METALLICA has shared the Jess Cope-directed official music video for the song “Inamorata” from the band’s latest album, “72 Seasons”
The song, which features a running time of 11 minutes and 10 seconds, also happens to be the longest recorded METALLICA song to date.
METALLICA frontman James Hetfield, who wrote the lyrics to “Inamorata”, stated about inspiration for the cut in the “72 Seasons” track-by-track breakdown video: “‘Inamorata’, having a love affair with misery. A long classic song that screamed out to end the album. Really, really cool riffs in it, really great groove. I love the way it rounds this thing out.”
In an interview with METALLICA‘s So What! fan-club magazine, James said about the lyrics for “Inamorata”: “That whole song, you know, misery as my mistress, and I’m trying to hide her. I enjoy her at certain times, but I don’t want the world to know about her. I don’t want to introduce her to the world because it’s not okay. So misery as a mistress, it does serve a purpose in my life, but I don’t want it to be my life, and I’m tired of it running my life.”
METALLICA bassist Robert Trujillo told So What! about the bass breakdown in “Inamorata”: “I believe James had a vision of having this sort of SABBATH-y, ‘Geezer-esque’ moment where the bass is sort of a naked moment, here’s this beautiful-yet-dark statement coming from the bass guitar. It feels raw, but at the same time it’s got this dark beauty to it. And what I tried to do was really just close my eyes and channel every note.
“I say to people that that song reminds me of… it’s a cross between driving on Pacific Coast Highway in the sun in your convertible, a beautiful warm summer day, ocean to your right or your left, depending on what direction you’re going.
“It has that swagger to it; it’s just very cool. Nothing’s rushed. It’s just a beautiful drive on PCH and the California coast. And when it gets to the breakdown, it’s very strong and powerful, this raw, beautiful moment. So maybe the ocean is speaking; that’s what I see. I see waves, I see the power of the ocean, the sun, the coastline. And when it gets down to that breakdown, it’s just this raw, beautiful moment, and I was closing my eyes, channeling every note.
“I was trying to be somewhat melodic, but then I was trying to create enough space so that James could slide in there, and we could work together and communicate. It’s one of my favorite moments in METALLICA.”
He added: “You know, I think about the incredible statements that [late METALLICA bassist] Cliff Burton was able to make with the songs that he was involved with. I feel that [we] obviously had hit a grand slam with ‘Inamorata’. It’s a cross between a beautiful old film with a really cool painting or something… it resonates ‘California.’ There’s something that’s beautiful about it. It has a certain flavor and feel to me.”
“72 Seasons” arrived on April 14 via METALLICA‘s own Blackened Recordings. Produced by Greg Fidelman with James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, it is METALLICA‘s first full-length collection of new material since “Hardwired…To Self-Destruct”.
