3 bands from the 90s that James Hetfield praised

James Hetfield was heavily influenced by early ’70s heavy bands like Black Sabbath, as well as by the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. However, he has a broad musical taste, which can be heard throughout Metallica‘s discography — ranging from acoustic sections to intense Thrash Metal riffs. Over the decades, he has had the chance to see many incredible bands emerge, even watching some of them live as Metallica’s opening acts. He once praised three bands that rose to fame in the 1990s.

3 bands from the 90s that James Hetfield praised

Rocket From the Crypt

The first band mentioned by James Hetfield in an interview with Orion festival magazine in 2013, was Rocket From The Crypt. They were going to play at the Metallica festival and he was happy that the group was reunited again. “I’ve always been a Rocket From the Crypt fan and the fact that they’re back together is a very exciting thing for me, personally. Scream Dracula Scream is still one of the most solid rock records in my collection,” he said.

They are not among the most famous and successful bands from the 90s but they became a cult-following group that influenced a lot of bands. The group was formed in San Diego, California in 1990 and they were active until 2005, reuniting in 2011 and then in 2013 when they got back together. Back in the 90s, Hetfield said that their 1995 album “Scream, Dracula, Scream!” was one of his favorites.

Their current line-up has three original members: Speedo (Guitar and vocals), Petey X (Bass) and ND (Guitar). They are accompanied by Apollo 9 (Saxophone, percussion), JC 2000 (Trumpet, percussion) and Ruby Mars (Drums). They have released nine albums so far, the most recent one “Live From Camp X-Ray” in 2002.

The Deftones

Another band he praised in that interview was The Deftones, although there was some feud between the bands a few years before. “The Deftones up on stage battling on after losing a key member,” Hetfield said. He was referring to the loss of the bassist Chi Cheng, who died in 2013 at the age of 42.

The Deftones already were the opening act for Metallica but the band’s vocalist Chino Moreno criticized the other acts from that special tour and also Metallica. He told Revolver Magazine that he wasn’t happy about playing before Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park. The reason was because they were “two bands that wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for me. (…) “Metallica have a vast catalog, but live? Motherfuckers just stand there and play.”

Many years later, in 2023, Chino Moreno said he loves Metallica and that he actually wante to keep a distance from bands like Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park because Deftones didn’t want to be labeled as Nu Metal.

“That sucked. I remember when it came out, they used a picture where I’m like making a snarling face. And in that interview, I remember I was mad at that because I really didn’t want to do that tour.”

He continued:

“It wasn’t because of Metallica. I love Metallica. But at the time, it was Limp Bizkit, and it was also Linkin Park — who I don’t despise either. But it was definitely that time where we were still trying to keep all that long distance. And it was basically Metallica with every nu-metal band at the time. So I didn’t want to do that tour. I was the only one in the band that was against doing that tour,” he told Stereogum.

What James Hetfield said about Chino Moreno’s statement about Metallica. Hetfield obviously wasn’t happy with what Moreno said and in an interview with MTV in the early 00s said: “It’s words on paper, that’s all it is. You don’t know where that came from or how out of context it was.”

“It’s stupid stuff. I think you don’t take something like that personally. When someone talks smack like that, maybe it’s insecurity or maybe something else is going on. And then you get on the stage and you play and it’s kinda like forgotten about,” he said.

Dropkick Murphys

“I like the Dropkick Murphys a lot,” James Hetfield told Orion magazine about the American band formed in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1996. But their big mainstream success “I’m Shipping Up to Boston” would only be released nine years later. It was part of their 2005 album “Warrior’s Code”. The song was featured in the extremely successful Martin Scorsese movie “The Departed” and became even more successful.

The music was written by the band but the lyrics used were written decades ago by the American Folk songwriter Woody Guthrie. Also released as a single, it is their most successful song and was certified double platinum. It peaked at number one on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart and sold more than 1 million digital copies. They have released 12 studio albums so far, the most recent one being “Okemah Rising” (2023).