“Without him, there would be no Metallica”: James Hetfield has had Lemmy's ashes tattooed onto his middle finger By Phil Weller published 17 April 24 Hetfield says the salute to the late Motörhead legend means “he is still able to fly the bird at the world” even after death
“I wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for Master of Puppets”: Mark Tremonti on how Metallica's classic record changed his life – and how James Hetfield's right hand shaped his picking style By Amit Sharma published 20 December 23 The metal trailblazers had an immeasurable impact on the Alter Bridge axeman – here, he discusses what makes Hetfield and Kirk Hammett such a potent duo
“We called that riff ‘The Batman Riff’”: Kirk Hammett admits Metallica lifted the Batman theme on 72 Seasons By Matt Owen published 19 December 23 Thought that riff in Shadows Follow sounded awfully similar to a certain classic superhero theme? Turns out Metallica knew exactly what they were doing
“It’s called Roman because of the Roman numerals I etched into the back”: James Hetfield owns five ’59 Gibson Les Paul Standard ’Bursts – and he’s carved a massive ‘12’ into one of them By Matt Parker published 4 December 23 The Metallica man’s new guitar book Messengers showcases perhaps the ultimate example of zero-f**ks-given guitar ownership
“We didn’t have another band to point to and say, well, Sabbath is using it or the Scorpions are using it. James had the foresight to say, ‘Let’s try it. Maybe we’re the people to embrace it’”: James Hetfield’s tech shows you his 72 Seasons live rig By Jacob Paul Nielsen published 23 November 23 Chad Zaemisch has been the Metallica leader’s right-hand man for 20 years. He discusses the metal titans’ amp modeling sea change, why his boss “chickened out” with his new 72 Seasons ESP Vulture, and what happens when things go very, very wrong onstage…
“The Double-Neck Montreal makes me think of the smell of your own burning flesh”: James Hetfield opens up about the agony of his 1992 pyro accident, and how his scorched ESP left a lasting legacy on Metallica By James Hetfield published 13 November 23 In this exclusive extract from his new book, the Metallica frontman describes the experience of getting torched by pyro while playing guitar, and offers a closer look at the damage done to his ESP double-neck during the band’s fateful 1992 performance in Montreal
“Yes, that’s a real spider”: Sophie Lloyd’s Enter Sandman (Shred Version) adds extra fretboard flair to Metallica’s thrash classic – alongside some snakes and a tarantula named Rosie By Matt Parker published 27 October 23 The British YouTuber and virtuoso guitarist has upped the shred quota on the iconic Metallica tune
“Playing scales up and down is dumb… this isn’t a f**king recital!” We meet the outspoken cartoon shredder who teamed up with Gary Holt, Alex Skolnick and George Lynch for one of this year’s biggest shred guitar albums By Amit Sharma published 25 October 23 Led by a guitarist who claims to be the Bay Area lovechild of James Hetfield, The Shredderz just put out an all-star thrash metal album like no other. We get the lowdown on how a fictional band recruited some of today’s finest soloists for an orgy of sweep picking and searing shred
“How can you possibly be satisfied being a singer when you play like that?”: Dave Mustaine recalls the first time he heard James Hetfield play guitar By Matt Parker published 20 September 23 The Megadeth man has said Hetfield kept his talent hidden, and that witnessing him play for the first time was “kind of shocking”
“Hetfield would say, ‘Dude, get that bass s**t happening!’ It was a breathin'-down-your-neck type of thing...” Jason Newsted on the making of Metallica’s Load album By Nick Wells published 31 August 23 The ex-Metallica bassist recalls the making of Load and why James Hetfield had a lot to do with the bass
How Drain’s Cody Chavez made one of this year’s finest hardcore albums using an arsenal of Jackson Dinkys – and an LTD that got run over by a car By Gregory Adams published 29 June 23 An album of wild stylistic turns and high-energy guitar, Drain's Living Proof is living proof that more is more when it comes to hardcore
10 Metallica guitar techniques you need to know By Charlie Griffiths published 9 June 23 How the rhythm and lead styles of James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett will power up your metal playing fast
Kirk Hammett: “Maybe the age of active pickups is over” By Matt Parker published 31 May 23 The Metallica guitarist says PAFs age better and he has been swayed away from active humbuckers for lead work – and James Hetfield agrees
The guitar gear secrets behind James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett’s tones on 72 Seasons By Jenna Scaramanga published 12 May 23 Metallica co-producer Greg Fidelman reveals how the new album was made with the help of a Marshall modded by Eddie Van Halen’s amp wizard and a rack full of battle-hardened guitars, including one that makes Hetfield “immediately want to play fast riffs”
James Hetfield recalls Dimebag Darrell introducing him to solid-state amps: “He had this freaking amazing crunch going on” By Matt Parker published 3 May 23 The Metallica frontman was asked about his time with the Pantera legend and credited Darrell for making him question his tube tone
James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett debut new ESP and Gibson guitars at first show of M72 world tour By Michael Astley-Brown published 28 April 23 Papa Het has a fresh Vulture, while Hammett’s uber-rare ’59 Les Paul got its first-ever runout for the set’s surprise opener
NAMM 2023: ESP meets fan demand with James Hetfield Olympic White Vulture and debuts 12 LTD signature guitars, including Gary Holt’s “very pointy” GH-SV By Matt Parker published 13 April 23 Bill Kelliher, Stephen Carpenter, Nergal, Lars Frederiksen and Javier Reyes all have at least one new guitar on the way from the LTD stable
James Hetfield was offered the chance to buy the Greeny Les Paul before Kirk Hammett, but he turned it down: “I’m a real idiot” By Michael Astley-Brown published 13 April 23 Watch Hammett demo Peter Green’s iconic Gibson for Howard Stern as his Metallica bandmate makes the surprise revelation
James Hetfield used a “legendary” head modded by Eddie Van Halen’s amp wizard for every track on Metallica’s new album By Matt Parker published 6 April 23 According to 72 Seasons producer Greg Fidelman, the Metallica frontman leant heavily on this revived guitar amp, which was modded by renowned tech José Arredondo
James Hetfield says “if there was a guitar that changed the course of my history” it was this one – and it’s a cheap copy By Matt Parker published 29 March 23 The story of this particular guitar features in the Metallica man’s new book about his six-strings, Messengers: The Guitars Of James Hetfield