Guitar playing is both extremely easy for me and extremely difficult for me at the same time.

I think the whole concept behind lyrics is you better mean what you say, or you should like, become a storyteller. I mean, there's a lot of bands who are just storytellers, and then there are bands who actually have something valid to say. And the bands who have valid points are few and far between.

Metallica is a very complicated, fragile thing. On the outside, it's all metal, but on the inside it's very delicate.

A lot of the main characters in horror movies are outsiders as well, so that outsider syndrome reverberates within horror fans and geeky collectors. It's kind of a rallying call that brings fans and collectors together who are a little socially retarded, maybe.

Basically I just had to say, 'Screw everyone around me - from now on I'm just gonna play what I think is important to me and our music.' So I gave the big finger to all the current trends in technical wizardry, and just went off and did what I felt was best for the songs.

I think it's morally wrong to keep someone away from what keeps him happy.

I'm death obsessed. You know, I have death all over my house. I have a stuffed two headed sheep!