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The Latest Breaking News from James Hetfield

“I remember Lars was unwrapping all these Styx and REO Speedwagon records and I’m going, ‘What are you buying this crap for?’”: Why James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich didn’t always see eye to eye in Metallica’s early days

Plus: Hetfield's memories of his first gig – when AC/DC opened for Aerosmith

MusicRadar

“Every song we came up with was like the greatest thing. Every time we’d write another it was like, ‘Oh my god’”: Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax and more remember how thrash metal took over the world 40 years ago

1986 was the year where thrash metal broke through. We got the genre’s leading bands to look back on those whirlwind 12 months.

Metal Hammer

“He took offense to that and we hung up, and I don't remember speaking to him since then”: Ahead of Megadeth's final album, Dave Mustaine sets the record straight on why he and James Hetfield don’t talk anymore

The story goes way back to Metallica's legendary No Life 'Til Leather demo

Guitar World

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"You guys got more money than God, why do you have to take my money?" Dave Mustaine on his conversation with James Hetfield that ended Metallica's plan to release their legendary No Life 'Til Leather demo on vinyl and CD

Dave Mustaine understandably isn't prepared to be pressured into backing down on his contributions to Metallica's early success

Metal Hammer

“I wouldn’t say I’m an alcoholic – but then, you know, alcoholics say they’re not alcoholics”: The chaotic and confusing story of Metallica’s abandoned album

In 2001, Metallica hired an old army barracks in California to try and record album eight. The songs were scrapped when James Hetfield entered rehab, but many fans still want to hear them finished.

Metal Hammer

“For James Hetfield fans, this guitar is a no-brainer”: Epiphone Explorer 80s EMG review

Epiphone's latest Explorer delivers the ultimate unofficial tribute for Metallica fans

Guitar World

A Hetfield-esque white 80s Explorer with EMGs, long-tenon necks and rosewood fingerboards for all: Epiphone revamps core lineup with the Inspired By Gibson series

NAMM 2026: Laurel is out, rosewood is in for all but entry-level models, as upgrades come across the board

MusicRadar

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"I heard that Metallica needed a bass player and brother, I was writing letters, made a tape of myself playing and sent it. Never heard a word back." The 80s pop culture icon who made an unlikely bid to join the world's biggest metal band

This week, wrestling icon Hulk Hogan passed away aged 71. We revisit one of the strangest stories involving the Hulkster, which included the world's biggest metal band

Metal Hammer

Dave Mustaine calls for Megadeth and Metallica joint tour to clear the air

Dave Mustaine believes the only way he could bury the hatchet with his former Metallica bandmates is by them touring with Megadeath.

BANG Premier

"Whoosh! A big flame goes right up under me. My arm, my hand, burnt down to the bone. Hair's gone." Inside the night Metallica's James Hetfield caught fire - and Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose caused a riot

A look back at one of the most chaotic gigs in the history of rock 'n' roll

Metal Hammer

“James Hetfield picked up the phone saying, ‘Have you tried an ESP?’” ESP unveils Joe Duplantier’s eagerly awaited signature guitar in time for NAMM 2026

The Gojira juggernaut has been awarded his first ESP signature guitar, the LTD JD-1, 18 months after he made the switch from Charvel

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

"Metallica seek raw, rowdy 'n' gutsy frontman." That time Metallica launched a worldwide search to find a new vocalist via an ad in a British music magazine

If you were reading Kerrang! in December 1983, you could have had a shot at fronting Metallica

Metal Hammer

"It did surprise us. People started calling us sell-outs." How Metallica wrote the metal power ballad that saved Miley Cyrus - and that Elton John called 'one of the best songs ever written'

James Hetfield wasn't sure about letting his Metallica bandmates hear Nothing Else Matters. Thank goodness he did

Metal Hammer

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MusicRadar

“I turn and I'm, like, 'Hey.' It's Lars, it's Kirk, it's Jason Newsted. They're, like, 'What do you know?' I go, 'I don't know. Master of Puppets. OK. Count it in'”: Daron Malakian recalls the time he fronted Metallica

Tonight Matthew I’m going to be… James Hetfield

Guitar World

“Kirk Hammett’s in front of me with a guitar trying to teach me stuff. They’re like, ‘Get your stuff. You’re flying on the private jet with us’”: Daron Malakian on the time he saved a Metallica gig – and ended up filling in for an injured James Hetfield

Malakian stepped up to sub for Hetfield at the last minute while on tour – and stuck around until he was fully recovered

Metal Hammer

"I'll never forget it. It still brings goosebumps." System Of A Down's Daron Malakian on being asked to fill in for injured James Hetfield on Metallica's Summer Sanitarium tour in 2000

System Of A Down had yet to make their breakthrough – but guitarist Malakian was thrust onto the stage with metal royalty

Metal Hammer

“Once James Hetfield said he liked it, that was it. He said that it kicked his ass”: Nineteen years ago, this US metal band released their sixth album. Today it sounds like a Master Of Puppets for the 21st century

Machine Head’s The Blackening is one of the greatest metal records of the 21st century

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Guitar World

“We were kind of forced to come up with asolution for playing a show in Antarctica where we couldn’t have speakers”: Why did the world’s biggest metal band switch to amp modelers?

Metallica officially said goodbye to quote/unquote real amps after an epiphany at the South Pole. James Hetfield’s tech, Chad Zaemisch, explains how it was Fractal all the way after their day on the ice

Guitar World

“I’d like to get a Flying V. I saw James Hetfield of Metallica playing one live, and I thought, ‘He’s got such a great guitar sound’”: Kim Deal on finally making her solo debut, working with Steve Albini and why she hates bright guitar tones

On her debut solo album, Nobody Loves You more, Kim Deal expands on the sonics she built in the Breeders and Pixies

Metal Hammer

"I am so blessed. I have the best job in the world." James Hetfield on how Metallica fans make it "easy" for him to do his job

Metallica frontman is fuelled by the passion and energy of the fans

Metal Hammer

“The teacher would say, ‘OK, get out your health books,’ and I would have to leave. My parents told me a little speech to say about our religion and why, and I didn’t believe it”: How Metallica turned childhood trauma into a decades-spanning trilogy

Inspired by James Hetfield’s isolated upbringing (and a little bit of Chris Isaak), Metallica made an honest, inverted ballad and kicked off a 27-year-long series

Guitar World

“I saw Ace Frehley bending backwards doing a solo. That’s when it clicked with me: ‘I wanna be a rock guy now!’” Inspired by Kiss, Metallica and Dokken, DRAIN’s Cody Chavez is the hardcore hero who isn’t afraid to shred

The Jackson die-hard thought he’d never be good enough to solo – then he surprised himself. He explains how his playing on new album …IS YOUR FRIEND was influenced by Dimebag Darrell, James Hetfield – and one specific George Lynch guitar solo

Metal Hammer

“Our manager basically kicked us out of his house. We were supposed to go to Europe for the first time, and our gear had gotten stolen”: How Metallica turned tragedy into Fade To Black – the acoustic epic that put the elitists in their place

Inspired by the time Metallica’s gear was pinched, Fade To Black threw the metal scene into an uproar – but the band had the last laugh

Guitar World

“When I finished, I sent Kirk Hammett a picture and said, ‘Do you want to use it?’ He replied in all caps, ‘YES!’” Gibson CEO Cesar Gueikian has spent 4 years learning how to build guitars – and his prized SG was played at metal’s most historic concert

Gueikian has juggled the demands of his CEO role with learning the art of guitar making, and his builds already have some high-profile admirers – including Jason Momoa, Kirk Hammett and Tony Iommi

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