From: Los Angeles, California
Personal: Married, 3 Children
Specialty: Angst-ridden, soul-rending, growling, loud-ass vocals
Instrument: vocals, guitars
Vitals: blue eyes, blonde hair, 6'1"/1.85 meters tall, weighs 180 lbs/81.65 kilos
Words to describe James.
James was a quiet kid, into sports. His parents were Christian scientists. His older stepbrother played drums in a band and turned James onto rock and roll in general, Black Sabbath actually. In his junior year, James and his family moved from Downey to LaBrea, CA, where James attended a "really preppy high school." He played for a while in a "high school party band" called Obsession, doing mostly Zeppelin and Sabbath covers and then later formed Leather Charm, a less "James kind of band." It was around this time that James metup with Ron McGovney, Metallica's first bass player. It wasn't until James met Lars Ulrich, however, that Metallica was formed. Originally the band's lead singer, against his own will, James also wound up playing rhythm guitar because they couldn't find anyone else with the right feel. Later, Metallica looked into getting a frontman, so that James, who calls himself a "singer or barker or yeller,"could concentrate on guitar. But it never happened and he continued doing both. I couldn't even fathom Metallica without the voice of Hetfield. It just wouldn't be the same.
