james hetfield

biography

Personal information Birth name James Alan Hetfield Nickname Papa Het Birth August 3, 1963 (age 61) Downey, California, Flag of the United States United States Nationality United States Physical characteristics Height 1.85 Family Parents Virgil Greeley Hetfield Cynthia Hetfield Spouse Francesca Tomasi (matr. 1997-2022) Couple Adriana Gillett (2022-present) Children Beaver Virgil Hetfield Cali Tee Hetfield Marcella Francesca Hetfield Education Educated in Brea Olinda High School Downey High School Professional information Occupation Musician Composer Years active 1978-present Gender Thrash metal Heavy metal Hard rock Speed ​​metal Instrument Voice Guitar Battery Type of voice Baritone

early years

Of German, English, Irish and Scottish descent, Hetfield was born on August 3, 1963 in Downey, Los Angeles County, California. His childhood was difficult in many physical aspects. His parents, Virgil Hetfield (truck driver) and Cynthia (opera singer) were members of a Christian Science religious group. For this reason, most of Hetfield's childhood revolved around these religious activities. His father also suffered from alcoholism. According to the doctrine of the sect to which his family belonged, the use of medicines to cure illnesses was forbidden. James' mother died of cancer when he was 16, a fact that marked a serious conflict between James and the religious dogmas practiced by his family and that, later on, would greatly influence the lyrics of his future compositions such as: Dyers Eve, Mama Said, Until It Sleeps and The God That Failed. At the age of nine, James began taking piano lessons. Later, he would play drums for his brother David, and finally dedicate himself to the guitar in his teens, more specifically at the age of 14. During those years, James formed his first band called Obsession, inspired by groups such as: Black Sabbath, UFO, Kiss, Aerosmith, Motörhead, Queen and Thin Lizzy. Obsession consisted of the Veloz brothers on bass and drums, Jim Arnold on lead guitar and Hetfield on vocals. His friend Ron McGovney fulfilled the role of roadie, and later joined the band as an integral member when the Veloz brothers retired.

early years pt.2

After moving to Brea, California, James met drummer Jim Mulligan at Brea Olinda High School. During lunch breaks, the two would rehearse, scaring other guitarists with their previously unheard-of heavy, loud sounds. One day, a student named Hugh Tanner was spotted by James and Jim carrying parts for a Flying V around the school. The three formed the band Phantom Lord, with intermittent bass players. The project lasted until James graduated, at which point he had to return to Downey. At this time, James and his friend Ron McGovney moved into a house slated for demolition, then owned by McGovney's parents. The house was the ideal place for James and Ron to hang out and rehearse. James convinced Ron to play bass, the band Phantom Lord broke up, giving rise to Hetfield's third band which would be called Leather Charm. The only difference from the previous band was that in Leather Charm, James no longer played guitar and Ron now played bass, while Tanner and Mulligan kept their initial instruments. The band played heavy rock songs at parties and even managed to record a demo. After that, the band began to break up. The first to leave was Tanner, who was replaced by Troy James. Later, drummer Mulligan decided to join a more progressive band. Lacking a drummer, James and his bandmates decided to break up Leather Charm for good. Although Mulligan's departure was what determined Hetfield to look for a new drummer, it was also Hugh Tanner who greatly influenced James' musical life. Hetfield did not initially consider taking the role of vocalist in his previous bands. Eventually, John Bush of Armored Saint (later Anthrax singer) was invited to sing in the band.

Metallica

Drummer Lars Ulrich, who had landed a spot on a compilation album produced by Brian Slagel, placed an ad in Recycler magazine to form a band to compose a song to fill the slot. The ad was answered by James Hetfield, who eventually brought Lars himself, his friend Ron McGovney (bass) and Dave Mustaine (lead guitar) into the band. Ron McGovney left the band, making way for Cliff Burton on bass. At that time, problems began with Dave Mustaine, who was violent and problematic when under the influence of alcohol and drugs, reasons for which he was expelled from the band in 1983. Months later, Mustaine formed his band called Megadeth. When the group was preparing to record their first studio album, Kirk Hammett, lead guitarist of the band Exodus, traveled to Queens (New York) to join Metallica after the insistence of Hetfield and Ulrich to audition with the band. From then on, James Hetfield took over the creative reins of the band, starting with the melodic and harmonic composition of the songs, as well as the elaboration of the lyrics and the production in the studio. He composed all of Metallica's songs with the alternating participation of Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, Cliff Burton and Dave Mustaine until the album Master of Puppets, with the exception of (Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth, composed by Burton, and "Motorbreath" credited solely to Hetfield. In 1992, he participated in the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, one of his greatest influences, playing with Metallica in the introduction of the long tribute, and then singing strangely without a guitar, accompanied by Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath and Queen, playing Stone Cold Crazy.

private life

In 1997, he married Argentine Francesca Tomasi, who served as the band's wardrobe assistant during the Black Album tour. The couple has three children: Cali Tee, (June 13, 1998), Castor Virgil, (May 18, 2000) and Marcella (January 17, 2002). In 2022, they officially announced their divorce. Rehabilitation During the recording of the album St. Anger, James Hetfield decided to suspend his participation in order to enter rehab for alcoholism. A few months later he returned to the studio to complete the album. This event can be seen in the documentary Some Kind of Monster, as well as the departure of Jason Newsted from the band, who was later replaced by Robert Trujillo after an audition with other bassists. James Hetfield reappeared live in 2003, when Metallica was named as an MTV Icon (tribute program to outstanding bands) where bands such as Korn, Limp Bizkit, Sum 41, rapper Snoop Dogg, among others, performed some Metallica songs. On September 27, 2019, the band announced on their social networks that they had to cancel the current tour due to Hetfield being forced to re-enter rehab, after 17 years of his recovery (that tour that they cancelled was the one that was going to pass through Australia and New Zealand respectively). In 2020, a tour of South America was planned, which was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic as was his admission to rehab in 2019, but new dates were later announced for 2022.

private life pt.2

Accidents James Hetfield suffered an accident during a joint Guns N' Roses and Metallica concert in 1992 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. During the performance of the song Fade to Black, Hetfield stood on a fireworks tower at the moment it was being lit. This caused him to suffer second and third degree burns on his left arm and face, forcing him to continue the tour without being able to play guitar. Despite this incident, he continued singing thanks to the support of guitarist John Marshall of the group Metal Church, who was in charge of covering the rhythm guitar. Hetfield decided to tattoo the arm affected by the burn with a drawing of four burning playing cards representing the date of his birth (1963). On July 7, 8, and 9, 2000, James also sat out the show due to illness. He was replaced by Kenny Tudrick, Kid Rock, Head, Daron Malakian, Serj Tankian, Jonathan Davis, Munky, and Jason Newsted, who served as vocalist or guitarist. These were also dates on which Metallica performed various covers of the bands that supported them. During the Master of Puppets tour James suffered a skateboarding accident that left him with his left arm in a cast and only dedicated to vocals. Also during that same tour, the bus in which the other members of the band were traveling had an accident on the road, injuring Lars, Kirk and James, but which unfortunately took the life of the band's legendary bassist, Cliff Burton in 1986.