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The Latest Breaking News from James Hetfield

“Nothing Else Matters exposed the vulnerability behind what previously seemed to be a bulletproof heavy metal machine”: The five least metal Metallica songs

Not even having the word ‘metal’ in their name could stop the Four Horsemen from adventuring outside of their genre

Metal Hammer

“Partly a tribute to a fallen bandmate, it’s as emotionally raw as thrash ever got”: 10 epic ballads that show thrash metal’s emotional side

There was more to thrash metal than speed

Metal Hammer

“Metallica were still a local band. It made no sense for me to say, ‘I’m out of here, I’m going to join them”: The man who was asked to replace James Hetfield as singer in Metallica – and turned it down

In 1983, Metallica almost got a new singer

Metal Hammer

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“We did get very wild and crazy at points. I remember thinking, ‘Why aren’t we getting arrested?’”: The violent, bloody birth of the Bay Area thrash scene

How a handful of kids from Northern California changed the world

Metal Hammer

“All the albums I did with Metallica were recorded on 24-track analogue tape. There’s not a computer in sight”: How Flemming Rasmussen produced Metallica’s classic Master Of Puppets

“I rate James as the best rhythm guitar player on the planet," the producer said

MusicRadar

"It seemed to sum up the existential crisis I was having." Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan on the Metallica song that saved his life

"It's like a movie unto itself. What a song!" Billy Corgan on the Metallica classic that meant everything to him as a teenager

Metal Hammer

“Once James Hetfield said he liked the album, that was it. He said that it kicked his ass”: How Machine Head’s The Blackening became their own Master Of Puppets

The Blackening remains Machine Head’s masterpiece

Metal Hammer

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"I remember showing up at 10 or 11 in the morning and working on solos and that leading to two or three o’clock in the morning the next day”: How Metallica beat the clock and battled fatigue to create a poignant and pulverising anti-war epic

The sound of Metallica in full command, One would prove to be the ultimate thrash metal power ballad

MusicRadar

This is the Metallica song that makes Kirk Hammett cry – and it’s really not the one you’d expect

Turns out it’s not Fade To Black, One or Mama Said that gets Metallica’s guitarist misty-eyed…

Metal Hammer

Want to play Master of Puppets the right way? Here's how to get faster at downpicking so you can chug like James Hetfield

Downpicking is a fundamental and powerful pick stroke, and one of the mainstay techniques in metal and punk

Guitar World

"No guitar solos! No belly dancing music!" Metallica's Kirk Hammett looks back on working with Lou Reed on their controversial, much-mocked and largely-misunderstood collaboration Lulu

"Lulu means so much to me for a number of reasons.", Kirk Hammett states

Metal Hammer

"We were all basket cases! But we created this thing called Metallica that’s been our refuge." Kirk Hammett on 40 years in one of the biggest bands in the world

Toxic masculinity, matriarchal societies, fights with bandmates, Metallica's future – Kirk Hammett tells all

Metal Hammer

“They said, ‘We need a good singer.’ We said, ‘What’s the matter with James Hetfield?’” NWOBHM survivors Raven on giving insecure Metallica their first national tour, and pioneering the 8-string bass and bass trem

Even after 50 years and a near-fatal accident, British metal’s Gallagher brothers still have enough attitude to give young bands a run for their money

Guitar World

"You can only be what the public thinks you are for so long before it becomes boring": The story of how Metallica got themselves an orchestra – and the album that followed

With Metallica’s S&M reaching the grand old age of 25, we look back at how, and why, the world’s leading metal band teamed up with – shock, horror – the San Francisco Symphony

Metal Hammer

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MusicRadar

“I went for a guitar commission with a carload of basses! I laid them all out on the floor, and he went, ‘Okay, let’s make a guitar’”: Ken Lawrence reveals how he became luthier to James Hetfield and made some of his coolest Metallica guitars

How did a specialist in custom-built bass guitars end up making some of the Metallica frontman's most-famous electrics? As it turns out, with a twist of fate and his Mesa/Boogie connection

Guitar World

“He took a bass to Jason Newsted. James kept flipping it back and forth, studying it… Then he asked if we could meet”: How Ken Lawrence came to build some of James Hetfield’s most iconic guitars – including one using wood from Metallica’s former home

The luthier specialized in bass guitars before he met Hetfield via Mesa/Boogie. It would land him his most challenging but rewarding collaboration

Guitar World

“We kind of dug it, but a lot of places didn’t like Metallica. They were like, ‘What the hell is this?’” When Metallica hit the road for their first national tour, crowds weren’t convinced by their music

James Hetfield and co went on tour with British heavy metal band Raven when they came over to the States in the early 1980s – but they didn’t always win over the audience

Guitar World

“I auditioned for a guitar commission with a carload of basses! I laid them all out on the floor, and he went, ‘OK, let's make a guitar’”: James Hetfield's luthier on how he went from crafting basses to becoming the Metallica guitarist's go-to axe maker

And why we have Doug West from Mesa/Boogie to thank for Ken Lawrence and Papa Het's now-iconic link-up

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Metal Hammer

“You couldn’t put a bigger band in a smaller room”: The story of the greatest Metallica live album you’ve (probably) never listened to

In 2008, eager to mend fences with fans after the Napster debacle, the biggest band in metal played one of the tiniest shows of their lives

Guitar World

“I don’t think Metallica wants to say I am an original member”: Why Metallica’s forgotten guitarist believes he isn’t considered the heavy metal legends’ OG guitar player

Lloyd Grant jammed with Lars Ulrich and helped record an early demo of Hit the Lights – but isn’t recognized as an original member of Metallica

Metal Hammer

Metallica released their first music video 35 years ago. This is how it ruined my life.

A Metal Hammer writer looks back on the scarring effects of the video for Metallica’s One, which debuted on January 22, 1989

Metal Hammer

“They were a gang!” The first band Metallica supported on tour didn’t think the thrashers had a chance in hell of making it big

“‘Do you see them in 10 years being the greatest thing since sliced bread?’ No, not a chance!”

Guitar World

“Cliff always wanted to play more than he should have, but we didn’t try to control him – we couldn’t”: How Cliff Burton’s bass masterpiece earned its place in the pantheon of great rock solos

Recorded for Metallica’s genre-sparking Kill ’Em All, Burton’s complex snarl of notes has captivated bassists for years. Dial in your favorite fuzz-wah tone and let it rip

Metal Hammer

“I like to push some of those buttons. I like the fact that people have a problem with what we’re doing”: How Metallica kicked back against the 1990s haters with Reload

Haters gonna hate – but with 1997’s Reload album, Metallica just didn’t care

Guitar World

“Please tell the bass players of the world to go easy on me. I did my best to represent you well!” Bob Rock made bass history on Metallica’s St. Anger – quite a feat, since he “never really played bass” before

Producer Bob Rock on making St. Anger, the legacy of Cliff Burton and why he used Loverboy’s bass guitar on every track

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