In a recent episode of the Talk Louder podcast, L.A. GUNS guitarist Tracii Guns opened up about his long-running respect for METALLICA frontman James Hetfield, going so far as to call him “the bravest man in rock.”
Speaking with hosts “Metal Dave” Glessner and Jason McMaster (of DANGEROUS TOYS), Guns shared candid reflections on his occasional run-ins with Hetfield over the years—some friendly, some less so—but all marked by mutual respect.
“I think James Hetfield has ended up being the bravest man in rock,” Guns said. “Because I’ve known James, musically and personally, from a distance. We’re not good friends, but when we see each other, it’s like, ‘Whoa, what’s up, bro?’ We respect each other.”
Recounting an especially memorable—and slightly awkward—encounter in New York in the early ’90s, Guns recalled bumping into Hetfield at the Scrap Bar while both were in town for press events. At the time, METALLICA’s Black Album and L.A. Guns’ Cocked & Loaded were circulating heavily.
“He was the only one in there, with the bartender,” Guns recalled. “I went in and said, ‘Hey man,’ and he’s like, ‘Tracii Guns.’ Right away I knew he was wasted. Totally off his tree.”
Guns said the interaction quickly became tense when Hetfield accused him of not liking METALLICA. “I go, ‘Yeah, I do. This is a f**king great record.’ And he’s like, ‘Well, I got the CONTRABAND record [ [early 1990s supergroup featuring Guns]. Great playing, but those songs are s**t, bro.’ I just said, ‘Yeah, cool, man. Whatever.’”
Despite that rocky exchange, Guns emphasized that there’s always been a certain camaraderie between him and the members of METALLICA. “There’s always been this cool kind of vibe between me and those guys,” he said.
But what truly cemented his admiration for Hetfield, Guns explained, was watching the METALLICA frontman publicly confront his personal demons in recent years.
“I saw that he opened up his heart in public,” Tracii said. “And he started talking about the demons that he has dealt with and how long. You go play stadiums and you go to the grocery store in your neighborhood. So it’s a big shift. And how he used to deal with things.”
“It is very difficult for a man to talk about those things with his friends, let alone talk about that sincerely in public, especially being the singer of f**king METALLICA,” he continued. “So I have even more respect for James now than ever. I just think he’s so bold and so brave. And although I think it’s a shame what happened to his relationship, relationships don’t last forever. But I really gotta give him massive kudos, man. Just, like, way to go, dude. And that healing process. A lot of people are, like, ‘Oh, he’s a millionaire. Who feels sorry for a millionaire?’ It’s, like, dude, what does that got to do with…? Money doesn’t solve everything internally… And he got sober. That’s tough. That’s hard s**t to do, man. And on top of it, he wrote all that great music and those songs. I don’t say this very often, but God bless that f**king dude. What a badass.”
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.