Soloist "Metallica" James Hetfield: biography, photos and interesting facts

The musical group "Metallica" officially exists since 1981. Already from the title it is clear that the main styles are heavy metal and hard rock. For over thirty years the team has firmly established the title of the most successful and influential group in the world. What is the secret of such popularity and who is the soloist of Metallica? We will try to understand these questions.

History of the group

In October 1981, the American edition of The Recycler announced the creation of a rock band. Its authors were musicians James Hatfield and Lars Ulrich. Soon the composition was formed. It remains to be his name. At the same time in Los Angeles opened a magazine about British and American groups working in the style of heavy metal. Among the test names was "Metallica". It was this that was adopted by the young team.

Throughout the existence of the musical group its composition changed periodically. This was due to the voluntary departure of musicians (Ron McGovni) or with their death (Cliff Burton). Only the founders of the musical group - the soloist of "Metallica" James Hetfield (aka rhythm guitar) and the drummer Lars Ulrich - remain unchanged. However, the leader is still the first musician. It is about him that will be discussed in this article.

Biography

One of the most frequently asked questions: "How old is the soloist of Metallica?". And the answer to it is sometimes amazing. James Hatfield was born on August 3, 1963 in the small town of Downey (USA, California). He was brought up in a Christian manner, so it was hard to imagine that out of such an obedient and calm boy, the outgoing soloist of "Metallica" would grow up. His biography is full of surprises and mysteries. But the root of all events, in the opinion of James himself, lies in his family.

Father Hatfield was called Virdzhil. He worked as a bus driver, left his family when his son was barely 13 years old. Mother Cynthia lived after the divorce for three more years and died of cancer. The parents of the future musician belonged to the religious movement of Christian Science Mary Baker Eddy. Their beliefs denied the intrusion of medicine into the life of man. Since any disease in this theory has a spiritual nature, then the healing must take place on a spiritual level. This belief was so strong that even before his death, James's mother did not back away from him.

Under the influence of such views, the young Hetfield had to leave lessons, where they talked about medicine and its achievements. The situation has reached the point that peers began to whisper from James behind him, and he moved away from them.

The tragic events and the theme of religion later became the main themes of the musician's creativity. They are the soloist of "Metallica" James Hatfield dedicated more than a dozen songs. Among them: Mama said, The God that failed, Until it sleeps.

Creation

Despite the religious childhood, James began to play music early. At the age of 9, he already played pianos and drums, which he borrowed from his brother David. And only after that he made an informed choice in favor of the guitar.

"Metallica" is the only serious project that Hatfield has been in for years. Before that, he created amateur bands Obsession and Phantom Lord, who sang the famous hits of such rock bands as Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. During the existence of his second group, James moved to La Brea and studied at the Brea Ollinda school. After graduating, he returned to his native Downey, and the group broke up.

In his hometown, the musician settled in the house of friend Ron McGowney, who was then given up for demolition. He ideally suited the creative studio. There, the guys rehearsed hard, honing the skill of playing the guitar. Later they were joined by musicians from the previous band, in which the future soloist of Metallica played. Photos in his youth, unfortunately, did not retain the memory of this period. However, the group was formed and was named Leather Charm. It turned out to be more successful. The guys wrote their own songs and even performed at several concerts. However, the constant care and replacement of musicians eventually disorganized the group.

The most important and turning point in James's life is perhaps the acquaintance with drummer Lars Ulrich.

The success of their duet is clear to many. Both musicians are deeply devoted to music and from the very beginning understood the seriousness and responsibility of the project, for which they undertook. Besides, the guys are really talented. Soloist "Metallica" has a strong and memorable vocals. And journalists note his special manner of interaction with the public and the peculiarity of keeping his mediator with three fingers.

Personal life

James Hetfield can be called an exemplary family man. In 1997, he married the charming Francesca Tomasi, with whom they have been together so far. The couple have three children: the daughters of Cayley and Marcella and the son of Castor.

James has a complex relationship to religion since childhood, so he did not set himself the task of educating children in a Christian or other manner. His goal was always to bring up worthy people. Despite the fact that he was not a bright positive example, his children received a good education. It is known that Castor and Kylie try themselves at the cinema.

