The Metallica frontman Hetfield has revealed he stopped riding motorcycles last yr in a bid to minimise risks to his health.
James Hetfield isn’t the only member of Metallica to have considered the challenges of continuing to perform at full energy as they approach their mid-50s.
Lars Ulrich recently mentioned Metallica could continue for 100 years if it was just a question of mental skill – however that they knew the time would come to retire for physical reasons.
Requested about his bike assortment, Hetfield tells Jeff Woods Radio: “I offered the one I experience. I’ve bought a couple of customs and issues that have been constructed for me, or I helped construct. I really like that part.
“I had my daily rider and I sold it last yr. I just thought, ‘It is not me, it is the other man. Somethings will happen, and I want to be healthy, have all my stuff work.’
“I want grandkids to show up, I want to have some fun with them.”
James Hetfield takes his role as a father seriously – however he’s made sure his children take his job seriously as well. “I think it is important that they understand what I do,” he says.
“It is not just, ‘Dad sits around on the couch and plays guitar.’ There is hard work that goes into it. It is important that they see that hard work.
“They see me after a show coughing up a lung or one thing, or simply beat. However they see the joy that I get out of it.”
And he reflects that, on balance, he has a better probability of coping with any health points than his bandmates. “Catching on fire, broken arms… I have got job security,” he argues.
“I sing and play. My throat goes out I can at all times play. I break my arm, I get to sing. I’m set!”
Metallica released 10th album Hardwired… To Self-Destruct last month. They appeared on US TV present Jimmy Kimmel Live this week, the place they discussed how their children don’t care too much about their dads’ careers – with Kirk Hammett revealing that his kids thought his instrument was “boring.”
Watch James Hetfield Interview with Jeff Woods. Shot by Matt Barnes:
