Metallica: Rock's Not Dead But Some Bands Need To Die Off

Artisan News Service issued a new video report which included edited footage of Metallica's press conference for their Orion Festival and Hetfield addressed the idea of rock dying with, "It dying and popularity are two different things.... if it's not popular, fine. I kinda like it that way."

"I love being the underdog. I love being the thing that's not liked. I love to build it up again. That's part of the mission in life for me."

The clip then jumps to a clip of James saying, "Maybe saying, there's too many bands out there, and some have to die off so the strong survive. That's just my theory?"

Guitarist Kirk Hammett added "like lemmings" before drummer Lars Ulrich laughed and ended with "You heard it here first; there are too many bands out there. Some of them have to die off. Quote James Hetfield"

The video feature also included Marilyn Manson who compared rock to a zombie that will never die despite decades of declarations of its demise. They also talked to Slash, who took a more serious approach to answering the question. You can see what he had to say below: