James Hetfield

James Hetfield
James Hetfield, September 15th 2008
James Hetfield, September 15th 2008
Background information
Birth name James Alan Hetfield
Born August 3, 1963 (1963-08-03) (age 46),
Downey, California
Occupation(s) Musician, Songwriter, Producer
Instrument(s) Vocals, guitar, drums
Years active 1978–present
Label(s) Warner Bros., Elektra, Megaforce
Associated acts Metallica, Spastik Children, Corrosion of Conformity,
Website www.metallica.com
Notable instrument(s)
ESP "Truckster" Signature model
ESP "Grynch" Signature model

James Alan Hetfield (born August 3, 1963, in Downey, California[1]) is the main songwriter, co-founder, vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the American heavy metal band Metallica.

Contents

Biography

Early life and family

James Hetfield was born on August 3, 1963, in Downey, Los Angeles County, California to a family of English, Irish, Scottish, and German descent.

James' father, Virgil (a truck driver who later left the family) and mother, Cynthia (a light opera singer) were devout and strict adherents to Christian Science, and accordingly, much of James' young life revolved around Christian Science.[2]

In accordance with their beliefs, Hetfield's parents strongly disapproved of medicine or any medical treatment and remained loyal to their faith even as Cynthia was dying from cancer.[2]

Musical influences

Cynthia's death and James' subsequently turbulent relationship with religion have both been the focal point of many Metallica lyrics throughout the years - the songs "Mama Said", "Dyers Eve" and "The God That Failed," are about Hetfield's parents, and "Until It Sleeps" is about cancer.[3]

Hetfield was nine years old when he first began piano lessons, after which he took on his brother David's drums and finally, at the age of fourteen, James began to learn to play guitar. [4]

James identifies Aerosmith as having been his main musical influence as a child, and has said that they were the reason why he wanted to play guitar. Other bands such as Motörhead, Black Sabbath, Diamond Head (band), Queen, Led Zeppelin and Thin Lizzy also had a major influence on his musical tastes.[3]

Pre-Metallica Bands

Hetfield formed his first band, Obsession, when he was in his early teens. The members of Obsession were:

Obsession spent much time in the Veloz brothers' garage jamming, with Ron McGovney and Dave Marrs acting as roadies. Marrs and McGovney subsequently joined the band itself when the Veloz brothers quit.

After the death of his mother, James moved to Brea, California where he attended Brea Olinda High School and met up with drummer Jim Mulligan. The two jammed during lunch breaks, scaring fellow pupils with their loud and heavy music.

Hetfield's next band Phantom Lord was born with Tanner on guitar, Mulligan on drums, and Hetfield singing and playing guitar. The group went through a few bass players until graduation, when Hetfield moved back to Downey.[1]

Once back in Downey, Hetfield moved into a house owned by McGovney's parents that was slated for demolition due to an expressway expansion.

Hetfield talked McGovney into playing bass guitar, Phantom Lord disbanded, and then the third band under Hetfield's leadership, Leather Charm, was born. Hetfield no longer played guitar, McGovney played bass guitar, while Tanner and Mulligan retained their former Phantom Lord positions.

Leather Charm was largely a hard rock combo which played a few originals along with covers of songs such as Iron Maiden's "Remember Tomorrow". Hetfield would later go on to perform Remember Tomorrow with Metallica in 2008.

The band performed at a few parties and recorded a demo, but then began to fall apart.

Tanner left the band, to be replaced by Troy James, then Mulligan left for a more progressive, Rush-like band.

Without a drummer, the rest of the band decided to call it quits. It was Mulligan's departure that led to Hetfield searching for a new drummer. It was through a classified ad in a local newspaper, The Recycler, that Hetfield would meet Lars Ulrich. The two would form Metallica in 1981.

Metallica

In the early days of Metallica, Hetfield did not have an interest in being the lead vocalist, and Metallica experimented with a few different vocal/guitar configurations. Some of the options considered included adding another guitar player, having John Roads play lead guitar, as well as asking John Bush from Armored Saint (who later joined Anthrax) to sing for the band. The finalized line-up of the band became Hetfield (rhythm guitar and vocals), Lars Ulrich (drums), Dave Mustaine (lead guitar), and Ron McGovney (bass).

From 1981 to 1983, Mustaine's famous rock and roll lifestyle sparked heated altercations between him and Hetfield. Mustaine also once poured beer into Ron McGovney's bass, very nearly causing serious damage. Eventually, Hetfield and Ulrich ejected Mustaine due to his alcoholic tendencies, and recruited lead guitarist Kirk Hammett from the band Exodus the same day. Mustaine was sent home on a 4-day bus journey, and went on to form the thrash metal band Megadeth.

