Frankie Palmeri, the singer of Emmure, has stepped into the public debate opened by James Hetfield’s remarks about politics at Metallica shows, arguing that many of those who insist that «music is always political» accept politics in music only when it agrees with their own politics and their own worldview.
“`The spark was Metallica’s show on October 10, 2026 at the Sphere in Las Vegas. There Hetfield first thanked those who travelled to see them — «your travels, the money you spend, your time» — and then made his position clear: Metallica are not on stage, the way some other artists are, to influence people with their nonsense, but so that people forget what is going on outside it. «Metallica’s agenda is love, energy and heavy music», he said.
The remarks drew mixed reactions online. Some fans agreed with the decision to keep the band away from political messages, others focused on the way he talked about artists who take a stand, while plenty reminded everyone of the political lyrics on Metallica’s early records.
Palmeri wrote his own view on X on October 13, 2026: «The whole “music is always political” discussion is funny. Everyone who keeps repeating it wants political music only when it agrees with their own politics and their own world. Otherwise they boil in their own juice and turn rabid, they literally want people to die because they disagree with them».
He then replied to several users in the comments. To a fan who told him that bands with left-wing political positions never changed his mind and reminded him of Emmure’s «Bring A Gun To School», Palmeri answered that he is not saying bands should not say whatever they want in their music. What he denounces, as he explained, is selective rage and hypocrisy: «If the words inspire people, fine. It is just plain to see that they only want to hear one kind of message».
When he was asked whether that is a bad thing, he was adamant: «Yes, it is bad. It is weakness, and it cancels the whole argument that music is political by nature, the moment they are not open to music that expresses or hints at something opposite to their own worldview. Cowardice and hypocrisy». On a comment saying that the other side wants its opponents dead, he spoke about the appeal of safety, of groupthink and of violent release with your friends — «dangerous things». And when a user argued that conservatives more easily listen to music that challenges them, he commented: «I did not even specify which political side tries to impose what is necessary in art. Everyone immediately knows who I am talking about. Crazy».
«Bring A Gun To School» opened Emmure’s 2014 album «Eternal Enemies». The title caused reactions when the tracklist was announced, and on the retail edition of the record the track appears as «(Untitled)».
See also: Metallica add «Fade To Black» to their Sphere set and Metallica’s debut at the Sphere in Las Vegas.
