Hatfield, James Alan

James's father, Virgil (d. 1996), a bus driver who left the family when James was 13, and his mother, Cyntia , an opera singer, were followers of the religious movement Christian Science Mary Baker Eddie and, according to James, a significant part of his youth was connected with Christianity ^[1] .

In accordance with their beliefs, Hatfield's parents did not approve of medicine and any kind of medical intervention, and did not abandon their faith even when Cynthia died of cancer (James was then 16 years old) ^[2] . As James himself said, at first there were no problems at school, but when they talked about medicine, he left such lessons. He began to move away from everyone when he noticed a whispering behind him.

Mother’s death and a complicated religion later became the main theme of many Metallica songs (“ Mama Said ”, “ Dyers Eve ” and “ The God That Failed ” - about Hetfield's parents, and “ Until It Sleeps ” - about cancer).

James began to play music at the age of 9 on the piano , then played the drums of his brother Dave, and finally switched to the guitar. His first group was the amateur team Obsession. The group consisted of the Veloz brothers who played bass and drums, and Jim Arnold on the guitar. Ron McGowney and Dave Marrs sat in the attic of the Veloz garage and clicked on the lighting effects control panel. The group played well-known compositions of such groups as Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin . After the breakup of Obsession, Marrs, Hatfield and McGowney continued to play together.

After moving to La Brea, James entered Brea Olinda School and met drummer Jim Mulligan. Hugh Tanner soon appeared, and with him they created the Phantom Lord . With Hugh on solo guitar and Jim on drums, James sang and played rhythm guitar. The band replaced several bassists until James graduated from high school and went back to Downey.

In Downey, James moved into a house owned by Ron McGowney's parents, which was supposed to be demolished due to the expansion of the expressway. This home was the perfect place for James and Ron to get together, listen and play music. James persuaded Ron to play the bass and even promised to teach him.

James's third group, Leather Charm , consisted of former members of the Phantom Lord. In addition to James and Ron, Hugh Tanner and Jim Mulligan entered it. The Leather Charm group was more successful. She played her songs and covers , for example, Quiet Riot Slick Black Cadillac and Remember Tomorrow Iron Maiden . The group managed to play in several concerts and recorded a demo , but began to fall apart. Tanner was the first to leave the band and was replaced by Troy James. Then Mulligan went into another, more progressive group. Ultimately, the Leather Charm band fell apart.

The most important event in the life of James was a meeting with a native of Denmark, drummer Lars Ulrich . Together they founded the Metallica group. At first, James decided to give up playing the guitar and only sing, but, according to Mustaine's instructions, after a while he began to play rhythm guitar parts, as well as solo parts in separate songs.

James Hetfield is famous for the accidents that happened to him. During a tour in support of Master Of Puppets, he broke his arm while riding a skateboard . Then James was first replaced, at that time the accompanying group, John Marshall . Later, in 1987 , he broke his arm again, as a result of which the recording of the album was postponed ... And Justice for All , and participation in several shows of the upcoming Monsters of Rock'87 tour was canceled . Subsequently, in the contracts of James, the item “No Skateboards” appeared.

But perhaps the most famous is the case at a joint concert with Guns N 'Roses in 1992 at the Montreal Olympic Stadium . During the performance of the song “ Fade to Black, ” Hatfield went over the pyrotechnic equipment at the moment it worked. As a result, James received burns of his left hand and face of the second and third degrees and was forced to abandon playing the guitar. Instead of a rhythm guitarist , John Marshall of Metal Church was again invited to tour. Before this concert, the pyrotechnicians informed the group that during the performance of “Fade to Black” new special effects will be used: there will be fireworks at the edges of the stage. However, the pyrotechnicians forgot to warn that the old special effects will also remain. Confident that there would be no previously announced special effects, James stood next to the pyrotechnic installation, and a column of flame 4 m high burned it on the left side.

While recording St. Anger James Hetfield decided to undergo a rehabilitation course from alcoholism . The musician reduced his participation in the recording process and returned to the studio to complete the disc eleven months after the course. James appeared in public in 2003 when Metallica was nominated for the " MTV Icon " of the year.

After recording the album St. Anger in 2003, James got a serious ligament injury. Due to the fact that this album used a low Dropped C setting compared to the standard, James had to sing much higher than usual, which caused problems with his voice, since he is a baritone. Gradually, a voice began to return to James, which can be heard comparing newer concert recordings with recordings from the time of St. Anger A similar situation arose in 1991, when Hatfield plucked his voice while recording The Black Album . Then, at concerts, the group had to rebuild their guitars half a ton lower so that it was easier for James to sing.

On February 5, 2017, Metallica was due to perform in Copenhagen, but James again had problems with his voice, as a result of which the concert was canceled. The other three concerts of the Hardwired tour (February 3, 7 and 9 in Copenhagen) remained in the program. The concert, scheduled for February 5, was rescheduled for September 2. ^[3]

Hetfield married Francesca Tomasi on August 17, 1997, and three children were born to her: Kaylee (June 13, 1998), Castor (May 18, 2000) and Marcella (January 17, 2002).

In his free time, James is fond of hunting , collecting rare guitars, raising bees ^[4] , skateboarding , snowboarding , water skiing , working in the garage, watching games of his favorite teams Oakland Raiders , San Jose Sharks and visiting hot rod races. James likes the music of artists such as Black Sabbath , Venom , Motorhead , Lynyrd Skynyrd , Thin Lizzy , Tom Waits , Nick Cave and Ted Nugent .

He put his 1968 Chevrolet Camaro on sale on eBay . The proceeds went to support the music school program ^[5] . The car was used in the video for the song “ I Disappear ” and was given to him as a gift after the end of filming.

Metallica

• 1983 - Kill 'em All
• 1984 - Ride the Lightning
• 1986 - Master of Puppets
• 1988 - ... And Justice for All
• 1991 - Metallica
• 1996 - Load
• 1997 - Reload
• 2003 - St. Anger
• 2008 - Death Magnetic
• 2016 - Hardwired ... To Self-Destruct

James Hatfield is the owner of a large number of guitars. The following guitars are in his collection:

Electric guitars

• Ken lawrence explorer
• Ken Lawrence Custom Les Paul
• Gibson Les Paul 57 Custom
• Gibson Les Paul Paul Landers Style
• Gibson Explorer 1984
• Gibson Explorer 1976 Rusty
• Gibson Flying V
• Zemaitis flying v
• James Trussart SteelDeville
• James Trussart SteelX Perforated
• ESP Iron Cross
• ESP JH-1
• ESP JH-2
• ESP JH-3
• ESP Snakebyte White
• ESP Snakebyte BLK
• ESP Explorer MX220 "Fuk'em up"
• ESP Explorer MX220 Eet Fuk
• ESP Explorer MX250 Black
• ESP Explorer MX250 White
• ESP Explorer MX250 "Man to Wolf"
• ESP Explorer MX250 "Elk"
• ESP Explorer MX250 Deer Skull
• ESP Explorer MX250 Papa Het
• ESP LTD Grynch
• ESP Truckster
• ESP Black Truckster
• Gretsch white falcon
• Fender Telecaster 1952
• Fender Telecaster with B-Bender ^[6]
• Jackson King V "Kill Bon Jovi"

Acoustic guitars

• Line 6 Acoustic Variax
• Gibson Chet Atkins