Until the mid-1990s, Hetfield recorded all rhythm tracks and most harmony tracks. Since the recording of Load, Kirk Hammett is recording rhythm guitars as well. James occasionally plays guitar solos, too, such as "Nothing Else Matters", the outro solo on "The Outlaw Torn", the second solo on "To Live Is to Die", the second solo on "Orion" and the first interlude solo on "Master of Puppets". He also writes the majority of the guitar harmonies, as well as writing the lyrics, vocal melodies, and co-arranging the songs with Ulrich.

Hetfield has been involved in many onstage accidents, the most well-known being an incident with pyrotechnics at Montreal's Olympic Stadium. While on the GN'R-Metallica Stadium Tour in August 1992, he accidentally stepped into the path of one of the chemical flames that had been rigged to shoot from the lip of the stage during the opening of "Fade to Black". Hetfield's guitar protected him from the full force of the blast; however, the fire engulfed his left side, burning his hand, arm, eyebrows, face and hair. He suffered second, and third-degree burns, but was back on stage 17 days later, although his guitar duties were delegated to former guitar tech and Metal Church guitarist John Marshall for four weeks while he recovered.[5]

Hetfield also broke his arm several times while skateboarding, which prevented him from playing guitar on stage, and subsequently caused Hetfield's management company Q Prime to add a clause in James' contract forbidding him to ride a skateboard during a Metallica tour. During a concert supporting Metallica's Black Album, James blew his voice box out singing the cover song "So What" while still having a lot of Metallica songs to play, forcing him to take vocal lessons for the first time. James did basic warm-up exercises to piano keys with his vocal coach who also gave him a cassette tape of the piano warm-up for future use. Hetfield still uses the same cassette he was given in the early nineties to this day before any show or any recording Metallica does.

Hetfield with Metallica Live in London 2003

During the recording of the St. Anger album, Hetfield went into rehab to address his alcohol addiction. Hetfield had long-standing issues with alcohol and the band's alcoholic tendencies had earned them the nickname "Alcoholica" by the music press. Hetfield rejoined the band after two months in rehab and seven months recovering with his family. He is now clean and sober and is determined to remain so.

The documentary Some Kind of Monster shows the making of the St. Anger album and documents the various conflicts and issues the band were facing at the time including the departure of Metallica's bassist, Jason Newsted, alcoholism, family commitments, and the future of the band with many in the rock press questioning whether the band would even still be together to see the completion of the St. Anger album.

Although St. Anger was seen by many as the weakest Metallica album to date, Hetfield, and the rest of Metallica, along with their new bassist, Robert Trujillo have addressed their many issues, and are continuing to make music. Metallica's newest album, Death Magnetic, was released on September 12, 2008. Like St. Anger and every album of original material released by Metallica since 1991's Black Album, Death Magnetic went #1 on the Billboard charts in over 30 countries during its first week of release and sometimes longer. [6]

Personal life

When he is not writing, singing or playing, Hetfield enjoys a variety of outdoor activities including hunting, skateboarding, snowboarding, water and jet-skiing; sketching, working in his garage customizing cars and motorcycles, watching his favorite football team the Oakland Raiders, and going to hot-rod shows.

He also collects vintage guitars--particularly those from 1963--and enjoys working on classic automobiles. Among his favorites are a '74 Chevy Nova, which he helped restore, and "The Beast", an all-terrain four wheel drive Blazer.

He put his 1967 Chevrolet Camaro up for sale on eBay, with the proceeds going to a Music for Schools program. The car was used in the video for "I Disappear" and was given to him as a gift upon the video's completion. Years later, James donated the car to the Hard Rock Cafe which is featured in the movie Hard Rock Treasures.

Hetfield has several tattoos, including one which shows flames encasing four cards, - Ace (1), 9, 6 and 3 - representing the year of his birth, and the words "Carpe Diem" (Seize the Day, also part of the title of the track "Carpe Diem Baby" off ReLoad). The flames from the tattoo are reportedly in reference to the pyrotechnic accident he suffered from in 1992. He has also tattooed an 'M' on his hand which stands for Metallica.

Aside from these pursuits, Hetfield says he is often happiest spending time with his wife Francesca and their three children: Cali (13 June 1998), Castor (18 May 2000), and Marcella (17 January 2002). Hetfield married his wife Francesca Tomasi on August 17, 1997.

