James Alan Hetfield (born August 3, 1963 in Downey, California) is an American rock musician; vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the metal band Metallica. Since 2011, he has been ranked 87th in the list of the greatest guitarists of all time according to Rolling Stone magazine.
James began to play music at the age of 9 on the piano, then played the drums of his brother Dave, and finally switched to the guitar. His first band was the amateur band "Obsession". The band consisted of the Veloz brothers on bass and drums, and Jim Arnold on guitar. Ron McGovney and Dave Marrs sat in the attic of the Veloz garage, fiddling with the lighting controls. The band played famous songs from such bands as Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin. After Obsession broke up, Marrs, Hetfield and McGovney continued to play together.
The most important event in the life of James was a meeting with a native of Denmark, drummer Lars Ulrich. Together they founded the band Metallica. At first, James decided to give up playing the guitar and only sing, but after some time he began to play rhythm guitar parts, as well as solo parts in certain songs.
Despite similar musical tastes and the founding of the band, Hatfield and Ulrich have always been polar opposites. How they managed to keep a balance over the years, working on one project, is a mystery. James and Lars are the only ones who remain loyal to Metallica for a long time.
The musicians have always held on to each other. Together they went through everything: falls, rises, the creation of new LPs and videos, endless tours and the recognition of millions of fans around the planet.
In one of his interviews, James said that he considers himself the heart and soul of the team, but Ulrich is the core that solves all organizational issues.
After the presentation of the compositions Nothing Else Matters and The Unforgiven, Hatfield showed in practice that there are no boundaries. Heavy music can also include lyrical shades of a suffering soul.
Over the entire existence of the cult band, the musicians have sold more than 100 million LPs. Several times they had to hold the prestigious Grammy award in their hands. Over the years, James completely changed his life orientation. Alcohol has almost faded into the background. True, it was not possible to completely get rid of the addiction. He changed his image, and now he does not look like a typical metalhead with long hair, but like a wise, intelligent man.
The name of the lead singer of Metallica has been steadily occupying leading positions in all music ratings for three decades. The group suddenly burst into world music and literally from the first notes won the hearts of millions of listeners. Of course, such a dizzying success could not remain aloof from the assessment of experienced critics and experts. Today, the Metallica collection (since 1990) has about two dozen awards. These are awards for the best metal performances, and marks for successful albums and compositions, and awards for the best metal video.
So, for example, in 1996, the musical group was awarded the title of the most beloved in the style of metal / hard rock, and frontman James Hetfield, respectively, was named the best performer. Also in 2009, Metallica was officially inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.