Metalica Zone

James Hetfield is one of the founding members – and front man – of the world’s leading heavy metal band Metallica.

Hetfield was brought up in southern California in a devout Christian Scientist household. His parents remained devoted to the doctrines of this religion throughout their lives – even when Hetfield’s mother was diagnosed with cancer. Hetfield has said that his anger over his mother’s death has fuelled a lot of the anti-religious sentiment one finds in Metallica’s lyrics.

Hetfield and his pal Lars Ulrich formed Metallica itself in the early 1980s. Hetfield initially did not want to sing; he only planned to play guitar in the new band. After many line up changes and much experimentation, he eventually settled in to becoming the metal band’s front man.

James Hetfield is known for having had an ongoing feud with Megadeth front man Dave Mustaine over the years. Mustaine was originally employed as Metallica’s lead guitarist, but was quickly thrown out of the band after a drunken physical confrontation with Hetfield. It was alleged that the band members could not deal with Mustaine’s erratic behavior, which was tied to his drug and alcohol abuse.

James Hetfield himself acknowledged his problems with alcohol and depression over the years, entering rehab shortly before the band was set to begin recording their 2005 album St. Anger. The making of this album was documented in the filmSome Kind of Monster.

In the year 1992, Hetfield suffered second and third degree burns from a pyrotechnics display gone wrong at a Metallica and Guns n’ Roses concert. As a result, he was unable to play guitar for the rest of the tour, but managed to continue singing.