In Brief....

James Alan Hetfield.

Born: August 3, 1963
From: Los Angeles, California
Personal: Married, 1 Child
Specialty: Angst-ridden, soul-rending, growling, loud-ass vocals
Instrument: vocals, guitars
Vitals: blue eyes, blonde hair, 6'1"/1.85 meters tall, weighs 180 lbs/81.65 kilos
 

Views from band members.....

"James is probably the driving creative force." -
Kirk

"Hetfield brings the pride. He stands a very tall
and strong guy over all of, not just the music,
but all of what is Metallica." - Jason

Biography.....

James Hetfield is the voice, among other
things, of Metallica's songs but it wasn't
always planned that way... In the early
days, Metallica tried a few different
vocal/guitar configurations. Some of the
experiments included adding another guitar
player, or having then lead guitar playe
Dave Mustaine play the sole guitar. John
Bush from Armored Saint was even asked to sing for the band at one
point.

Hetfield was born to a truck driver and light opera singer on August 3rd, 1963, in Los
Angeles. His family's Christian Science religious beliefs are often mentioned as the root
of James' "tortured soul" lyrics. Musically, he began at age 9 with piano lessons, then
banging away on his brother David's drums and finally to guitar.

 With his guitar in hand, James aspired to become a rock star in
  his first band, Obsession. The band was made up of the Veloz
  brothers on bass and drums and Jim Arnold on guitar. A pair of
  friends, Ron McGovney and Dave Marrs, acted as the band's
  roadies. This meant sitting in the loft of the Veloz garage
  running a control panel for makeshift lighting effects. After
  Obsession broke up, the Marrs-Hetfield-McGovney trio continued
  jamming together.

 Phantom Lord was James Hetfield's second band. After moving
 to La Brea, James attended Brea Olinda High School and met up
 with drummer Jim Mulligan. The two would jam at lunch time
  with another guitar player, but eventually scared him away with
their loud and heavy sounds. Hugh Tanner was discovered carrying around part of a
flying V guitar at school.. and shortly thereafter, Phantom Lord was born. With Hugh on
guitar and Mulligan on drums, James sang and played guitar. The group went through a
few bass players until graduation when James moved back to Downey.

In Downey, James moved into a house owned by Ron McGovney's parents that was
slated for demolition due to an expressway expansion. This house was the perfect place
for James and Ron to crash and hold rehearsal and practice jams. James talked Ron into
taking up bass, and promised to teach him...

And as Ron joined the group, Phantom Lord was no more.. they
were now Leather Charm.

James Hetfield's third band overall, Leather Charm was formed
from the members of Phantom Lord, except that James
performed sole singing duties (no guitar) and Ron was added to
play bass guitar. Completing the line-up were Phantom Lord
carry-overs Hugh Tanner and Jim Mulligan.

Leather Charm was more of a glammy attempt at music. The
band played originals and covers like Quiet Riot's "Slick Black
Cadillac," Iron Maiden's "Remember Tommorrow" and a few others. The band managed to
perform at a few parties and recorded a demo, but then began to fall apart.

 First Tanner left the band and was replaced by Troy
 James. Then Mulligan left for a more progressive,
 Rush-like band. With no drummer, the band was forced to
 call it quits. Although it was Mulligan's departure that led
 to James searching for a new drummer, it was Hugh
 Tanner that introduced James to Lars Ulrich.

 Ultimately it was Leather Charm's break up, through Jim
 Mulligan's quitting, that led James and Lars to meet... and
 to form Metallica.

 From the very start, James has been the main songwriter
 in Metallica, from the riffs to the lyrics. When he's not
 writing, singing or playing, James indulges in hunting and
 various sports. He's recently taken up snowboarding, as
 he has hung up his skateboard after a series of mishaps.

Guitars are a major part of his life and he has started collecting older guitars...
particularly those manufactured in 1963, the year he was born. He can be found in his
garage working on a new passion: hot rods. He currently has a Chevy BelAir that he
built himself.

James is married and has one daughter.