Confusion

Album: Hardwired... to Self-Destruct (2016)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song explores the concept of post traumatic stress disorder, as James Hetfield sings of a soldier whose constant struggle with PTSD prevents him from living normally. The Metallica frontman explained to So What that the condition is widespread in today's society and not just restricted to the armed forces.

    "Shellshock in the military and being put into horrific scenes is one pretty obvious sign of PTSD, and coming home from that, trying to come home and still living that, and having a fear of seeing something that's affected you so greatly as a trauma inside you that it's carried home. The movie American Sniper [was] a great, great portrayal of that. Hooked on the, 'I gotta save my brothers, if I don't go back they're gonna die.' Using again that kind of 'martyr' as an excuse for the addiction of the drama of the war, and neglecting his family at home.

    So, it kinda ties into the other songs, but PTSD is everywhere, man. Things that happen to you in your childhood, or you know, sports figures, anyone who wears a uniform, who's gone out there and portrayed a life of service, giving, or using force, power. 'Go out there and kill. Go out there and get 'em.'"
  • The thrashy track originally had the working title of "Lima."
  • Metallica played the song live for the first time on January 18, 2017 at LeSports Center in Beijing, China.
  • The official video for "Confusion," in which one soldier's civilian life in an office blurs into a battlefield, was shot by Claire Marie Vogel. The director, photographer and editor is based in Los Angeles and also filmed the clip for Norah Jones' "Carry On."
  • This is the first Metallica album without a songwriting credit to Kirk Hammett. The guitarist's phone went missing, along with the 250 ideas for riffs contained on it. "It was devastating for me," he told the Seattle rock station KISW in 2016. "I had to start at zero again while everyone else had material for songs." >>>
    Suggestion credit:
    Bertrand - Paris, France

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Stand By Me: The Perfect Song-Movie Combination

Stand By Me: The Perfect Song-Movie CombinationSong Writing

In 1986, a Stephen King novella was made into a movie, with a classic song serving as title, soundtrack and tone.

Modern A Cappella with Peder Karlsson of The Real Group

Modern A Cappella with Peder Karlsson of The Real GroupSong Writing

The leader of the Modern A Cappella movement talks about the genre.

Jeff Trott

Jeff TrottSongwriter Interviews

Sheryl Crow's longtime songwriting partner/guitarist Jeff Trott reveals the stories behind many of the singer's hits, and what its like to be a producer for Leighton Meester and Max Gomez.

Michael Schenker

Michael SchenkerSongwriter Interviews

The Scorpions and UFO guitarist is also a very prolific songwriter - he explains how he writes with his various groups, and why he was so keen to get out of Germany and into England.

Loudon Wainwright III

Loudon Wainwright IIISongwriter Interviews

"Dead Skunk" became a stinker for Loudon when he felt pressure to make another hit - his latest songs deal with mortality, his son Rufus, and picking up poop.

Little Big Town

Little Big TownSongwriter Interviews

"When seeds that you sow grow by the wicked moon/Be sure your sins will find you out/Your past will hunt you down and turn to tell on you."