Background
Hetfield was born on August 3, 1963, in Downey, California, the son of Cynthia Bassett (née Nourse), a light opera singer, and Virgil Lee Hetfield, a truck driver. His parents were strict followers of Christian Science.
Hetfield was born on August 3, 1963, in Downey, California, the son of Cynthia Bassett (née Nourse), a light opera singer, and Virgil Lee Hetfield, a truck driver. His parents were strict followers of Christian Science.
Hetfield attended Downey High School for his freshman and sophomore years.
He learned piano at the age of 9 and later played his brother's drums. During his teen years, he started learning and playing guitar. Hetfield played with local garage bands, such as Leather Charm and Obsession. Aerosmith’s’ music was a major influence during his childhood and he was also inspired by many others, including Ted Nugent, Thin Lizzy, AC/DC, Scorpion, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Queen among others.
Hetfield found a kindred heavy metal spirit in drummer Lars Ulrich, who had placed an ad in the newspaper looking for someone to jam with. The two formed the straightforward heavy metal band Metallica in October 1981. Bassist Cliff Burton and guitarist Dave Mustaine subsequently joined the project.
Though Hetfield didn't originally plan on being the frontman for Metallica, the role he won by default now defines the band. After relocating to San Francisco and replacing the unpredictable Mustaine with Kirk Hammett in 1983, Metallica began work on their debut album. The heavy metal group was rejected by various record labels for their aggressive sound, which led to their managers launching their own label specifically for the release of Metallica's album. Although it was a risky decision, the release of Metallica's debut album, 'Kill Em All, in 1983 proved to be successful.
As the band's popularity continued to grow, they began touring in 1986 to promote their third album, Master of Puppets. While travelling on the tour bus, tragedy struck as the bus hit a patch of black ice, leading to bassist Burton was thrown from the bus, which subsequently flipped over onto him, and died. All of the members were deeply affected by the loss of Burton, but none more so than Hetfield. After the accident, Hetfield reportedly threatened to kill the bus driver and ran through the streets looking for the black ice that caused the band member's death.
The following day, Metallica went back to San Francisco. Fans of the band, in addition to the members of Metallica themselves, wondered if there was anything more that the band could do with Burton dead. It was Ulrich who convinced the band that Burton would've wanted them to carry on. And with that, they added Flotsam and Jetsam bassist Jason Newsted to the band and continued touring and prepping for what would be their biggest album.
Two years after Metallica reformed to make up for the death of their bandmate, Hetfield and Ulrich wanted to take the band in a new, more mainstream, direction, even if it meant going against their hardcore rebellious image. With the release of their fourth album ...and Justice for All, the band released their first music video for the second single off of the album, "One."
After witnessing the success that came from ...and Justice for All - the music video "One" became the most requested music video on MTV - Hetfield and Ulrich, the band's leaders, wanted to take Metallica's music a step further. They brought in music producer Bob Rock, who was known for taking rock bands and bringing them to pop star status, to work their next project, The Black Album (1991). Although The Black Album catapulted Metallica into a rock star status that they had never seen before, the journey there wasn't easy, particularly for Hetfield and Ulrich. The two headstrong leaders of the band clashed with each other numerous times during the making of the album.
In promotion of their most recent album, Metallica went on tour with Guns 'N Roses in 1992. However, tragedy struck once again while the band was on tour, except this time it happened on stage. While performing in Montreal, a large flame erupted on stage and the sound of Hetfield's guitar suddenly vanished. There was a stage malfunction and Hetfield suffered second - and third-degree burns on the left side of his body. Within three weeks, a bandaged Hetfield went back to performing with Metallica.
With Hetfield and Ulrich at the forefront, tension began to rise yet again between the band members. Newsted decided to leave the band in 2001 after having felt stifled creatively by the two Metallica creators. Two years later, the band released St. Anger, about the same time Hetfield entered rehab for drug and alcohol abuse. The following year, Some Kind of Monster, a documentary film about the making of the album and the relationships among the band members, was released.
