Hardwired

The lead single from Hardwired...to Self-Destruct, this was debuted on August 18, 2016 during a live interview with Minneapolis rock station 93X (KXXR-FM). 93X's Pablo was discussing the band's upcoming performance at US Bank Stadium when Lars Ulrich surprised him by unleashing the song for the first time.

Clocking in at 3:11, the incendiary track is old-school Metallica with a distorted riff that harkens back to the group's earlier thrash metal sound. Drummer Lars Ulrich told Rolling Stone that characteristic extends to the rest of the album and was in part inspired by Metallica's 1983 LP Kill 'Em All, which the band revisited when they performed it in full during the 2013 Orion festival. "[Kill 'Em All] had its own thing with the speed, but it's simpler -- the songs are longer but not quite as progressive," said Ulrich. "It's a world all its own. And I think there are some elements of that that rubbed off into [Hardwired...to Self-Destruct]. I'd say there's a trace of residue from rediscovering Kill 'Em All that crept into the songwriting."

The song along with the rest of the album, was produced by Greg Fidelman, who was an engineer and mixer on 2008's Death Magnetic.