radiant, and generally carrying an abundance of positive energy, Kirk Hammett was sparkling and ready for action.

“Dirty” Donny Gillies, the man who became famous for his work with Metallica and “that” pinball machine, carved a whole new level for himself with the aforementioned work. Here, he explains to Steffan Chirazi the concept behind this latest poster, plus the warmth and passion of squeegees.

This is my friend, someone I’ve known for 36 years, yet these have been some very testing months for mankind, including Metallica, and specifically James.

It has been a while since Steffan interviewed the band... that changes tomorrow.

Michelle Harvey, aka WolfSkullJack, is deeply driven by the rhythm of the forest and lupine energy in life and art. Steffan Chirazi is intrigued.

The Pandemica drive-in event might’ve seemed “easy to do,” but appearances can be ridiculously deceiving. From not being allowed to grab your own drinks to getting tested for COVID-19 three times in 24 hours, STEFFAN CHIRAZI gets the story behind the event’s creation and delivery.

A dynamic and energetic presence throughout the S&M2 project, conductor Edwin Outwater was also one of the most important elements onstage.

This is Metallica 2020, and this is the first – and last – date on the Pandemica Summer Tour, a strictly one-date affair.