translated from Spanish: James Hetfield turns years old and we have curious facts

James Hetfield, was born on August 3, 1963, and today is celebrating his 58th birthday. Hetfield and Lars Ulrich founded mettalica in 1981 in los Angeles, and from there they toured the world as one of the best trash metal bands out there. 

His love for music began at the age of nine, where he began playing guitar, piano and drums. In those years, James formed his first band called Obsession, inspired by groups such as: The Beatles, Black Sabbath, UFO, Kiss, Aerosmith, Motörhead, Queen, among others. Two of his first jobs before becoming a rock star were in a decal factory and as a school janitor. Two of his first jobs before becoming a rock star were in a decal factory and as a school janitor. In 1992, Hetfield suffered an accident on stage while touring with the Guns N’Roses. During the performance of the song Fade to Black at Montreal’s Olympic Stadium, James stood on a pyrotechnic tower as it was lit.

This caused him to suffer second- and third-degree burns to his left arm and face, forcing him to continue the tour without being able to play guitar. Despite what happened, he continued to sing thanks to the support of guitarist John Marshall of Metal Church, who was in charge of covering the rhythm guitar. Hetfield decided to tattoo the burn-strick-stricon-strickled arm with a drawing of four burning cards representing the date of his birth. But it was not the only accident that the frontman suffered, but during the Master of Puppets tour James suffered a heavy fall riding skateboarding that left him with his left arm plasized, preventing him from playing the guitar again. Then, on that same tour, the tragic accident would happen where the legendary bassist of the band, Cliff Burton, would lose his life when the microphone that was transporting them collided. Hetfield is married to Argentine Francesca Tomasi, who served as the band’s costume assistant during the Black Album tour, and with whom he has three children. 

One of his most popular songs, it was written by him, inspired by the sudden death of newborns. Bob Rock, producer of the song, gave him tips so that “Enter Sandman” would not be so dark.  

To intepretar two of his most iconic songs “The Unforgiven” and “Nothing Else Matters”, of the so-called ‘Black Album’, Heitfield was inspired by none other than Chris Isaac, and specifically in his legendary song “Wicked Game”. 

Another of his passions is sport. His favorite teams are the Raiders of the NFL, San Jose Sharks of the NHL and D.C. United of MLS. He is not a Christian but has a blind faith in the figure of Jesus, whom he even has tattooed on his body. Conflicts with death and addictions have led the singer to approach his spirituality. On September 27, 2019, the band announced on their social media that they had to cancel the current tour due to Hetfield being forced back into rehab, after 17 years of his recovery. Then the pandemic meant that they couldn’t return to the stage. In 2020 it was planned to make a tour of South America, which would bring him back to our country. However it is still in doubt, due to the band’s break due to the rehabilitation carried out by the band leader. Today, we celebrate its 58th anniversary with its legendary battle cry: “Gimme fuel, gimme fire, gimme that which I desire, ooh!”. 

Original source in Spanish

Related Posts

Add Comment