Cliff was a very smart guy, a reader, very eloquent. I just don't understand why he went, and not one of us.
And I thought to myself: I actually have a conection to this place, it's part of my musical legacy. [Hammett talking about Scorpions]
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.
[about Nothing Else Matters] James always wanted to be perceived as this guy who is very confident and strong. And for him to write lyrics like that - showing a sensitive side - took a lot of balls.