Ross Halfin
 
 BY STEFFAN CHIRAZI 
 
 In case it has escaped your attention, since the start of 2017 Metallica has taken on something of a Harlem Globetrotters feel with regards to the schedule. The band has already hit three continents and we’re not even at Easter, which means that finding time to get a gauge on what is going on can get awkward. So it is that when Rob Trujillo and I finally sat down for a chat about the current state of affairs from his perspective, it was at 10:30 on a Tuesday evening last month in his Southern Californian canyon home. As ever, Rob was happy to explain and expand upon all the things he’s been working on in these first few months of 2017. 
 
 SC: Let’s talk a little bit about how the year’s been going so far. There’s a lot of travel, a lot of fun places. How’s it been for you?
 
 RT: It’s been busy, you know. We’ve been trying to nurture the production, so there’s been some trial and error with the set and the pacing of the set. We’re opening that up a bit more now; there’s more doodles. There’s even a bit of a bass solo in there now that hasn’t happened in a long time, not to where you’re hitting the three minute mark like we are now. So there’s been a lot of challenges but good challenges you know. Because whether it’s doodles or getting the new songs situated, creating new arrangements from some of the new songs or segues, intros, stuff like that, you’re trying new things which is great, so that’s where we’re at right now. We’re trying to get the set as exciting as possible, keep the momentum and we’ve got ideas so we’re just trying ‘em.
 
 SC: Audiences have been over the top, but as seems to always happen, Mexico City was a whole other level.
 
 RT: The thing about Mexico that’s kind of crazy, and it happened before with Through the Never when we were preparing to film, it sort of seems like the “go-to” place to just jump in the water, swim, and just get into it. You’re at a certain altitude, which is already a challenge for a big stage production. You know you’re gonna be in front of, minimum 60,000 of the craziest fans in the world giving it their all, so you’re really getting thrown into the pit. In a good way though, because there’s a lot of love but at the same time, you gotta deliver and your conditioning has to be up. It’s an incredible place to play but it’s also an incredible place to really test the waters.
 
 SC: Actually, get into the physical side of this a bit as well because I think it’s hard for people to gauge that. First of all, none of you have ever worn pedometers, right? I think it would be fascinating to wear one. I’d love to see how many miles you guys clock during the average gig.
 
 RT: Right. Yeah, I know, it would be interesting for sure because you gotta have a certain amount of stamina. And even then, you know, Mexico can get pretty chilly, so we had a couple days where it was in the mid-40s by the time we went onstage, you have a bit of wind out there, little bit of a chill, so it’s just a conditioning experience too. When you get out there you kinda want to just test your body too, to see how much you’re delivering at the beginning, what you got. I think it was the last show [in Mexico] where Hetfield was like, “Man, I was pretty winded.” He said that he just actually kinda hit the wall. And that can happen. You get so excited with the crowd and everything, the momentum, and all of a sudden you’ve still got two or three songs left, and you’re like, “Oh, man. I didn’t save enough in the tank!”
 
 SC: Let me ask you this. It’s a very, very simple question but it’s one thing I’ve never fully understood. When it comes to the ramp, and going out on the ramp and walking the ramp, do you guys have an unwritten rule of how many times you go out? Is there a certain point at which you’re like, “Well, we won’t go out there the first two songs but after that it’s fair game”?
 
 RT: There isn’t a rule but your instinct sorta decides. There are times where I look over, if I see Kirk hitting the ramp, I’ll hit it too. You know, so we’re kind of like hitting both sides of the ramp. If there’s a doodle sometimes it’s just kinda nice to pace yourself and take it out there, get into the crowd a bit more. And the crowd enjoys that.
 
 SC: So it’s a feel thing, but is it like when nobody wants to be the first to show up to the party? You always want to be second, third, fourth, whatever. So is it kinda like, “Okay, let’s draw lots. Who’s gonna be the first person to head out there?”
 