In honor of his family, Hatfield filled a tattoo in the form of a glowing cross and hands folded in prayer. Supplement tattoos punctured the names of his children.

Problems with voice

In 1991 and 2003, Hatfield had problems with vocal cords. Both cases were associated with the peculiarities of the compositions during recording. For the first time, the soloist of "Metallica" broke his voice when he recorded the next album (The Black Album). Because of the injury, the musicians-colleagues at the concerts had to rebuild their guitars literally one-half below. However, this song did not lose its original sound.

In 2003, Hetfield faced the task of recording an album. Anger on low setting (Dropped C). It was necessary to literally "spit out" the words. As a result of such a musical experiment, the soloist of "Metallica" got a serious trauma of the vocal cords. Of course, gradually the voice returned to the musician. This is especially noticeable in comparing new concert recordings with audio of that time.

Alcoholism

In modern society there is a stereotype that all rock stars are addicted to alcohol or drugs. In part this is true. "Heavy" music, crazy, full of driving concerts and relentless creative search, experiments take a lot of energy, keep in suspense. Therefore, musicians begin to look for a source for relaxation and recharging. The history of world music knows many such examples.

Problems of alcohol dependence did not escape the soloist of "Metallica" James Hetfield. True, in his case everything went well. During a tense recording of the same album. Anger in 2003, the musician voluntarily went to rehabilitation from alcoholism. The course lasted 11 months. At this time, James managed to combine the treatment with the recording of the album. After the end of rehabilitation, he immediately went on the red carpet for the MTV Icon award of the year.

Accidents

In addition to the music created and performed by the soloist of the Metallica band, his name has become famous and frequent accidents. So, for example, during the tour for the promotion of the album Master of Puppets, James Hatfield broke his hand when skating on a skateboard. Luckily for the band, John Marshall was able to replace the soloist at concerts. At that time he was an accompanying "Metallica" on tour.

In 1987, the case with skateboarding was repeated. Then for this reason the band had to cancel the recording of the next album and several shows in the forthcoming tour of Monsters of Rock'87. Of course, such accidents seriously beat the whole team of Metallica, so Hatfield's contract included a special item: "No skateboards."

However, the most serious and famous accident that survived the soloist of "Metallica" (the photo was saved in the musician's archive) is burns from pyrotechnics during the concert in 1992. Then the group played together with Guns'n'Roses at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. During the performance of the next composition, James Hatfield went to the pyrotechnic equipment. A high fire pillar (about four meters in height) touched the left side of the body of the musician. As it turned out later, before the concert, a team of pyrotechnics prepared new special effects - fireworks on the sides of the stage. However, I forgot to warn about the work of old special effects in the central part of the edge of the stage. That's why Hatfield so confidently went in that direction, closer to the public. As a result, the musician seriously burned his left hand and face. He had to refuse for a while from performances and playing the guitar. In his place was again invited rhythm guitarist from Metal Church John Marshall.

Collection of guitars

As the name of the soloist of "Metallica", today is known, perhaps, very much. However, hardly anyone knows that James Hetfield is the owner of a large collection of rare guitars. Many of them were donated to the musician.

Undoubtedly, the overwhelming majority of them are occupied by electronic instruments, namely 31 guitar of famous musical brands: Gibson Les Paul, ESP, Gretch. The real rarity in the collection is the electronic guitar "Fender Telekaster" in 1952. According to the same Hatfield, his favorite is the gift guitar "Jackson King V" with the note Kill Bon Jovi.

There are only two acoustic models in the collection.

Achievements

The name of the soloist of "Metallica" steadily holds leading positions in all musical ratings for three decades. The band suddenly burst into world music and literally from the first notes won the hearts of millions of listeners. Of course, such a dizzying success could not stay away from the evaluation of experienced critics and experts. Today in the collection "Metallica" (since 1990) there are about two dozen awards. These are the awards for the best metal performances, the marks of successful albums and compositions, and awards for the best metal-video. So, for example, in 1996 the musical team was awarded the title of the most beloved in the style of metal / hard rock, and frontman James Hatfield, respectively, was named the best performer. Also in 2009, "Metallica" was officially introduced to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Interesting Facts

