Metallica: 10 Awesome Lyric Meanings You Totally Missed

After the meticulous work that came on the Black Album, Metallica were aching for a change of pace on their next record. Though it was panned by the more metal-centric fans, Load was the first album that showed the more authentic side of Metallica as both players and as people. The songs were more downtempo, but James had a lot to unpack from a lyrical standpoint.

Coming right at the midpoint of the record, "Bleeding Me" was the first song that showed Hetfield truly venting his self-frustration in song. With the last few years being dominated by life on the road, Hetfield had picked up a habit of heavy drinking that started to grow into a dependency. Rather than looking outward to his rockstar lifestyle, James channeled all of his energy inside himself to create a blemished critique of his own dependence on alcohol.

Though it is not mentioned explicitly in the lyrics, the entire track revolves around Hetfield trying to purge himself of all the unnecessary rockstar tropes. It may be a painful journey back to normalcy, but there is a silver lining as he talks about sowing the seeds of healthier and less destructive habits into his life.

James would eventually seek treatment for his alcohol abuse, but at the time, pouring his feelings into his music seemed to do the trick just fine.