People who are divided are easier to control.

I was never the guy who was going to try to use my social media to be a source of promotion for myself... It was always trying to use whatever kind of a voice in the position that I have been blessed with for good.

Don't get me wrong - we love our hip-hop, but in its own context. Rap has no place in our music. Is what we do rhythmic? Sure. Is it syncopated? Certainly. But our music has nothing to do with hip-hop.

I try not to mix the politics as much with the band, per se, because my political views are my own; they're not necessarily the band's.

The forces that precipitate the vicious cycle of conflict on this planet do not pledge allegiance to either the left or the right or the center. They take advantage of everyone.

I formed my first band when I was going to Valley Torah High School in Los Angeles.

Music is meant to cross boundaries.

I despise lackadaisical behavior when it comes to our music. I mean, this is heavy metal music. You must be involved. You're required to be involved.

At the end of the day, what people want from me is to get up there on that stage and make them feel powerful and give them a release for an hour and a half or two hours every once in a while. And if I'm still able to do that, hopefully I'm still making people happy.

I had a motorcycle accident, and I had my garage burn down with most of my vehicles. And I've had really bad relationships that I've been in and out of. They've left their mark.

It's impossible to utilize your right to free speech in the way you truly deserve and not suffer repercussions on any level.

Ninety percent of the time, I'm a laid-back teddy-bear dude.

The God's honest truth is that, being the singer, my body's my instrument.

I'm all about freedom to go ahead and practice whatever kind of religions you want, have whatever sort of sexual preference you want, freedom in terms of being pro choice for women.

'Fade To Black' - just this amazing construct: a song that defied the definition of what Metallica was perceived to be at the time.

We've always used that as a goal - the record that literally every single track on it could be a hit. A record that breaks doors down, that opens up new opportunities to us, that helps you achieve true immortality as an artist.

I used to have, and I still do have, really bad acid reflux. I had a surgical procedure done... that repaired a valve at the top of my stomach that had completely burned away.

I will always be a proud defender of the Jewish people and of the State of Israel.

When you record and tour year after year without a break, it starts to feel like you're on an assembly line.

The world wants rock bands to be idiots.

I in no way, shape, or form envision myself as the modern-day Ozzy Osbourne - nobody can.

'In Another Time' talks about our addiction to technology.

I come from a classical background.

The power, the complexity, the aggression - there's so many things that would attract anyone to Metallica. I think that they are the prime example of a metal band.

Oh, I'm going to raise him on Black Sabbath and Metallica and football and MMA and all things that should matter for a young boy, and discipline and strength and honor and courage and everything that I would hope to instill within my son.

I'll never forget getting my first Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chain records, and hearing that wonderful, beautiful darkness. And the rhythmic intensity, that's what attracted me more than anything else.

There'd be no merit to replicating something, to repeating something. As artists and as musicians, you wanna continue to go in different directions and develop.

I think there's no truer and more pure purpose than to be able to refine your art to a point where you feel it's as possible as it can be.

'Immortalized' is hopefully what music does for everyone in terms of emotions, in terms of experiences, in terms of being people who create it.

I think that seeing as much support as somebody like Obama as a black candidate running for president in a country that historically has had issues with the African-American people, and them having issues vice-versa, is a miraculous thing.

There's everybody in the world who is always trying, time and time again, to proclaim the death of rock, or hard rock and heavy metal. Not if I have anything to do with it, not if we have anything to do with it.

I can't deny the impact of, obviously, becoming a father and having my son come into this world, and even becoming a husband. The irony is that, when people think that in certain ways it softens you, in many ways, I'm more defensive and more on guard and more frightened and more angry at everything in this world now that I have them to worry about.

We are a metal band, period. To me, the 'nu' part infers some sort of a rap influence.

Other music that 'Ride The Lightning' led me to discover was to start really kind of sinking my teeth into some of the thrash of the era that I literally had no exposure to - whether it was Slayer, whether it was Testament, whether it was Megadeth. It was the opening of a doorway, for me, to a whole new palette of music.

I've been blessed with a platform and a voice, and I owe it to myself and my family and our people to use it responsibly.

I'm liberal about everything that is issue-based as far as ideology, but I'm also of the opinion of a very small government.

The Device experience was amazing. I enjoyed working with everyone that I was blessed with the opportunity to work with, and you learn so much going outside of your normal world and outside your box, so to speak.

I attended five different Jewish day schools as a teenager. I mean, I was trained as a hazan!

I'm a very active angel investor in a number of different companies.

I'm pretty much done with political commentary. I've said everything I could possibly say. I've been a big mouth for long enough.

I have a real estate development company. I have investments in all sorts of things, and I dabble all over the place.

'Creeping Death' - that was a special song for me as a kid, because that was the one that every single Jewish kid thought, 'Oh, Metallica wrote a song for us. He wrote it about the exodus of the Jews from Egypt under slavery.'

Every time we put out a piece of art, it continues to define who we are. What could possibly be more important than that and require more of your focus and your time and your energy.

I think that people are too... They've become genre snobs.

All I can ever hope to be to my son is someone who's supportive, someone who listens and understands and points out possible other ways of thinking, ways of feeling, ways of approaching things, suggests rather than demands.

Look, it makes sense to be able to take part of what you've earned in this life and have it grow. And I hope that other musicians out there that do have their moments of profit and of success are wise enough not to squander those profits and that success.

The media continues to spin the State of Israel and Jews as war-mongering, evil people, which we are not.

The fans who know us, and me in particular, know the type of people we are. I like the finer things. We've gone through our McDonald's and Burger King phase.

I just wanted to do the things that all normal teenagers wanted to do. So I did become quite rebellious.

I'm still a businessman. But what I do for my primary living and what is my life is music, and that will never change.