In 2008, he made comments which were perceived as endorsing the use of his music at Guantánamo Bay to torture prisoners. British band Chumbawamba subsequently released a song called "Torturing James Hetfield," as a direct response.
Though their eighth album flopped, Metallica's next release, Death Magnetic (2008), brought the band back to their hardcore roots. The subsequent tour saw Metallica start in October 2008 and end deep in 2010 with shorter stretches and longer breaks between dates meaning burn-out was never an issue. On June 16, 2010, Warsaw, Poland saw the first of several monumental Big 4 shows featuring Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax, the fabled Big 4 of thrash.
On August 18, 2016, the band announced via their website that their tenth studio album, Hardwired... to Self-Destruct, would be released worldwide on November 18, 2016. After concluding 2016 with a hometown show at the historic Fox Theater in Oakland, the band spent much of 2017 taking the WorldWired Tour across the globe.
In addition to his Metallica duties, Hetfield has also found time to guest on friend's albums, some credited (Primus' 1999 all-star affair Antipop), and some not (ex-Faith No More guitarist Jim Martin's solo debut Milk and Blood and Corrosion of Conformity's Wiseblood).
With his strong leadership, powerful vocal style, signature rhythm guitar-playing, and skillful songwriting, Hetfield has etched a special place for himself and his band in the history of heavy metal music. He has played a major part in taking their group from being an underground roots band to one of the greatest metal bands in the history of music. In 2009, Metallica was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Hetfield was raised in a strict Christian Scientist home. Christian Scientists do not accept conventional medical care, rather, they feel that any ailment can and should be cured by God. Due to this, Hetfield’s mother died of untreated cancer when he 16. Hetfield, to this day, blames religion to some extent for the early death of his mother.
However, Hetfield retains a certain kind of faith. And so his faith might be formless and without an official name, but it’s faith nonetheless - and clearly influenced by, or a part of Christianity.
Hetfield has expressed his disdain for politics and celebrities who "soapbox their opinions," stating that "for us, people are people – you should all have your own opinion."
Quotations:
"Are you saying it's too loud? It's got to be loud. You're supposed to feel it all over."
"Dying, dying, someone told me just recently, dying is easy. Living is hard. For everyone."
"If I hadn't have had music in my life, it's quite possible I could be in here. Or nor even in here, be dead - and I'd much rather be alive."
"Everybody is born good and everybody has got the same size soul. We're here to connect with that."
Physical Characteristics: Hetfield has a number of tattoos, including one which shows flames encasing four playing cards – ace (1), 9, 6, and 3 – representing the year of his birth, and the words "Carpe Diem" ("seize the day"). The flames on the tattoo are in reference to the pyrotechnic accident which he suffered in 1992 during a concert in Montreal. He has tattooed an "M" on his right hand for "Metallica," and an "F" on his left hand for "Francesca." He also has some Christian tattoos, including crosses and one of Jesus on his right arm. He has a tattoo of two razors forming the straight edge X symbol on his left wrist.
Aerosmith, Queen, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Misfits, AC/DC, Cheap Trick, Rush, Van Halen, Blue Öyster Cult, Scorpions, Alice Cooper, Kiss, Ramones, Motörhead, Sex Pistols, Venom, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, ZZ Top, Thin Lizzy, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Allman Brothers Band, Ted Nugent, Rainbow, Deep Purple
James Hetfield married his wife, Francesca, in 1997. They have three children together and live in Belvedere, California.
Metallica and Lady Gaga teamed up at the Grammy Awards earlier this year in Los Angeles to perform Moth Into Flame from Metallica’s latest album Hardwired… To Self-Destruct.
Lars Ulrich is the drummer of Metallica.
Kirk Hammett is the lead guitarist of Metallica.
Robert Trujillo is the bassist of Metallica.
Dave Mustaine is a past member of Metallica.