James Hetfield was born in 1963 in L A. As a child he was very quiet and into sports, but with long hair and a true love for heavy-metal. He's influences from Motörhead , Black Sabbath and Ted Nugent do still shine through in his music and lyrics.

It was James's older brother, who played in a local band that turned onto heavy-metal in the first place. James started to play in a highschool band called "Obsession" where they did mostly Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin covers. His mother realised how musically gifted her son was and tried to make him play the piano, but in vain, James couldn't leave his guitar alone!

James's parents were Christian Scientists with a strong belief. When his mother got cancer she felt, because of her belief, unable to accept any modern medical care and relied on her faith to heal her. She eventually died. This affected James deeply which is shown in various song lyrics, such as "Mama Said" on Load and "The God That Failed" on "TBA", where he tries to understand his mother's decision.

James is an extraordinary frontman because he dislikes discussinng himself and his music and leaves most of the talk to the other members, but when he does speak he is honest and blunt.

Just recently James married his girlfriend Franscesca, and she is expecting a child. Around this time James also quit drinking alcohol. He claims that he stopped for strictly personal reasons (perhaps it isn't Franscesca who is pregnant...? hehe...).

James has also an unspoken love for skateboarding, but rumours abound that tour contracts have included a "No Skateboarding" clause, Because James seems to get himself into accidents all the time. He has now picked up snowboarding instead, since the landing is a bit softer! It is not just the skateboarding that has got him into accidents, he also enjoys hunting but as he is dogged by misfortunes he was involved in a hunting accident which required 40 stitches in his head. He also got severely burned during a show in Montreal in 1992.

Though clumsy, James is gifted with a rich baritone, which makes him one of our time's greatest singer. His voice growls down deeply into our souls and stays there to tell us what is on his mind, -and as "Load" shows, it is a lot. There we can all get into the inner of him, feel his pain and be him for a few minutes, but have we reached the bottom of his soul yet? Only time can tell.
Back

Page hosted by Geocities. Get your own free homepage!