Over the past decades, it has been James Hetfield and his bandmates in Metallica who have carried the Heavy Metal flag around the world as the most successful band of the genre. They have written some of the greatest albums in that style of music, inspiring a whole generation of new musicians and if asked, many fans would mention one of their tracks as the best of all time. However, in Hetfield’s opinion, there is a Metal song by another band that stands above the rest.
The Heavy Metal song James Hetfield mentioned as the best of all time
James Hetfield’s biggest influence growing up was Black Sabbath, a band he discovered as a kid while secretly going through his older brother’s record collection. After looking at the cover of their debut album, which shows a creepy image of a woman dressed like a witch in front of an old mill, he decided to put the record on and was instantly hooked, as well as frightened, by the first chords of their self-titled song “Black Sabbath”.
That’s the only Heavy Metal track he included among the greatest of all time when asked by Rolling Stone in 2004 to list the best songs in history.”This song scared the shit out of me. It’s beyond heavy,” he said.
He recalled this turning point in his life during his speech when he had the chance to induct Black Sabbath into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006. “Black Sabbath is mammoth riffs with menacing lyrics that made me oh so happy. That was gonna be my speech. That was it. But Springsteen kind of upped the game the last year. I’ll go a little deeper. Picture a nine-year-old boy. Quiet, well-behaved on the outside. But on the inside boiling and dying for a life to burst open with some sort of stimulation. The discovery of music was what was to burst it wide open.”
James Hetfield continued:
“But not just any music. This was more than just music. A powerful, loud, heavy sound that moved his soul. You see, this timid nine-year-old constantly raided his roommate-slash-older brother’s record collection. And going against his older brother’s wishes, played those off-limit records on the forbidden record player. Out of all the records he could have worn out, there was no other choice. The very moment he saw their earliest album cover, he knew they were going to offer him a different kind of ride. He was drawn to them like a magnet to metal.”
“That’s pretty lame, yes. OK, I’ll try again. More like a shy boy to his own loud voice. Those monstrous riffs lived inside him and spoke the feelings he could never put into words. Sending chills of inspiration through him, from those gloomy lyrics and outlaw chords and all. They helped crack the shell he was stuck in. Also, scaring his mom and sister was an extra bonus. Now, as the former nine-year-old speaks to you here, as an adult musician.”
He continued:
“I know those two words really don’t go together. I realize that without their defining sound, as my friend Lars has said, there would be no Metallica, especially with one James Hetfield. Never have I known a more timeless and influential band. They have spread their wonderful disease through generations of musicians. (Sabbath) is always listed as an influence by heavy bands to this day. They are loved and highly respected as the fathers of heavy music. It truly is a dream come true and an extreme honor for me and the nine-year-old still inside of me to induct into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame such a significant group of musicians. And in the words of our fearless leader Ozzy Osbourne, ‘Let’s go fucking crazy!’” James Hetfield said.
Hetfield said Tony Iommi is his favorite guitarist
Black Sabbath’s co-founder and guitarist Tony Iommi was a crucial part of the band. During his last day of work at a factory in Birmingham, England, he lost the tips of two fingers and had to relearn how to play, adapting plastic pieces to fit over the damaged fingertips and lowering the guitar’s tuning to make the strings easier to play. That configuration, combined with the band’s creativity and his incredible ability to come up with powerful guitar riffs, helped give birth to their heavy sound. That is the main reason James Hetfield has said Iommi is his favorite guitarist.
“As far as being a riff and rhythm guy, my favorite guitarist is Tony Iommi, no doubt about that. He seemed like one of those quiet geniuses. At one time he was the frontman of the band and Ozzy was to one side. The riff was more important than the vocals. It was all in minor, it has that feel. He can go from the heaviest doom riff into a happy mode and it would still sound heavy. We can’t do happy, but Tony can pull it off. My favorite track is ‘Into The Void’,” James Hetfield said in an interview with Classic Rock.
Curiously, the only time James Hetfield had the chance to share the stage with Tony Iommi was actually while playing Queen songs. That happened during The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in 1992. Iommi is a close friend of Brian May, who invited the “Riffmaster” to help him out during that show, mainly playing rhythm guitar. Hetfield joined them on stage without a guitar that night, singing “Stone Cold Crazy”. Sabbath also is his favorite band as he revealed in an interview with San Jose Sharks back in 2015.
He said:
“(All time favorite) band is hard because there is so many. Led Zeppelin is in there, Motörhead, boy… they all offer (something) a little bit different. But if I was stuck for one: Black Sabbath,” James Hetfield said. When Black Sabbath was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, the band did not perform at the ceremony. Instead, Metallica played a couple of tracks that night in their honor, including “Hole in the Sky” and “Iron Man”.
Three years later, they served as the backing band for Ozzy Osbourne at the Rock Hall’s 25th anniversary, performing “Iron Man” and “Paranoid” with him. The Thrash Metal band Metallica has previously covered Black Sabbath’s “Sabbra Cadabra” and “The National Acrobat”, which were featured on their 1998 covers album “Garage Inc.”.