James Hetfield’s favourite guitarist of all time
Metallica frontman James Hetfield, best known for being a vocalist, is a guitarist in his heart of hearts. While he only plays the rhythm role with his band, and Kirk Hammett is left to deal with their sound’s more technically challenging aspects, Hetfield wouldn’t be where he is today if he never picked up a guitar.
At first, his journey to becoming a musician started with the piano, which is difficult to imagine considering the heavy rock he’s built a career out of with Metallica. Hetfield was nine when he started learning how to navigate the keys, but after five years, it was time for him to move on to the guitar, and he’s never looked back since.
When Hetfield started playing the guitar, it was due to bands such as Aerosmith who had inspired him to start making rock music. However, after being exposed to Black Sabbath, Hetfield devoted himself to replicating their loudness, which planted the seed for the formation of Metallica.
It was through his older brother that Hetfield discovered the pioneering British group, and they opened up his mind to sounds that he previously didn’t know were possible to create. Furthermore, he had the privilege of inducting Black Sabbath into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006, where he cast his mind back to hearing them for the first time, stating: “This was more than just music. (It was) a powerful, loud, heavy sound that moved his soul.”
In 2015, Hetfield explained to Guitar World why Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi is his favourite guitarist of all time and explained how Iommi’s music has transformed his life. “As far as being a riff-and-rhythm guy, my favourite guitarist is Tony Iommi. He inspired me to want to play heavy,” he stated.
Hetfield went on to say how he “admired other rhythm players” such as AC/DC’s Malcolm Young, the Scorpions’ Rudy Schenker and Rush’s Alex Lifeson, but for him, nobody is in the same league as Iommi.
He elaborated: “But Iommi is the main man. To me, he seemed like one of those quiet geniuses. At one time he was the frontman of Black Sabbath, and Ozzy was off to one side; at that time, the riff was more important than the vocals. Tony can go from the heaviest minor-key doom riff to a happy mode, and it will still sound heavy. Metallica can’t do happy, but Tony can pull it off.”
Without Iommi spearheading Black Sabbath and creating a new brand of rock, groups such as Metallica would never have been able to thrive. Although Hetfield’s band have discernible differences from Sabbath, the frontman is well aware of the importance of their musical forefathers, who paved the way for his career.