“”Dyers Eve” portrays a child who’s been sheltered from most of the outside world as I was with this religion that my parents were involved in, Christian Science. That alienated me from a lot of the kids at school. Like when I wanted to get involved with some­ thing like football. You needed a physical from a doctor, and I would be like, “I don’t believe in this, I have this little waiver saying I don’t need this.” In a way, it was going against the rules. which I kinda like. But as a child, it really fucked with me as far as being different from other kids. You wanna be part of the gang, you wanna do the things they do.”James Hetfield (565)

“We just got into some social topics. The death penalty was a big question and the electric chair. That’s heavy. What if that was you, mistakenly? That’s what that song was about, being accidentally found guilty and put to death with no way to stop it. It was just a matter of putting myself into other people’s situations and trying to get these feelings out.”James Hetfield (565)

“Sometimes I don’t even realize it’s me writing that shit. But “Fade to Black” got good and bad response. When the censorship thing started, that was one of the songs they tried to attack. These parents finding their kids dead in the garage with these lyrics, sucking on an exhaust pipe. People tried to sue bands for their mistakes. But we got tons and tons of letters – we still do – that say, “‘Fade to Black’ saved my life.” But no one wants to read that. It’ too nice, too boring. [At the time of writing – Ed] we were very depressed. We were about to embark on our first European tour, and our equipment was stolen. We had no gear, that shot down the European trip, and we were stuck in New Jersey, bumming.”James Hetfield (565)

“”Don’t Tread on Me” was quotes from military people back in the Revolutionary War. I didn’t come up with too much of the shit on my own. It’s about a flag, a snake and a symbol. There’s nothing wrong with being proud of where you’re from.”James Hetfield (565)

“As a kid intimidation was a great defence for me to not have to get close to people or communicate or express my fears and weaknesses. So, going into Metallica as the staunch statue of a front man, that intimidation factor blossomed and was a great defensive weapon. I could keep people at bay with that, and not state what I actually needed. That’s what St Anger really means to me: being able to express anger in a healthy way instead of just shutting up and being intimidating and than raging out on someone when it all builds up.”James Hetfield (313)