For the past four decades, James Hetfield has been one of the most influential heavy metal guitarists and singers in the world. As Metallica‘s frontman and primary lyricist, he has established himself as a true legend. Influenced by a wide range of guitarists, he developed a distinctive playing style that incorporates elements from many of his heroes. Over the years, Hetfield has mentioned many of those influences and even revealed which guitarist i, by far his favorite.
The lead guitarist James Hetfield said is by far his favorite
When asked which album he always returned to over the years, Hetfield mentioned UFO‘s “Strangers in the Night” and said Michael Schenker was by far his favorite lead guitarist. “Late-’70s rock is really what makes me feel good. Around ’78, it was kind of a year for live records. ’77, ’78, ’79, it was like a trend – live album is it! It’s kind of their best stuff, like a best-of record live. Live albums like ‘Strangers in the Night’ by UFO, it just makes me feel good. It’s got everything, it’s got ballads, it’s got hard rockers, it’s got… I mean, Michael Schenker is on fire on that record! Out of any lead guitar player, he’s by far my favorite. I love that record,” he told JWR in 2017.
One of the things about Michael that he admires most is the melody in his playing, something he mentioned when talking about his bandmate Kirk Hammett. “Kirk’s an amazing lead player with a great lead sound. I wish I could play like him, but I can’t. So I become the best rhythm player I can. And being the singer, I love melody. Michael Schenker is probably one of my favorite guitar players as far as melody goes.”
“All of the kind of dual harmony things are things that I do in the studio, and Kirk comes in and does the solo stuff. I think I’m a little more subtle than him. He’s pretty bombastic when he comes in with a sound. In rehearsals, it’s like, ‘Do you notice that you’re really, really loud?’ And he doesn’t. He just loves noises, exploring noises. It is a great combo,” James Hetfield said in an interview with Newsweek in 2017.
Michael Schenker is the main reason James Hetfield wanted a Flying V guitar
Besides being an incredible lead guitarist with UFO, a band James Hetfield has often said is one of his favorites, Michael Schenker had previously played alongside his older brother Rudolf in Scorpions. Hetfield was also a huge fan of the German band’s albums featuring Schenker and the guitarist was the main reason he wanted a Flying V so badly when he was a teenager. “You know, Michael Schenker, Scorpions for me, was a pretty major influence in the early days of Metal for me. Because in America we had Ted Nugent, we had Aerosmith, that was something of the harder edge stuff.”
“I know there were other bands that were as hard. But you know, when I first discovered some of these stuff from Europe (like) Judas Priest and Scorpions, they were probably the biggest of the bands in Europe that made it to the States. They were all playing Flying V’s, you know. I remember looking at the ‘Tokyo Tapes’ (Scorpions’ 1978 live album) and seeing the Flying V, ‘Rudy’ Schenker, Michael Schenker,” James Hetfield said in the documentary “Flying V” released in 2020 (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage).
He was tricked when he bought his first Flying V but was happy since it was white just like Schenker’s
Like almost every teenager who dreams of becoming a rock star, James Hetfield wanted to own the same gear as his heroes. He repainted his first guitar several times, including giving it Eddie Van Halen-inspired stripes. He later bought an SG and wanted his third guitar to be a Flying V. However, he was tricked when he tried to buy one, as the seller sold him a bolt-on neck model instead.
“My first guitar was a swap-meet thing that I paid five bucks for and painted about 12 different times. I put Eddie Van Halen stripes on and all that stuff, like every kid did. And the second guitar I had was, like, a ’69 SG that some kid sold (to) me in high school for $200. I traded it for a PA because I wanted to be the singer, because everyone was looking for a singer back then. And then the next guitar I bought was this V.”
He continued:
“Somebody sold it to me as a Gibson V, and as a dumb kid I had no idea. Eventually it dawned on me: Oh, it has a bolt-on neck. It can’t be. Hmmm, why does it say ‘Made in Japan’ on it? [laughs] But I didn’t care. I didn’t have a care in the world. It’s a white V! It’s Michael Schenker, it’s Scorpions. That was metal: black pants, white V, go! I couldn’t care less that it was not a real Gibson,” James Hetfield told Guitar World in 2008.