For years, Metallica has thrilled all types of audiences, both setting boundaries and breaking the rules for the heavy metal genre.
But who would have guessed that the band is going into therapy to help them all get along, and stay together? What's even more surprising is that they've let some filmmakers make a movie about it.
Opening on Friday in New York is “Metallica: Some Kind of Monster,” a behind-the-scenes film that shows the musicians undergoing group therapy while they record a hit album.
“Therapy saved us. That’s very unmetal,” guitarist Kirk Hammett said.
Critics are hailing the documentary for its in-depth emotional profile of three long-time friends who come close to losing their band and their friendships amid midlife crises. “This is a film about relationships, about people in crisis,” said co-director Bruce Sinofsky. “It just happens to be the biggest hard-rock band of all time.”
The movie, which began filming in 2001 and took two years to complete, was originally meant to boost sales of Metallica’s first album of new material in six years.
But on the first day of shooting, the band began therapy after losing its bass player, and the filmmakers said they realized they were onto something more than just a “making of the album” documentary.
“We finally came to a point where we had to let it all out,” said singer/guitarist James Hetfield who in the film entered a rehab program to battle alcoholism.
The documentary which received rave reviews at the Sundance Film Festival is due for a release in selected New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles theatres.
Reuters contributed to this report.
