METALLICA frontman James Hetfield surprised fans today with a helium-filled birthday message. In a video posted to the band’s social media, the 61-year-old vocalist and guitarist treated viewers to a high-pitched rendition of his birthday greeting before launching into a snippet of the band’s iconic hit, “Enter Sandman.”
The song, a cornerstone of METALLICA‘s 1991 self-titled album, has amassed over a billion streams on Spotify.
Born in Downey, California, in 1963, James Hetfield was raised by a truck driver father and a singer mother. His parents were devout Christian Scientists, a faith that prohibited medical treatment, a belief tragically tested when his mother passed away from cancer in 1979. This deeply personal experience would later influence METALLICA‘s music, notably in songs like “The God That Failed.” Hetfield is the youngest of four children.
Reeder, the visionary behind Metal Addicts, has transformed his lifelong passion for metal into a thriving online community for metal aficionados. As a fervent devotee of black metal, Reeder is captivated by its dark, atmospheric, and often unorthodox soundscapes.