Metallica’s leaders had very different cultural and family backgrounds, but they worked out artistically
One of the most enduring partnerships in the history of heavy metal is that of James Hetfield (voice and guitar) and Lars Ulrich (battery). The two formed together in 1981 the metallica, a band that can be cited as the greatest of its kind, in view of the impressive numbers of record sales and concert tickets. They never broke up, despite the difficulties before and after fame was achieved.
Hetfield and Ulrich come from very different backgrounds as people. The first, an American born in a city close to Los Angeles, is the son of a truck driver and an opera singer. The father became absent after divorcing her mother when the would-be musician was 13 – and three years later, she quickly died of cancer after refusing treatment due to her belief in so-called Christian Science. Many of these traumas are explicit in the lyrics of Metallica songs.
The second, a Danish man in good financial condition who emigrated to the United States in his youth, is the son and grandson of the successful tennis players torben It is Einer Ulrich, respectively. Because of this, it was expected that he would also dedicate himself to the sport, but when watching a show from deep purple being only 9 years old, his life changed: he wanted to become a rock star. And so he did.
Very different backgrounds, right? Even so, the partnership worked – but not without some oddities.
James Hetfield on meeting Lars Ulrich
In a 2009 interview with classic rock, James was quite candid in describing his first impression of Lars, whom he met in high school. Initially, he told how his colleague was still not a good instrumentalist, but he wanted to continue in music professionally anyway.
“I was playing guitar with a friend and trying to put together a band called Phantom Lord. We responded to an ad for Lars in the paper and met in person. He set up the drums and he wasn’t very good, but he had motivation and knowledge. He had the drive and aspirations that I had.”
The Metallica frontman was then asked to comment on the cultural differences between the two. Even the odor exhaled by the drummer was addressed in this answer.
“Extremely different. In addition to not playing well at the time, there were some different smells coming out of it. [risos]. The stigma of being European is that they don’t make soap there and nobody takes a shower. Also, his house had a different vibe. Very friendly and open. My house was very elitist and closed. If you didn’t believe in our religion… we didn’t get many visitors. Lars’ house was the opposite. Very hippie, very ‘come more’ type.”
Another point highlighted by James was Lars’ financial condition, which allowed him to have a vast record collection. The drummer was also an only child, which made it easier for him to have everything he wanted.
“I walked in and I couldn’t believe it. I had my little stack of records, while he had an entire wall in his room filled with stuff. So I started making tapes from everything he had.”
Lars Ulrich on meeting James Hetfield
In another interview, Lars Ulrich also revealed his impressions of having met James Hetfield. In 2018, when talking to the journalist Jan Gradvall (via blabbermouth), the drummer initially recalled that the objective of his move to the United States was to become the 2nd tennis player at a school called corona del mar – at the time, he was among the top 10 tennis players in Denmark.
“When I tried out for the varsity team, I didn’t even make the top seven. So that whole tennis dream was over and the music was waiting to take over. There was a musicians section in the newspaper The Recycler, so I placed the ad: ‘Drummer looking for other metal fans to start a band. Influences: Diamond Head, Angel Witch, Tygers of Pan Tang and Venom’. Then some guys called me saying: ‘I like heavy metal, I like Styx, Kansas and Van Halen’. Then I asked if they knew who Diamond Head was. I tried to play with some of these guys and it didn’t work out.”
After some time, a guy named Hugh Tanner called and asked if he could bring a friend. He was none other than James Hetfield, but with a very different personality than the world has known.
“He was very shy, introverted, he barely looked you in the eye, he was slow to talk. But there was some connection when we played. […] It was June 1981, so I spent the summer in Europe and spent some time in England with Diamond Head and Motörhead. When I got back to America in October of that year, I called that James Hetfield, because there was a vibe, a connection. I asked if he wanted to join and see if there was a chance we could do something. And here we are.”
The cultural difference between the two was also narrated by Ulrich. Especially on a family level, the two were very different. Music brought them together.
“I come from a European culture, I was an only child, very close to my parents, who were my best friends. He was the exact opposite: the classic American rebel, like: ‘f*ck my parents, society and God’. I think his father abandoned the family. He was raised by his mother, who got cancer when he was 14 or 15. And because of the belief they had, they couldn’t seek medical help. For a year and a half, he watched his mother die. I met him, after a year, he was maybe 17 or 18. He was really shy and awkward, but we connected and we listened to records by Tygers of Pan Tang, Girlschool, Saxon and Angel Witch, which he loved.”
Source: Rollingstone
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
