{"id":292951,"date":"2025-12-01T11:57:14","date_gmt":"2025-12-01T11:57:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/292951\/"},"modified":"2025-12-01T11:57:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-01T11:57:14","slug":"james-hetfield-reveals-his-four-favourite-metallica-songs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/292951\/","title":{"rendered":"James Hetfield reveals his four favourite Metallica songs"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"James<\/p>\n

(Credits: Far Out \/ Kreepin Deth)<\/p>\n

Sun 30 November 2025 18:35, UK <\/p>\n

As the no-nonsense rhythm guitarist and vocalist of the heavy rock group Metallica<\/a>, James Hetfield has always been one to speak the truth.\u00a0<\/p>\n

His status as a rock and roll legend is met with an atypically humble and endearing off-stage persona. The group have released some of the most inspiring material in the realm of metal music over the past 40 years, beginning with their debut single, \u2018Whiplash\u2019, from back in 1983, often thanks to their complex compositions that would make the likes of Jimmy Page proud. <\/p>\n

Much of Metallica\u2019s success comes from their impressive guitar ability, often attributable to Kirk Hammett\u2019s mind-blowing talent for killer solo riffs<\/a>. Over the course of his four-decade run with the group, he has forged his own signature style through lightning-fast licks, incorporation of the wah pedal, and detailed picking.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While Hammett\u2019s solo style appears to underpin the genetics of Metallica as much as Hetfield\u2019s vocals, a lot also has to be said of Hetfield\u2019s skill as a rhythm guitarist. The band\u2019s rare talent is immediately apparent upon hearing them perform live, especially.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Simply put, they relish the companionship of music. As Hetfield put it, \u201cI\u2019m always feeling like I don\u2019t belong, no matter where I am. So I\u2019m just searching for a family nonstop, and sometimes I find it in the mosh pit.\u201d This search gives the band a unique soul and power that they have poured into several tracks, resonating with the masses to such an extent that they\u2019ve now sold over 160 million records around the world.<\/p>\n

The seamless chemistry of the group is rarely stumbled upon, and the pitch-perfect interwoven lead and rhythm sections show just how meticulous they are. As keen disciples of Led Zeppelin, the godfathers of heavy rock music, Metallica have never shied away from declaring their love for their forebears.<\/p>\n

\"James<\/a>James Hetfield performing with Metallica in 2016. (Credits: Far Out \/ Keneth Cruz)<\/p>\n

Beyond Metallica\u2019s roots in heavy rock of the 1970s, the most obvious inspiration pool lies within their musical niche, thrash metal. While not deemed the originators of the genre, Metallica popularised it throughout the 1980s<\/a> and beyond alongside the likes of Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax. Together, these bands make up the \u2018Big Four\u2019.<\/p>\n

During an interview with Little Punk People, Hetfield was once asked to pick out some of his favourite thrash metal bands. Curiously, none of his \u2018Big Four\u2019 neighbours received a shout out \u2013 ostensibly, they were too obvious. \u201cOh, my God! There\u2019s tons of them,\u201d Hetfield exclaimed while mulling it over.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Continuing, \u201cWell, Exodus for sure. We grew up with those guys in the Bay Area. Oh, and we stole their guitar player; that too. But, yeah, I think they\u2019re great. Testament, a lot of bands in the Bay Area, a lot of thrash stuff. I just think even before that, punk rock was kind of the beginning of it for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

During an interview a few years ago, Hetfield was asked what songs of Metallica\u2019s he was most proud of. Among the songs mentioned in response was \u2018The Unforgiven II\u2019 from the band\u2019s 1997 album Reload; he explained that he has a particular fondness for the third verse, where the song breaks down into a wah-heavy guitar excursion. He said that at that moment, he felt, \u201cWow, we\u2019re professional now, it sounds\u2026 it\u2019s almost like Jimmy Page,\u201d he said, adding: \u201cWe were entering the realm of [Led] Zeppelin at that point \u2026 pretty proud of that too\u201d.<\/p>\n

After naming Testament, Hetfield reached back to the formative metal pioneers Mot\u00f6rhead, bending the rules slightly. \u201cKind of thrashy but rock \u2018n\u2019 roll,\u201d Hetfield admitted f the selection, before concluding, \u201cI loved G.B.H., or still do, and I love Discharge a lot. That\u2019s kind of really cool thrash music to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Metallica have been staggeringly prolific over their years under the spotlight, and so when asked to pick his favourite moments, it was clear that it wasn\u2019t an easy question to answer. During the interview, he named three other tracks, and they weren\u2019t the most obvious picks one might expect. Hetfield clearly showed a preference for the band\u2019s mid-1990s era naming \u2018Fixxxer\u2019 from Reload as well as \u2018Bleeding Me\u2019 and \u2018The Outlaw Torn\u2019 from 1996 effort Load.<\/p>\n

Considering that Herfield has released hundreds of recorded tracks, that puts these four in rare company. In truth, they define all sides of the soaring rock band and why they\u2019re perhaps the most beloved band of the whole genre that they helped to create in the first place.<\/p>\n

James Hetfield\u2019s favourite Metallica songs:\u2018The Unforgiven II\u2019\u2018Fixxxer\u2019\u2018Bleeding Me\u2019\u2018The Outlaw Torn\u2019<\/p>\n

Related Topics<\/p>\n

The Far Out Led Zeppelin Newsletter<\/p>\n

All the latest stories about Led Zeppelin from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(Credits: Far Out \/ Kreepin Deth) Sun 30 November 2025 18:35, UK As the no-nonsense rhythm guitarist and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":292952,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[96,31107,40034,10866,25229,128,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-292951","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-james-hetfield","10":"tag-kirk-hammett","11":"tag-led-zeppelin","12":"tag-metallica","13":"tag-music","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom","16":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=292951"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292951\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/292952"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=292951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=292951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=292951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}