During an interview on NPR's Fresh Air, Hetfield stated that his wife had helped him to mature and learn to deal with his anger issues more constructively, explaining that after they met, his destructive tendencies embarrassed both of them. The Hetfield family currently resides in Marin County, CA.

Equipment

Guitars

Hetfield has been a major endorser of ESP guitars since the 1980s, and is best known for playing custom-made Explorer-style guitars with an EMG 81/EMG 60 set for pickups. His popularization of the models was considered by some to be a catalyst in Gibson's decision to sue ESP over loss of profits (Gibson originated the model in the late 1950s and has allowed other companies to build replicas).

Hetfield's main guitar from the early days was an inexpensive Flying V copy, used almost exclusively until about 1984 when he switched to the Gibson Explorer model. The most common Explorers were the white Gibson "More Beer!" Explorer, and the white ESP Explorer known as "EET FUK", featuring middle finger inlays. He also has a white Gibson Explorer which says "So what!"

During the mid-1990s, Hetfield also used his two signature ESP Flying V models, one with red flames and one with green flames. He also asked a friend to fix black and silver diamond-plate metal onto the surface of some of his ESP Explorer guitars

James ESP Signature Custom Guitars include:

Hetfield's experiments, placements of stickers and modifications have resulted in the production of signature models by ESP guitars. He bought a black ESP LTD Viper baritone 300, installed an EMG Afterburner booster circuit, and asked a friend of his to paint green flames on it. This resulted in the limited edition "The Grynch" model guitar. He splashed some Killrust grey paint on an ESP Eclipse model guitar, installed EMG 81 & 60 pickups, moved the toggle switch to a lower position - which resulted in the signature model ESP "Truckster" guitar.

He also uses two custom-made Explorer model guitars, built by bass luthier Ken Lawrence. Occasionally, James will use Kirk's electric guitars in the studio, in particular his Fender Stratocasters and Telecasters, as well as his Tom Anderson Pro Am (which was used for the clean guitar intro of "Enter Sandman"). On tour, James plays a range of different guitars, including many of his custom ESP models, and several Gibson models.

James Hetfield's current tour guitars:

Amplifiers & Cabinets

Hetfield used a ProCo Rat distortion pedal in combination with a modified Marshall 1959 SLP amplifier and Marshall 1960B 4x12 speaker cabinet (with Celestion Vintage 30s speakers), for the 1983 album Kill 'Em All. The amplifier was stolen in Boston, Massachusetts in early 1984, which partially influenced him to write the song "Fade to Black".

For Ride the Lightning in 1984, Hetfield used an Ibanez Tube Screamer TS-9 overdrive pedal in combination with a Marshall JMP2203 amplifier, and Marshall 1960B speaker cabinets. He equalized the tone so it would have as minimal midrange frequencies as possible.

By 1985, Hetfield had grown tired of the thin artificial sound of distortion pedals, as well as the typical use of the Marshall guitar amplifier. For the recording of 1986's Master of Puppets, he and Kirk Hammett bought a Mesa/Boogie MarkIIC+ amplifier, and slaved its preamp into his Marshall amplifier, resulting in a more natural-sounding strong powerful distortion tone. He further enhanced his rhythm guitar tone with B&B/Aphex Parametric Equalizers, mixing desk equalization, and triple-tracking of every rhythm part with slightly alternating guitar settings. This complex process resulted in an aggressive, strong, rich, and sustaining thrash guitar tone with reduced midrange frequencies but sharp treble frequencies and thick low frequencies.

Hetfield used a very similar process and equipment in 1988 for the recording of ...And Justice for All. He increased the tone by using Mesa/Boogie Studio and Quad preamps into Mesa/Boogie Strategy 400 poweramps while recording dual-layered tracks. In the process, he had dialed in so much low end into his tone, as well as lower midrange frequencies, that he partially masked the sound of Jason Newsted's bass tracks.

By 1990, along with the assistance of Bob Rock, Hetfield perfected the scooped-midrange studio tone that he had been seeking since 1983. He discovered that utilizing the midrange frequencies straight from a modified Marshall amplifier, layered over guitar tracks of his trusty Mesa/Boogie MarkIIC+ as well as the Mesa/Boogie MarkIV, plus an ADA MP-1 preamp and a Mesa/Boogie Strategy 400 poweramp, he would get a much thicker and richer tone. He enhanced the frequencies by enclosing his four Marshall 1960B speaker cabinets with foam walls and U-Haul blankets, and carefully phase-canceled particular frequencies with eight closely-positioned microphones and two ambient condenser microphones.

