I Hunt, Therefore I Am

My absolute least favorite Metallica song is "Of Wolf and Man" on the Black album. I don't really like the groove, the lyrics, or the melody. It's just not a song I would choose as either their best or brightest piece of music. I have felt that way since I first heard the album in 1991. I don't mind that James Hetfield sings, "I hunt, therefore I am" in the lyrics but, apparently, there are a lot of people
that have a problem with it apparently.

Here's my take on it. I don't own a gun. I don't plan to own a gun. I realize that hunting is a passion of a lot of people. I realize that gun ownership is a right I enjoy as an American citizen. I appreciate that if I wanted to own a gun, I could. Simply, it's my choice to not own one.

That leads me to James Hetfield. I don't really care if he owns a gun, if he likes to shoot bears in the wilderness, if he likes to go to Russia on a hunting expedition, as he discussed in the "Some Kind of Monster" movie, or even if he narrates a television series about hunting bears. That's his passion outside of Metallica. All of the members of Metallica have passions outside of music. Drummer Lars Ulrich sold off a bunch of his paintings (also shown in the "Some Kind of Monster" movie). Guitarist Kirk Hammett likes scary movies. I admit to not knowing what bassist Robert Trujillo does for fun outside of Metallica, which is sad because he's been in Metallica now for a decade.

All that said, do I really believe James Hetfield should *only* focus on Metallica and have no other interests? Should he only pursue a hobby that I, a music fan, grant approval for him to do? That's insane. It is also the perspective I have when I read about the protests that came prior to Metallica's concert in England. Hetfield should follow his bliss and do what makes him happy.