 RT: [laughing] No, no. We don’t really, we don’t talk about that stuff. It just kinda happens. Yeah, that’s a good question. But no, we don’t regulate like that. It’s kinda like a “go with the flow” type of vibe, and it also depends on the song. Your instincts tell you “Okay, we should hit this.” If I see Kirk heading out there, I’ll time it with him sometimes, so it varies.
 
 SC: Let’s talk about the solo action a little bit and the fact that you’re managing to enjoy a lot more breadth and scope with that solo.
 
 RT: At the beginning of the solo, for me I like to do something that’s a little looser, but Lars likes it when there’s a bit of “Metallica” in there. So for example, I threw a bit of “The End of the Line” in there, then there was a bit of “To Live Is To Die,” and you know, even with the sound – I’m trying to find the right sound with Zach [Harmon – Rob’s tech and Metallica tri-decade-plus Metallica crew legend] to get a bit more edge. Not too much but just enough. Because there’s timing there too, you want to pace yourself with all that stuff too. And maybe it changes each night, you know? You change how you’re gonna intro into the doodle… so it’s still a work in progress, but I’m finding there’s certain things that definitely work, and I’m excited about that because you never know what’s gonna work and what’s not gonna work.
 
 SC: There is something which I don’t think should be taken for granted, and that is that you’re tremendously generous to the spirit of Cliff (Burton) and by playing “(Anesthesia) - Pulling Teeth” as you have been, I mean not only does it just sound wonderful to hear but there really is a generosity in doing it and in continuing to embrace and faithfully deliver it. Do you feel like you’re a messenger, that this is a responsibility?
 
 RT: Personally I think it’s important to celebrate the spirit of Cliff. There’s so much love for him and his contribution to the spirit of Metallica, the music, the energy, and all the wonderful stuff in his compositions are very important. They just feel like they belong. I think in a way it started in New York at Webster Hall late last year. It was the same date as Cliff’s passing, and at the last minute we decided to play “Orion.” So we were going over it in the dressing room, preparing it for the stage, and then we just went up and played it. And there was such an amazing energy in the room that night, it really hit home with a lot of people. I thought, “Well, you know, we should be doing that more often.” And then we played “The Call of Ktulu” in Copenhagen and that to me was a bit of a message too because that hit home as well. It just seems like any time we play something that’s more Cliff-related, it really connects with the audience. There’s something that’s spiritual about it, something that’s powerful.
 
 I was looking at some of the footage from the Orion festival when we played in Detroit, and I had to do my own “version” of “(Anesthesia) - Pulling Teeth” and I actually enjoyed it. I was like, wow, that was such an intense moment for me, because I didn’t have a whole lot of time to put it together but I’m watching it and I’m actually enjoying it and I see Ray Burton, Flea from the Chili Peppers, and the vibe was really, really special. Lars and I were talking [recently], and he was saying, “Hey, you know, it’d be great if you could do some sort of ‘quotes’ in your solo,” and I said, “I got something for you.” And that’s when I went into a couple of the melodic phrases from “(Anesthesia) - Pulling Teeth.” And it worked! He was like, “That was great.” So I decided to keep it in there, as it really climaxes with that energy. But in between there’s obviously a lot of other things too that need to be in there or that I’m trying…
 
 SC: …you’ve got the marching bass segment…
 
 RT: Yeah. I want [it] to be me, and incorporate me, who I am, what I do and what goes on inside of me rhythmically and the energy of that, plus I also want [it] to be Metallica, and I want [it] to include Cliff because Cliff’s so important and his spirit is just with us. So all these factors are important to what I’m trying to do. And it feels good, feels right, feels like it’s the right time. Maybe two years ago wasn’t the right time. I always believe in timing and the value of that, of what it means, and there’s a lot of things that feel right now with some of the new songs, with some of the old songs… I mean I feel like the last few shows we’ve been having a really good time, you know? And I think leading up to this really good time, we had to sort of “pay our dues” in China/Asia, and we had to work things out in Copenhagen. We also had illness in Copenhagen; we had a couple band members that were sick. So there’s been a lot of challenges.
 
  
 
 Steffan Chirazi
 
 SC: Travel being among those things.
 