The majority of his clean tones come from a Roland JC-120 Jazz Chorus Guitar Amplifier.

In 1995, Hetfield had altered his tone by introducing lower-midrange frequencies, via the Mesa/Boogie Triple Rectifier amplifier. He began to use the Mesa/Boogie TriAxis preamplifer and Mesa/Boogie Strategy 400 poweramp, as he would continue to use live and in the studio to the current day. He also played around with Marshall amplifiers and the "hi-fi sounding" Wizard Modern Classic amplifier. He used this setup for recording the 1996 album Load, the 1997 album ReLoad, and the 1998 cover-songs album Garage Inc.. Garage Inc. in particular is rather prominent in the use of the Wizard amp.

For the recording of 2003's St. Anger, Hetfield had altered his tone again. He used his "live rack" equipment which consists of Mesa/Boogie TriAxis preamps and Mesa/Boogie Strategy 400 poweramps, but also used Marshall amplifiers, the Wizard vintage/modern, and the Diezel VH4. The St. Anger: Rehearsals DVD which accompanies the St. Anger album, as well as Metallica's covers of The Ramones songs "Commando", "53rd & 3rd", "Cretin Hop", and "Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World", and Metallica's performance at the induction of the band Black Sabbath into the Hall of Fame, are good examples of the Diezel VH4 tone.

Hetfield is currently trialling the Krankenstein and Revolution 1 amplifiers, along with his current rig of the Diezel VH4, Mesa/Boogie TriAxis preamp and Mesa/Boogie Strategy 400 poweramp, and Mesa/Boogie Triple Rectifier. He has also been seen using the Mesa/Boogie Mark IV amplifier in the studio.

In the new music video for "The Day That Never Comes" James is using two Mesa Boogie Stiletto Deuces with matching Mesa Boogie 4x12 Cabinets.

Here is a list of equipment James Hetfield has used through out his career with Metallica:

Accessories

Guest appearances

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 James Hetfield Biography, Bio, Profile, pictures, photos from Netglimse.com
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 http://geocities.com/james7hetfield/bio.htm
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 James Hetfield (I) - Biography
  4. ↑ http://geocities.com/james7hetfield/bio2.htm
  5. ↑ Peisner, David (February 2007). "Rock Stars Who've Caught Fire Onstage!" (in English). Retrieved on 2007-02-27. 
  6. ↑ http://uk.music.ign.com/articles/906/906286p1.html

External links

Metallica
James Hetfield  · Lars Ulrich  · Kirk Hammett  · Robert Trujillo
Ron McGovney  · Dave Mustaine · Cliff Burton · Jason Newsted
Studio albums
Kill 'Em All · Ride the Lightning · Master of Puppets · ...And Justice for All · Metallica · Load · ReLoad · St. Anger · Death Magnetic
Live albums
Live Shit: Binge & Purge · S&M
Extended plays
The $5.98 E.P.: Garage Days Re-Revisited · Some Kind of Monster
Compilations
Garage Inc.
Videos
Cliff 'Em All · 2 of One · A Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica · Live Shit: Binge & Purge · Cunning Stunts · S&M · Classic Albums: Metallica - Metallica · Some Kind of Monster · The Videos 1989-2004
Singles
"Whiplash" · "Jump in the Fire" · "Seek & Destroy" · "Fade to Black" · "Creeping Death" · "For Whom the Bell Tolls" · "Master of Puppets" · "Battery" · "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" · "Eye of the Beholder" · "Harvester of Sorrow" · "…And Justice for All" · "One" · "Enter Sandman" · "Don't Tread on Me" · "The Unforgiven" · "Nothing Else Matters" · "Wherever I May Roam" · "Sad but True" · "Until It Sleeps" · "Ain't My Bitch" · "Hero of the Day" · "Mama Said" · "King Nothing" · "Bleeding Me" · "The Memory Remains" · "The Unforgiven II" · "Fuel" · "Better than You" · "Turn the Page" · "Whiskey in the Jar" · "Die, Die My Darling" · "No Leaf Clover" · "I Disappear" · "St. Anger" · "Frantic" · "The Unnamed Feeling" · "Some Kind of Monster" · "The Ecstasy of Gold" · "The Day That Never Comes" · "My Apocalypse" · "Cyanide" · "The Judas Kiss" · "All Nightmare Long"
Related articles
Band members · Discography · Demos · Bob Rock · Lloyd Grant · Awards · Megadeth · Exodus · Flotsam and Jetsam · Guitar Hero: Metallica · Metallic Assault · Metallic Attack  · List of Metallica concert tours
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