Metallica's last two albums have brought a lot of music, yet there's a thing they both have in common: they have been completely devoid of a "ballad". The band have not included one since 2008's "The Day That Never Comes," but bassist Robert Trujillo believes they have not given up on slow songs altogether.
According to Metal Hammer, in a recent interview published on the band's website, Trujillo revealed that he felt that the recording process for their latest album, 72 Seasons, was set in motion by drummer Lars Ulrich asking him to put together an acoustic version of the Death Magnetic track. Yet, instead of fulfilling the acoustic request, Trujillo took a different route, crafting an original piece divergent from the initial plan. This piece, interestingly, didn't make it onto the album.
"I don’t know if I disappointed him or if I didn’t come through, but basically, that day never came because I threw together an original piece that had nothing to do with an acoustic version of "The Day That Never Comes". By the way, that original piece is not on the album, so don’t look for it… More than anything, it was intended to make a point, which was, 'Fuck it, let’s be creative, let’s concentrate on new ideas, new music, a new record.'”
When Metal Hammer asked Trujillo if he feels that "The Day That Never Comes" will remains as Metallica's last ever penned ballad, he admitted: "There were a lot of ideas that weren’t included in the final batch of songs for 72 Seasons. In the back of mind I’m sure there was an idea we should have a slower song or ballad, but it felt like we were ready to go."
"There were definitely ideas for songs that fit into the ballad category though. For me, I was more interested in the metal though, which is basically what we’ve pursued as a team, so that eventually it was like ‘we’ve got all these songs, but not one is a ballad’. But the dynamic range of what we’ve got on this album is a statement in itself, but at some point there will be a ballad.”
Trujillo also hinted at the potential inclusion of the aforementioned version in an acoustic show, or perhaps as part of Metallica's charitable efforts with All Within My Hands: "So far as "The Day That Never Comes" goes, it’s such a classic song and has a lot of potential as an acoustic song so I think it’s something we’ll do at some point, maybe even as part of an acoustic show or maybe as part of All Within My Hands"
