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The Latest Breaking News from James Hetfield

"The lyrics are like this crazy, mystical bum that lives in a cave and says, ‘Oh, I wanna reach the whales!’ Why do people want to hear this?" 13 rock and metal musicians hating on their own songs

Lemmy, James Hetfield, Amy Lee, Slipknot’s Clown and more open up the haterade on their own songs

Metal Hammer

Playing mediaeval folk, taking pensioners hostage and blowing up a house: the ridiculous ad campaign for Guitar Hero Metallica

You’ve not seen macho marketing until you’ve seen metal’s biggest band tie old people to a tree and make their home explode

Metal Hammer

“Bob Rock said, ‘OK, tune up, and we’ll do the rhythm for this song now.’ I was like, ‘What?’” Kirk Hammett didn’t play rhythm guitar on Metallica's first five albums. That all changed with 1996’s controversial Load

In an attempt to explore new musical directions, Hammett was summoned to share rhythm guitar duties with James Hetfield, helping to kickstart a new phase for Metallica

Guitar World

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"I was in Ireland in my little house when I got the call saying, ‘This is Lars from Metallica.'" How metal's biggest band and a confused folk singer wrote a controversial hit that has soundtracked everything from WWE to The Sopranos

When Marianne Faithful got a phone call from Lars Ulrich asking her to collaborate with Metallica, she didn't believe it

Metal Hammer

“The downpicking approach was inspired by competition between Dave and I. Like, ‘Here’s a riff… Wait, you can’t play that. Hahaha!’” How James Hetfield wrangled Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax for metal’s biggest reunion

James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett explain the origins of the Big 4 shows – which united Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax on one historic bill

Guitar World

“I heard Lars Ulrich jumped out of a helicopter as it was landing and disappeared”: What happened the night Metallica’s drummer went missing – and Slipknot and Slayer saved the day

Unexpectedly down an original member, Metallica headlined Download festival 2004 backed up by Joey Jordison and Dave Lombardo

Metal Hammer

“Metal needs a good f**king kick up the ass”: the story of Metallica’s Load

New haircuts, new sound, new Metallica: was Load the sound of metal’s biggest band trolling the world?

Metal Hammer

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“I’ve had arguments with producers, who say, ‘We A to B’d the modeler blindly, and we couldn’t tell the difference.’ I’m like, ‘Well, I can hear it!’” Sully Erna is optimistic for Godsmack 2.0, and he can't wait for you to hear their new guitarist

The Gibson devotee reveals why he's feeling excited about working with new lead player Sam Koltun, discusses the photo that made him want a Les Paul, explains why he won’t use amp modelers, and tells you why you should play drums

Guitar World

"We get off stage and I haven’t seen him like that in 20 years. He was livid." How Metallica's crazy team-up with Lady Gaga started with an A-list dinner party and almost ended in total chaos

One of the most unlikely collaborations in Grammys history was also one of the most cursed, but they pulled it out of the bag

Metal Hammer

“They just do what they feel is right for them. They don’t take into account what people think”: How Metallica rewrote their script (and irritated countless metalheads) with Load and Reload

When the former thrashers cut their hair and took influence from the blues, they didn’t emerge unscathed, but they remained heavy music’s biggest band all the same

Metal Hammer

“Originally, Metallica had a dreadful tape as our intro. Then our manager came up with the idea of replacing it with The Ecstasy Of Gold”: How metal’s biggest band turned a song from a Clint Eastwood movie into the greatest intro music in history

No Metallica show is complete without The Ecstasy Of Gold as its intro tape

Metal Hammer

"Lemmy said: 'I’ve got some friends in Texas. Do you need any weapons?'" After years of trauma, Corrosion Of Conformity are on the comeback trail - for the second time

Stoner-metal icons Corrosion Of Conformity are back in the groove

Metal Hammer

"I had to run out of the control room, and I found myself standing in the kitchen, sobbing away. James came into the kitchen in the same condition: he was sobbing too." The Metallica song that made both James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett cry

One Metallica song above all others had a profound effect on James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett

Metal Hammer

“I was a horrible addict… I would rather live than be in your band”: Jason Newsted reveals how addiction struggles contributed to Metallica exit

The veteran bassist says that the metal giants’ refusal to slow down and let him seek help played a part in his 2001 departure

Metal Hammer

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Metallica bassist Jason Newsted reveals cancer battle for first time

Former Metallica star Jason Newsted has opened up about his battle with throat cancer after undergoing treatment a year ago.

Metal Hammer

"God bless America’s judicial system. It proves that even Metallica can get a fair hearing!" How the world's biggest metal band put on a chaotic gig in a car park - and infuriated politicians, a stadium and half a city in the process

As Metallica prepare to reissue 1997’s Reload, we look back on the calamitous free gig that launched the album 29 years ago

Metal Hammer

"Every song we came up with was like the greatest thing. Every time we'd write another it was like: 'Oh my god!'" The inside story of Master Of Puppets and the two-year whirlwind that took Metallica to the big time

From an El Cerrito garage to stadiums with Ozzy Osbourne – as told by James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett and more

Metal Hammer

"I honestly wondered if this was the end for Metallica." Rehab, prison and the battle for the future of music: The story of the most divisive album in metal

Metallica almost destroyed themselves making 2003's St. Anger

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Guitar World

“After his funeral, me and my buddy snuck into his house and took the guitar”: Pepper Keenan got his first guitar after a tragic accident

The Down and Corrosion of Conformity guitarist has looked back at the unlikely origins of his career in rock

Metal Hammer

"My role in life was to be a proud, bold lion, to tell the truth, and stick up for what's right." Dave Mustaine on Megadeth's final chapter, his love for Ozzy, finger numbness, and trading mosh pits for a silver-screen future

With Megadeth's final album topping the US charts, Dave Mustaine is determined to go out on a high note

Guitar World

“I can still see them shaking their heads. I knew I’d lost the gig right there”: Pepper Keenan recalls the moment he knew he’d failed his audition to be Metallica’s bassist

Keenan was one of many hopefuls to try out for the Metallica gig as James Hetfield and co looked to find Jason Newsted's replacement

Metal Hammer

“Nothing happened in Metallica unless Cliff Burton nodded ‘yes’”: Producer recalls how metal’s biggest band “leaned on” their beloved late bassist

80s producer Flemming Rasmussen remembers Cliff Burton being the heavy metal titans’ unofficial musical leader

Metal Hammer

“They chose to make this buck-wild album. If Metallica can do that, then we can do that”: Why Avenged Sevenfold “fell in love” with the ever-controversial St Anger

They’re not quite there with Lulu, though

Louder

"If it were made today, it would sound like Green Day or a metal band." How a neurotic 19-year-old and a guitarist with a razor created the blueprint for metal and punk

The story of the song that schooled Metallica's James Hetfield

Guitar World

“We played a song or two, and I said, ‘Hey, you guys want to jam on some Isley Brothers?’ Nobody laughed”: Les Claypool looks back on his disastrous Metallica audition

Following the death of the sorely missed Cliff Burton, James Hetfield and co. auditioned the bassist of the then-emerging band Primus

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