Despite the reputation of an otvyazny guy and a noisy party-goer, the soloist of "Metallica" is a very versatile personality. This is evidenced by a number of interesting facts:

• In his spare time, James Hatfield engaged in hunting, is fond of art design, skateboarding, water skiing and snowboarding. He has a garage, which he equiped for the workshop.
• Also the musician is a sports fan. He follows the games of the rugby team (American football) Oakland Raiders and the hockey club San Jose Sharks. Another passion for Hatfield are race hot-rodov (American cars, accelerating to the maximum possible speed).
• James is not a narcissist. He treats with respect and sympathy for many rock bands. Among them: Black Sabbath, Motorhead and NickCave.
• In music, Hatfield himself is positioned as a self-cleaner. He sincerely surprises that people like that garbage that he "throws out of his head". Of course, the musician sneers. Otherwise, the band hardly lasted so long and had success with it.
• In 2000, the group "Metallica" released a video for the song I Disappear. In it, every musician played a role. The least "dangerous" was played by the soloist of "Metallica" James Hatfield. Photos and videos of it on the luxury Chevrolet Camaro (1968 in.) Were appreciated by millions of fans. Popularity was also fueled by a charity story related to the car. After filming the clip, he was presented to the group's frontman. However, he, in turn, put "Chevrolet" on the eBay website for sale. Hetfield gave the proceeds to support the music school program.
• It is known that the music of the group "Metallica" was used for the torture of those arrested in one of the American prisons. Upon learning of this fact, Hatfield joked. If musicians tortured their creativity of parents and wives, why not torment them with prisoners.
• "Alcoholic" was once the motto of the soloist "Metallica". According to the musician's own admission, at some point he enjoyed noisy concerts and parties after them. At the same time, Hatfield pretty drank and even tried drugs. But at one point he realized that such a life had dragged him on and would not lead to anything good. That's why he himself insisted on treatment. One day the musician was asked if he was bored with the old binges and fun. Hatfield said that even now his band enjoys music and performances, only more consciously. And alcohol and drugs destroy the mind.
• For the whole career history Hatfield has been replaced about a dozen hairstyles. The most terrible was the "mallets" hairstyle (the hair is shaved at the sides, and the lengthened at the back), says the soloist of the "Metallica" group. The photos prove that the musician does not mind experimenting with himself. But the frequent change of image is a personal whim, but not an attempt to achieve greater popularity.
• On the body of the frontman "Metallica" also flaunts several tattoos. All of them carry a certain meaning. So, for example, four cards covered by fire on the left hand are marked in memory of a known accident with pyrotechnics. The figures on the cards indicate the year of birth of the musician, and the Latin phrase under the picture is translated as "Catch the day." Or else on the brushes of hands on the back side are packed two letters: M (Metallica) and F (Francesca). These are the two love of his life. On the inside of the right hand of the musician is a large tattoo depicting St. Michael and Satan. As admitted Hatfield, he really likes religious stories, even if you admit that they are fictional. As for his specific composition, the musician explained it simply with words from a prayer: "... do not lead us into temptation." There are 16 tattoos on Hatfield's body.
• In 2015, Fox broadcast a cartoon serial "American Daddies". The prototype of one of the heroes was James Hetfield. In appearance, the cartoon character is accurately sketched from the original, but according to the script is a water polo coach.
• In the summer of 2016, the soloist of "Metallica" defended his thesis! This news has amazed many celebrity fans. A talented person, as it turned out, is talented in science. For the last 12 years, the musician has studied hard at the California Institute of Technology, but did not advertise it. His thesis on black holes is based on an analysis of the work of Dr. Misty Benz (2007). Specifically, Hatfield highlighted the problem of the influence of gravity on the Hubble telescope and several technological issues. The thesis of the rocker was successful and had an impact in its scientific field.

PS

What is the name of the soloist of "Metallica"? This issue has long been difficult for fans of "heavy" music and not only. The cult collective with the cult frontman simply could not remain without public attention. James Hetfield, apparently, is a multifaceted person with an unusual fate and world outlook. Perhaps, it is these individuals who change and move this world forward. And maybe without such a leader there would not be a musical legend called "Metallica", which still continues to live and surprise.