Frantic (Metallica 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." During the 2003 live show in Orlando James Hetfield said about Frantic: "This song's about life. Like right fucking now." This show is available for free download on livemetallica.com. In the DVD "Some Kind of Monster" Lars reveals he wanted to name the album St Anger, as Frantic.
The song was played live at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards, and debuted in May of that year at the MTV Icon ceremony.
Track listing
CD Single #1
- "Frantic" (Hetfield/Ulrich/Hammett/Rock) - 5.50
- "Blackened" (Live) (Hetfield/Ulrich/Newsted) - 6.37
- "Harvester of Sorrow" (Live) (Hetfield/Ulrich) - 6.41
- "Frantic" - Music Video
- Live tracks recorded on June 1, 2003 at the Download Festival, Donington, UK
CD Single #2
- "Frantic" (Hetfield/Ulrich/Hammett/Rock) - 5.50
- "No Remorse" (Live) (Hetfield/Ulrich) - 5.16
- "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" (Live) (Hetfield/Ulrich/Hammett) - 6.40
- Live tracks recorded on June 1, 2003 at the Download Festival, Donington, UK
International 2 track single
- "Frantic" (Hetfield/Ulrich/Hammett/Rock) - 5.50
- "No Remorse" (Live) (Hetfield/Ulrich) - 5.16
- "No Remorse" recorded live on June 1, 2003 at the Download Festival, Donington, UK
Belgium/Netherlands limited edition
- "Frantic" (Hetfield/Ulrich/Hammett/Rock)
- "Harvester of Sorrow" (Live) (Hetfield/Ulrich)
- "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" (Live) (Hetfield/Ulrich/Hammett)
- "No Remorse" (Live) (Hetfield/Ulrich)
- "Harvester of Sorrow" recorded live on June 15, 2003 at the Fields of Rock Festival, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" & "No Remorse" recorded live on June 28, 2003 at the Werchter Festival, Werchter, Belgium
Spain/Portugal limited edition
- "Frantic" (Hetfield/Ulrich/Hammett/Rock)
- "Harvester of Sorrow" (Live) (Hetfield/Ulrich)
- "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" (Live) (Hetfield/Ulrich/Hammett)
- "No Remorse" (Live) (Hetfield/Ulrich)
- Live tracks recorded on June 21, 2003 at the Doctor Music Festival, Barcelona, Spain
Italy limited edition
- "Frantic" (Hetfield/Ulrich/Hammett/Rock) - 5.50
- "Blackened" (Live) (Hetfield/Ulrich/Newsted) - 7.02
- "Harvester of Sorrow" (Live) (Hetfield/Ulrich) - 6.33
- "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" (Live) (Hetfield/Ulrich/Hammett) - 7.18
- "No Remorse" (Live) (Hetfield/Ulrich) - 5.29
- Live tracks recorded on June 13, 2003 at the Imola Jammin' Festival, Imola, Italy
Scandinavian limited edition
- "Frantic" (Hetfield/Ulrich/Hammett/Rock) - 5.50
- "Blackened" (Live) (Hetfield/Ulrich/Newsted) - 8.02
- "Harvester of Sorrow" (Live) (Hetfield/Ulrich) - 7.06
- "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" (Live) (Hetfield/Ulrich/Hammett) - 6.49
- "No Remorse" (Live) (Hetfield/Ulrich) - 5.33
- Live tracks recorded on June 26, 2003 at the Roskilde Festival, Roskilde, Denmark
Germany limited edition #1
- "Frantic" (Hetfield/Ulrich/Hammett/Rock) - 5.50
- "Harvester of Sorrow" (Live) (Hetfield/Ulrich) - 6.49
- "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" (Live) (Hetfield/Ulrich/Hammett) - 6.58
- Live tracks recorded on June 8, 2003 at the Rock Am Ring Festival, Nurburgring, Germany
Germany limited edition #2
- "Frantic" (Hetfield/Ulrich/Hammett/Rock)
- "No Remorse" (Live) (Hetfield/Ulrich)
- "No Remorse" recorded live on June 8, 2003 at the Rock Am Ring Festival, Nurburgring, Germany
France limited edition
- "Frantic" (Hetfield/Ulrich/Hammett/Rock)
- "Blackened" (Live) (Hetfield/Ulrich/Newsted)
- "Harvester of Sorrow" (Live) (Hetfield/Ulrich)
- "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" (Live) (Hetfield/Ulrich/Hammett)
- Live tracks recorded on June 11, 2003 at Le Bataclan, Paris, France
Japanese EP
- "Frantic" (Hetfield/Ulrich/Hammett/Rock) - 5.50
- "Blackened" (Live) (Hetfield/Ulrich/Newsted) - 6.37
- "Harvester of Sorrow" (Live) (Hetfield/Ulrich) - 6.41
- "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" (Live) (Hetfield/Ulrich/Hammett) - 6.40
- "No Remorse" (Live) (Hetfield/Ulrich) - 5.16
- Live tracks recorded on June 1, 2003 at the Download Festival, Donington, UK
12" Vinyl
- "Frantic" (Hetfield/Ulrich/Hammett/Rock) - 5.50
- "Frantic" (Remix by U.N.K.L.E.) (Hetfield/Ulrich/Hammett/Rock) - 6.51
Music video
A music video, directed by Wayne Isham, was made to go along with Frantic's release as a single. The video depicts a man looking back on his life (in which he is constantly drinking, having sex, and smoking) at the instant that he crashes his rotisserie delivery pickup truck into an RV at an intersection. The video was shot in Montreal, Canada.