 RT: Yeah, obviously playing basically two shows in one night with the Grammys and the Hollywood Palladium show, that stuff is hard work. Long rehearsals. They talk about a break. We haven’t had any break. You’re landing in LA, you’re going to a rehearsal three hours later, and then you got another rehearsal the day after and then a sound check and then you got Grammys and then you got a gig later that night. Even going through China, we had a few days off but that led into Denmark and then rehearsals and then gigs and then right into the Grammys and…
 
 SC: Yeah, I mean you’ve been doing these big production rehearsals which people probably don’t know about. It’s been back to that thing where you land and then go straight into six hours in the arena or the stadium, whichever it is.
 
 RT: I mean, you’re leaving the arena at minimum two in the morning. You know what I mean? It’s not like, “Hey, let’s go quickly run through the set.” You’re there, you’re working on things, you’re trying things, production things, running through songs, so you know, it’s busy all the time.
 
 SC: I don’t remember a time where there’s ever been fewer band members living in the Bay Area than there are now. For a long time it was sort of “unthinkable” yet here we are, three of you are away and there’s only one (Lars) in the 415 area code. So is that the trade-off? Because you don’t all live in the same place and because you can’t all drop off into HQ like the old days on the drop of a dime, is it understood that you need to build in extra time at the front end of these legs for rehearsals?
 
 RT: I understand what you’re saying, and I do believe that we could definitely use some of that old HQ time. So now, you’re taking that energy and fitting it into a rehearsal schedule at the venue that you’re playing, and some of that’s in the tuning room of course. But while it’s kinda easy to think that we would probably have shorter production rehearsals if we still got more HQ time in together, I don’t think that would be the case. I think with Metallica, we would still be at the production rehearsals for five hours minimum. As you know I like to get to the gig at least, minimum, an hour before anybody else in the band gets there. That’s for me, especially at this time, in terms of where we’re at going into the tour cycle, you know? I start my preparation even earlier in the day. Getting into the gym, stretching out, working out, preparing that way too.
 
  
 
 Steffan Chirazi
 
 SC: I don’t think I’ve seen you like it’s been this year, in 2017, with regards to always having a bass handy. In the van, at the gig, in the room, there always seems to be one. When we were going to the Great Wall you were just playing stuff. I mean is that just you keeping on top of your shit? What is that?
 
 RT: I’m running through new songs. There’s a lot, I mean I don’t know if you realize, there’s more vocal expectation now than there ever has been for me.
 
 SC: No, I didn’t know – so get into that.
 
 RT: Well, with Death Magnetic we didn’t have any backup vocals. It was basically a backup vocal-less album. Rick [Rubin] wasn’t into them, he wanted to really go old school so we didn’t have them. Now on this new album, sure, we have the element of thrash and that kinda energy; it’s very present. But at the same time there’s also a bit of the vocal production feel that, say, The Black Album had, you know? So there’s actually more responsibility on my shoulders where I’m actually singing at least on two songs. Literally I’m singing the verse with James. I am singing the verse in a harmony with James top to bottom. And I’ve never done that with James before. I don’t even know if anyone’s ever really done that with James before.
 
 SC: That’s a really good point.
 
 RT: So on certain songs like “Confusion” or “Dream No More” there’s a lot more required from me as sort of a vocalist. It’s all a bit more involved this time around, especially if we want to try and play every song at some point, and we’re working up to that. Obviously it takes time, and hopefully at some point we will get into every song and we will actually play every song. But we’re working up to that, and I feel there’s a lot of responsibility on my shoulders just because of that alone. So I am always trying to find time to play, to work in things because there’s things to do! And that’s just how I do it, and that’ll roll into rehearsals in South America coming up. So this time it’s just all about preparation and getting comfortable.
 
 But I gotta say, coming back from Mexico, I felt really good about everything we’re doing. I felt like we’re heading in the right direction. And you know, I can’t wait to take on a couple more of these new songs that we haven’t taken on yet. Obviously a song like “Spit Out the Bone” is a song that I think is really gonna be exciting to play live. But it’s also probably gonna be the most demanding.
 
