2 Hard Rock songs James Hetfield picked as some of his favorites

Although James Hetfield became one of the most important Heavy Metal guitarists and singers of all time, he was influenced by a wide variety of music genres and styles within rock music. Over the decades, he has talked about many of his favorite bands and once mentioned two Hard Tock songs that are among his favorites. One he says is the perfect song to listen to while driving, while the other might be the best song ever recorded.

2 Hard Rock songs James Hetfield picked as some of his favorites

Motörhead “Ace of Spades”

“There is a (best) song for every mood, every day, every action. You know, when I’m driving ‘Ace of Spades’ (Motörhead) is the best song,” he told Metallica Report in 2025. Motörhead has always been one of his favorite bands of all time and Lemmy Kilmister was one of his dearest friends.

The late musician wished for part of his ashes to be put inside a bullet and given to his friends. James was among those who received it.. He decided to carry part of Lemmy with him in his skin. He used a pinch of his cremation ashes mixed with black ink to create a tattoo of the Ace of Spades on his middle finger.

“With the steady hand of friend and tattoo artist @coreymillertattoo, this tattoo. A salute to my friend and inspiration Mr. Lemmy Kilmister. Without him, there would be NO Metallica. Black ink mixed with a pinch of his cremation ashes that were so graciously given to me. So now, he is still able to fly the bird at the world,” James Hetfield said. Until 2026 Motörhead still wasn’t inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. James said that is a shame and disrespect to Rock and Roll.

James Hetfield said:

“Maybe lieu of him being in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which still continues to piss me off. The most rock and roll lifestyle-living person on this planet is not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. (That) is a travesty, a shame. It’s kind of a disrespect to rock and roll, basically. So this (tattoo) is me paying homage to him,” James Hetfield told Metallica Report in 2024.

Metallica had the chance to play with Motörhead multiple times. Interestingly, the only Grammy Award Motörhead ever received was for their cover of Metallica’s “Whiplash,” released in 2005. “Ace of Spades”, mentioned by James was the title-track of Motörhead’s most famous album, released in 1980.

Led Zeppelin “Stairway to Heaven”

But the best song written… I mean, as far as songwriting goes there’s so many avenues to go down. As stupid and simple as it sounds, I think ‘Stairway to Heaven’ is just one of those songs that so many bands have tried to emulate. You start off light and end up heavy. (Lynyrd Skynyrd) ‘Free Bird is that (way), ‘One’ (Metallica). There’s so many songs that have emulated that,” James Hetfield told Metallica Report in 2025.

Although the British band that influenced the Metallica frontman the most is Black Sabbath, with guitarist Tony Iommi being a major inspiration, he is also a big fan of Led Zeppelin. This wasn’t the first time he had mentioned “Stairway to Heaven,” having listed the song as one of his favorites of all time in a 2004 interview with Rolling Stone.

James Hetfield said:

“When I first got a guitar, I figured out the first couple of fingerings to this. I ran around the house saying, ‘Check it out! I can play this!’ My family was like, ‘Where’s the rest of the song?’” Years later he would cover many Zeppelin songs with his school band Obsession. James had the chance to meet many of his heroes over the decades, but it was only in 2015 that he finally had the chance to meet Robert Plant, who he already listed as one of the greatest singers of all time. He James shared a list with Metallica’s fan club of the greatest things that happened to him in that year. One of them was “meeting Robert Plant”.

“Stairway to Heaven” was released on “Led Zeppelin IV” in 1970 and it’s their best-known song. Hetfield is also a fan of “Led Zeppelin III”, which  tends to be an overlooked record. “(The) third ZEP album they were talking smack about, but now it’s one of my favorites,” he told Sun Media in 2008. According to Bob Rock, Jimmy Page already told him that he loved Metallica’s also overlooked album “St. Anger”, released in 2003.