James & Hetfield

In the early '80s, heavy metal was in danger of becoming a spandex-sporting/hairspray-soaked/makeup-smeared parody, but bands like Metallica brought metal back to its original, straight-ahead approach. With most other metal singers posing for the camera and singing about sex, drugs, and rock & roll, Metallica singer/guitarist James Hetfield's approach was a much-welcomed break from the norm with his tattered jeans and unkempt hair, while singing (well, shouting) about serious subject matter and bashing out intense metal riffs on either his Gibson Explorer or Flying V. James ...