 SC: Well, you’re hungry for that one. I know you’ve been hungry for that one.
 
 RT: Well, you know, it’s funny. I’m hungry for it because I just think it’s an exciting song. I mean, James jokes about it and says that’s because there’s a bass solo in there. But that’s not even what I’m talking about. I just think it’s a fan favorite we should honor and deliver. That’s all. And we’ll get to that.
 
 SC: Right. I mean Rome wasn’t built in a day and this tour’s going to be going on for quite some time. You don’t have to learn everything by November. It’s okay.
 
 RT: Right, yeah. I think right now we’re more focused on just getting up there and playing what we know, because we try to include a new song every show. That’s where we’re at, and we’ll get to the other songs. We will, we will. But we’re still working up to adding a song a show.
 
 In Mexico we played “Dream No More” on the last show. We obviously did something a little different with “Now That We’re Dead.” We played “Halo…” So we’re trying to mess around with that concept a bit more. I’m not saying that we’re gonna be able to do that every night. That’s not gonna happen and it’s obviously gonna be a challenge.
 
 SC: You brought up “Now That We’re Dead” so let’s discuss the percussion part which has been introduced.
 
 RT: James had a very cool idea, we’re still working on it and it gets better each night. Obviously as you said we need to work more on the actual “drum” itself [hopefully in the US there will be large, physical, wooden percussive drums – SC]. But you know, conceptually it’s a good idea because it’s a song that has a really good groove. It seems like we found the balance between trying to keep the really cool percussive guitar section that is there, but also bringing in the percussive element and focusing on that, making it sort of a “little jam moment” in there, and James – who’s actually a really good drummer – can kinda let loose for a bit. I think it’s always healthy to try different things and think it’s healthy for him, too. I think it’s really neat to let him loose and [see him] explore some of that energy that he has and wants to share.
 
  
 
 Steffan Chirazi
 
 SC: Yeah, very cool indeed. Hey, I got to ask you as well, you know, are Death Magnetic songs going to be creeping back into the set more here and there?
 
 RT: I think so. I think it was really nice playing “The Day That Never Comes.” That seems to be a winner off that album, for sure. Lars and I have been messing around with a couple of bits and pieces from those songs in the jam room, and you know, it’s funny because when you reunite with some of that stuff, you see a different side of it. You’re like, “Hey, these songs should have a place on certain nights in our set,” so we’ll see how that develops. The way it could happen is just basically a couple of us stepping up, learning it and getting everyone to jam it. Maybe it’s gonna be Lars and me?
 
 SC: It’s just interesting to know that you guys are still having fun experimenting with the set, sliding stuff in and sliding stuff out. It sounds like you’re almost doing it to throw down challenges for yourselves, which obviously is the way that you guys have always operated.
 
 RT: I’d like that. I think “Broken, Beat & Scarred” is a great song. I think “The Day That Never Comes” is a great song, and as you saw in Mexico, that song has really sort of connected, maybe kinda in the way a song like “One” connected? Even “…Sanitarium,” it has that potential. And some of the Hardwired… songs feel comfortable now, stuff like “Moth…” which has earned its stripes and now it’s just like a nice, comfortable, fresh shoe! So yeah, there’s some very cool stuff happening as we work through things.
 
 SC: Final word here, we’ve spoken about the musical work, the musical craft, but you also work hard to stay in tip-top shape.
 
 RT: You know, it’s kind of a crazy thing but as you get older you gotta listen to your body. Everyone’s different, but at age 52, for me personally, I need to be fresh. I need to try and as much as possible just be loose. I’m pretty aware of what works for me now, and maybe it’s stretching early in the day and then stretching again right before the show. You know, if you’re in the gym stay away from curls because they tighten you up, man. So a lot of little, little details.
 
 SC: So you don’t do any dumbbell curls or anything anymore, you don’t do any of that stuff?
 
 RT: Not day of show, no way, man. I just learned that, all that stuff recently. And let’s just say as a “finger” player it actually helps for me not to actually do that day of show.