Biography
In the opening years of the 1980s, heavy metal risked sliding into caricature through its fixation on spandex, hairspray, and theatrical makeup, until Metallica restored the genre’s direct, unadorned roots. While most frontmen preened for photographers and celebrated hedonistic themes, James Hetfield distinguished himself through torn denim, disheveled hair, and vocals that delivered urgent commentary over ferocious riffs played on his Gibson Explorer or Flying V.
Born James Alan Hetfield on August 3, 1963, in Downey, California, a Los Angeles suburb, to Christian Science parents whose faith he later rejected, the future Metallica singer-guitarist felt increasingly detached from peers after his mother’s death during his teenage years. He sought refuge in the guitar and the catalog of 1970s heavy metal acts including Black Sabbath, Thin Lizzy, Aerosmith, AC/DC, UFO, and Blue Öyster Cult. Several short-lived garage projects, among them Obsession and Leather Charm, yielded little momentum until an advertisement in a local music publication connected him with Lars Ulrich, a drummer and metal enthusiast who had relocated from Denmark to Los Angeles.
Ulrich exposed Hetfield to the New Wave of British Heavy Metal acts such as Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Motorhead, Diamond Head, Venom, Saxon, and Angel Witch. Together they assembled a band explicitly positioned against the glam-metal acts then dominating Los Angeles clubs; the resulting group, Metallica, would become one of rock’s most enduring institutions. After the quartet—completed at that stage by bassist Cliff Burton and guitarist Dave Mustaine—moved to San Francisco in early 1983, underground acclaim secured a recording contract.
Mustaine departed before the debut album, replaced by Kirk Hammett for Kill ’Em All. On that record and its successors, Hetfield forged a signature rhythm-guitar technique built almost entirely on downstrokes while muting the sixth string, an approach countless subsequent metal and thrash outfits would emulate. Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets solidified the band’s reputation before Burton’s death in late 1986 dealt a devastating blow. Jason Newsted stepped in, and the lineup achieved Metallica’s greatest commercial breakthroughs with …And Justice for All in 1988 and the 1991 self-titled release. During this period Hetfield recast his public persona from skateboarder to a rugged, Ted Nugent-inspired outdoorsman.
Hetfield’s history of mishaps is well documented: repeated skateboarding injuries in the 1980s forced him offstage while a roadie handled guitar duties, and a 1992 onstage pyrotechnics accident left him with second-degree burns. Outside Metallica he contributed to Primus’s 1999 all-star album Antipop (credited) as well as Jim Martin’s Milk and Blood and Corrosion of Conformity’s Wiseblood (uncredited). The band has maintained a steady output of best-selling albums and sold-out tours, though early 2001 brought uncertainty when a Playboy interview in which Hetfield discussed his difficult childhood, his new responsibilities as husband and father, and his criticisms of his bandmates was followed shortly by Newsted’s departure.
Born James Alan Hetfield on August 3, 1963, in Downey, California, a Los Angeles suburb, to Christian Science parents whose faith he later rejected, the future Metallica singer-guitarist felt increasingly detached from peers after his mother’s death during his teenage years. He sought refuge in the guitar and the catalog of 1970s heavy metal acts including Black Sabbath, Thin Lizzy, Aerosmith, AC/DC, UFO, and Blue Öyster Cult. Several short-lived garage projects, among them Obsession and Leather Charm, yielded little momentum until an advertisement in a local music publication connected him with Lars Ulrich, a drummer and metal enthusiast who had relocated from Denmark to Los Angeles.
Ulrich exposed Hetfield to the New Wave of British Heavy Metal acts such as Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Motorhead, Diamond Head, Venom, Saxon, and Angel Witch. Together they assembled a band explicitly positioned against the glam-metal acts then dominating Los Angeles clubs; the resulting group, Metallica, would become one of rock’s most enduring institutions. After the quartet—completed at that stage by bassist Cliff Burton and guitarist Dave Mustaine—moved to San Francisco in early 1983, underground acclaim secured a recording contract.
Mustaine departed before the debut album, replaced by Kirk Hammett for Kill ’Em All. On that record and its successors, Hetfield forged a signature rhythm-guitar technique built almost entirely on downstrokes while muting the sixth string, an approach countless subsequent metal and thrash outfits would emulate. Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets solidified the band’s reputation before Burton’s death in late 1986 dealt a devastating blow. Jason Newsted stepped in, and the lineup achieved Metallica’s greatest commercial breakthroughs with …And Justice for All in 1988 and the 1991 self-titled release. During this period Hetfield recast his public persona from skateboarder to a rugged, Ted Nugent-inspired outdoorsman.
Hetfield’s history of mishaps is well documented: repeated skateboarding injuries in the 1980s forced him offstage while a roadie handled guitar duties, and a 1992 onstage pyrotechnics accident left him with second-degree burns. Outside Metallica he contributed to Primus’s 1999 all-star album Antipop (credited) as well as Jim Martin’s Milk and Blood and Corrosion of Conformity’s Wiseblood (uncredited). The band has maintained a steady output of best-selling albums and sold-out tours, though early 2001 brought uncertainty when a Playboy interview in which Hetfield discussed his difficult childhood, his new responsibilities as husband and father, and his criticisms of his bandmates was followed shortly by Newsted’s departure.
Singles
