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Metallica’s James Hetfield discusses ‘shameful dark stuff’

By Chris Craig

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Metallica front man James Hetfield discusses fear, inspiration and shameful past in new interview mini-series

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Once the voice of 80’s pavement loiterers and disenfranchised burnouts, James Hetfield was a lion-maned hero who laughed in the gnash-toothed face of fear. Belting out blistering metal anthems covering a mixed bag of subjects like religion, madness, politics and mythology, Hetfield and crew were a welcomed fresh voice arriving in the middle of the over hair sprayed glam metal landscape.

For fans looking to take a dark, hard-rocking ride in the 80’s, Hetfield was your unflinching, growling guide.

Yes, those were the good old days. Then tragically, in 1986, bassist Cliff Burton was killed in a traffic accident.  Over the next two decades Metallica would go through numerous seismic changes, including a new member, outrageous wealth and eventual haircuts.

A bumpy ride with plenty of ups and downs, Metallica addressed many of their challenges in the 2004 documentary Some Kind of Monster; a documentary many critics felt pulled the curtain too far back, allowing fans to see another side of the band they hadn’t expected: The human side.

Of course, ascending to astronomic heights with Metallica did not come without its fair share of baggage.

In a new video mini-series by an organization called Road Recovery, Hetfield continues much of his warts and all confessions in hopes of helping other young troubled addicts.

"“You wouldn’t really like me if you knew my story, if you knew what horrible things I’ve done. I’m coming to grips with that, ’cause I have groups of people that I’m able to share all my horrible stuff with — shameful, extremely shameful, dark stuff. Some of it is things I’ve taken from my parents and carried it a little further. Other ones, I’ve been able to drops some of that. Other ones I’ve picked up on my own and then created… Shame’s a big thing for me.”"

James bravely opens up, but sadly not enough for us to know specifically what this shameful dark stuff is that he speaks of:

  • unpaid traffic tickets
  • public urination
  • animal sacrifice

Who’s to say?

Kudos to Hetfield for his growth and helping others. You can read more about Road Recovery and the organizations goals here.

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