James Hetfield
James Hetfield is badass. As Metallica’s co-founder, frontman, rhythm guitarist, and lead singer, it’s safe to say that Metallica wouldn’t be Metallica without him.
From a young age, he was very musical. He started with piano lessons when he was nine years old. However, it simply wasn’t his passion. Hetfield told Metal Hammer, “It was really a bit of a turn-off because it was learning classical pieces, stuff that I wasn’t listening to on the radio, you know?” (Wall). It wasn’t long before he turned to guitar and found his element.
Hetfield has said that he was inspired by Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Thin Lizzy, and Aerosmith. These bands likely inspired Hetfield with their intricate, dark riffs combined with their melodic and musical excellence—both distinct elements and goals that Hetfield has tried to emulate throughout his musical career.
Hetfield’s childhood affected the issues and themes that he deals with in his music. He was raised in a family of strong believers in Christian Science, who had very strong beliefs about avoiding medicine that were forced onto Hetfield. He felt like an outcast in school as he was excluded from playing sports because of his religion, resulting in bullying from other children (Metallica Interviews). His father left when he was in junior high, and his mother died only three years later. Hetfield held a lot of anger from these events, especially his mother’s death. He blamed his father for leaving them alone and preventing her from getting the treatment she needed to survive from cancer (Anderson).
In the present, Hetfield is partly known for his anger issues, which he says is a “form of defense” (BLABBERMOUTH.NET). He channels it into his music and taps into it. It’s part of the reason that he was drawn to create aggressive music through Metallica, displayed through his tight riffs at rapid tempos in the early days, his screaming vocals, and his lyrics about fighting higher powers.
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