James Hetfield’s opinion on Malcolm and Angus Young

Although James Hetfield is mainly remembered as the frontman of Metallica, he is also an exceptional rhythm guitarist, forming a perfect combination with Kirk Hammett, with whom he created some of the greatest guitar parts in the history of Heavy Metal.

Throughout his career he had the chance to meet many of his peers and has shared his opinions about them, including the legendary AC/DC guitarists Malcolm and Angus Young.

James Hetfield’s opinion on Malcolm and Angus Young

“Angus Young is probably the guy that I definitely take my hat off for, that dude is insane. I don’t know, he must sweat gallons every show and he is like the size… He’s like a little dude, he’s an elf and (it makes everybody wonder) ‘Where’s that water coming from?’ How can you sweat your body weight? (laughs).”

“(Despite that) he’s out there headbanging, rocking and he’s up there in age too. So that’s the person we’re kind of, I guess, seeing ‘How long can this guy go?’ He is the canary in the coal mine (laughs). I’ll tell you, out of the big four, Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax, myself, Dave Mustaine and Tom Araya all had neck surgery from all this headbanging (over the years),” James Hetfield said in an interview with Joe Rogan in 2016 (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage).

AC/DC was the first real band James Hetfield ever saw live

James Hetfield is a huge fan of AC/DC, Malcolm and Angus Young. The first really incredible guitarists he ever saw perform live were them, as the first concert he attended was an Aerosmith show with AC/DC opening. The show took place at the Long Beach Arena in 1978, when he was just 15 years old.

“Music would speak my voice, and it connected on so many levels. It made perfect sense that I would want to express myself that way. It was all about Kiss and Aerosmith. The first concert I went to was Aerosmith and AC/DC at the Long Beach Arena,” James Hetfield told Guitar World in 2009.

At that show, he had the chance to see the band fronted by Bon Scott, who he listed as the fifth greatest vocalist of all time. In the list Hetfield made for Rolling Stone magazine in 2008, he placed him in front of names like Robert Plant, Johnny Cash, Steven Tyler and Freddie Mercury. He just wasn’t in front of Chris Cornell, Layne Staley, Rob Halford and Ronnie James Dio.

Malcolm Young was a big inspiration to James Hetfield as a rhythm guitarist

Although he admires Angus, he was more influenced by Malcolm, since he also is a rhythm guitarist. “So guitar influences for me—really percussive. As I mentioned earlier, I’d love to play drums too (laughs), you know? What I do is play drums on the guitar. I’m very rhythmic, and obviously I’m a rhythm guitar player. So there’s some great rhythm guitar players out there. Malcolm Young (AC/DC) obviously. Rudolf Schenker (Scorpions) and I would say Johnny Ramone (The Ramones) had just a great right hand. A lot of down picking, da-da-da-da (he sings a guitar down-picking part), really machine-like,” James Hetfield told Rock Cellar Magazine in 2017.

When talking with Music Radar in 2009, he had already mentioned Malcolm, listing him as one of his “Rhythm guitar Gods”. “My rhythm gods are Tony Iommi, Rudolf Schenker and Malcolm Young – guys who just keep it steady. The Misfits too, and even the Ramones with their simplicity. It’s all downpicking! Watch some footage of Johnny Ramone and you’ll go, ‘Wow!’” He said.

Angus Young rank above the Stones and Springsteen as role models for touring

To James, Angus Young ranks above The Rolling Stones members and Bruce Springsteen when it comes to touring. They keep touring and playing big shows despite their age, something that impresses the Metallica frontman. However, as he told Billboard in 2016, the AC/DC guitarist is the one who really blows his mind.

“Everybody mentions The Rolling Stones. They could probably play until they’re 120. Lemmy gave it all he had to the last breath. Bruce Springsteen, another guy I admire for his endurance. But Angus Young, that guy blows my mind. That guy sweats so much every night. I can believe his head is still in his body,” he said.

Only 13 years after going to his first concert and seeing AC/DC live, Metallica had the chance to be the opening act for them. It was during the Monsters of Rock tour in the early 90s, one of the final times they did that. Because right after that they released the groundbreaking self-titled album, also known as the “Black Album”, which took them to another level of success.