Frantic (song)

Frantic (song)

"Frantic" is the opening track and second single by thrash metal band Metallica off their 2003 album St. Anger. This song, like many others on St. Anger, is about the band's past struggles with addictions, particularly lead singer James Hetfield's alcohol problem, for which he spent many months in rehab. The lyrics also draw on zen axioms, most notably the Buddhist concept of dukkha brought up by Kirk Hammett: "Birth is pain. Life is pain. Death is pain." These lines may also be a reference to the Samhain song "Macabre" from their Initium album, as the band are fans of Glenn Danzig, Samhain frontman.

During a concert in Orlando in 2003 James Hetfield introduced the song with the words "This song's about life. Like right fucking now." This show is available as a free download on livemetallica.com. In the DVD "Some Kind of Monster" Lars reveals he wanted to name the band's then untitled album "Frantic". In the end, the album was named St. Anger.

The song was played live at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards, and debuted in May of that year at the MTV Icon ceremony.

"Frantic" is one of four songs to be played after the "Madly In Anger With The World Tour". The other three are "All Within My Hands," "Dirty Window," and "St. Anger". In this song, Kirk Hammett sings this part "Birth is pain, Life is pain, Death is pain, It's all the same".

The song was used in the third season premiere of Smallville, "Exile", during a scene where Clark Kent robs a bank.