Is James Hetfield "underrated"?

I think he's correctly rated. Anyone with any sense considers him to be an icon and one of the most influential musicians of his generation. It's tough to be underrated in that situation imo.
 
Satanical Eve said:
James is definitely underrated in regards to his guitar playing. Many have said and I will say it too that James is the God of down picking.
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Great post, man. I just want to ask about this part in particular. Doesn't the fact that "many have said... that James is the God of down picking" mean that he isn't underrated as a guitarist? He's always mentioned on "best rhythm guitarists of all time" lists. How could he be underrated?
 
Vocally he doesn't have anywhere near the range of a Dickinson or Halford, but he's great at what he does and is easily one of the most identifiable voices in metal/rock.
 
Canned Tuna said:
Great post, man. I just want to ask about this part in particular. Doesn't the fact that "many have said... that James is the God of down picking" mean that he isn't underrated as a guitarist? He's always mentioned on "best rhythm guitarists of all time" lists. How could he be underrated?
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Ah, you are correct. James is definitely rated correctly on his guitar playing. I'd say though that his singing is a bit underrated and he does have a decent vocal range.
 
Nameless Ghoul said:
It's easy to pan him for his now blown out live vocals, and trademark "oooh', "yeah!", and "show me!". But the guy undoubtedly put out 5 legendary albums vocally, while also performing at an amazing level on rhythm guitar. Add to that he could perform it all flawlessly live for 10+ years while "living the life" and maintaining the "image"? He's definitely an all-time great that I really feel he doesn't get the respect he deserves.

Near the peak of his powers..even before the Black album.
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but metallica only had 4.5 albums that were good and I am being nice putting AJFA as a good album. * and yes this starts from the beginning.
 
Xuh said:
All I know is when I see those 'top guitarists of all time' lists with obligatory Kirk Hammett on them (because they have to choose a Metallica guy I guess so they choose the guy who does the widdling) I think about how Kirk Hammett would be a nobody who isn't on any 'great guitarists' lists if not for Hetfield (while Metallica would still be what they were without Hammett).
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Hammett is on par with mid-tier youtube guitarists. No joke. It's crazy how he's hung on to his job with one of the most iconic bands In rock history. He's dogshit live.
 
Nameless Ghoul said:
It's easy to pan him for his now blown out live vocals, and trademark "oooh', "yeah!", and "show me!". But the guy undoubtedly put out 5 legendary albums vocally, while also performing at an amazing level on rhythm guitar. Add to that he could perform it all flawlessly live for 10+ years while "living the life" and maintaining the "image"? He's definitely an all-time great that I really feel he doesn't get the respect he deserves.

Near the peak of his powers..even before the Black album.
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I'm a drummer but I focus more on guitars since I play to them on youtube and the guitarist John Browne has explicitly mentioned how underrated he was several times.

He makes "the lack of James Hetfield appreciation" his #6 of things metal guitarists do wrong.




He covered Master of Puppets, downpicking the whole thing like a boss.
 
Dream Evil said:
Vocally he doesn't have anywhere near the range of a Dickinson or Halford, but he's great at what he does and is easily one of the most identifiable voices in metal/rock.
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Dickson and Halford are top tier vocalists in metal. Like you said Halford has a recognizable voice but it’s hard to compare to the two men above.
 
Substance Abuse said:
It really depends on who you ask. I think Metallica fatigue is very real and the dearth of quality music they've released since Load has really hurt their standing amongst those who aren't hardcore fans and bombard you with their greatness.

That said, as a kid, I loved Metallica. Kill 'Em All, Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, And Justice for All and the Black Album are all records that vacillate from good to all time, pantheon rock records. At their apex, they're one of the best bands of their era who are an incredibly seminal band to that time frame. At their worst, they're an overrated albatross of a band with too much hubris and history to know when to quit, made worse by their overbearing fans and some truthfully cringe moments - Napster (which at the time I don't fault them for); their documentary; Lulu; paintings; money grabs, the Newstead bullshit - that kind of put a damper on my perception of them despite knowing their early quality.

So, to answer your question, I don't really know. It depends on who you ask. I think James is horribly overrated as a lyricist. It's almost as if he's playing shameful parody of his former self with these songs. The melodies are gone. Still, in the 80s, as a whole, they could do no wrong.

I guess with all that money, it doesn't really matter.
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Hardwired to self destruct is a pretty damn good record. imo have you heard it?
 
tbh
as a singer: overrated, he is ok... but that's about it.
as a lyrics: metallica lyrics are pretty basic imo
as a guitarplayer: he is "okay".

The real thing where metallica shines imo:
very tight playing while still serious speed
supreme sound
cathy songs
EDIT: you can hear that they perfected their songs and left out all the unnesscary filler and made it so that everything clicks together perfectly.

the other metalbands often had bad sound on their albums (a blur of noise), sometimes a bit sloppy, not that much good songs.
I am only talking about Metallica the first 5 albums, after that they really fell of the wagon imo.
 
James is the greatest metal rhythm player to ever do it. He has influenced countless players with his riffs.
 
Prick_Flair said:
The Best right hand in metal. No one could fuck with '88 Hetfield. The guys from Meshuggah ( GOATs) have often said hes the greatest rhythm guitarist ever. That's some pretty high praise .
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You're right. 88 Hetfield was prime.
upload_2021-5-17_10-43-32.png
 
Post 2 Decision said:
I actually hate his vocals and think if both Metallica and Megadeth had different vocalists I would enjoy those bands more
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I think I'd enjoy Metallica more if they had a different lead guitarist. Also, I have wondered how some Megadeth music would sound like with 1988 James on vocals. I think it would create some real magic
 
You have to listen to him plucking away on an acoustic. Very under rated on guitar as he isnt just a riff guy. He can sing if he has to. I forgot what video I watched where he was fingerpicking some tunes. Im not into the dudes that can just go 1000 mph.
 
10mm said:
You have to listen to him plucking away on an acoustic. Very under rated on guitar as he isnt just a riff guy. He can sing if he has to. I forgot what video I watched where he was fingerpicking some tunes. Im not into the dudes that can just go 1000 mph.
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Another thing many people don't know is the fact that James is pretty good at creating and writing guitar solos. On The Outlaw Torn Kirk wrote and recorded the middle solo while James wrote and recorded the outro solo.
 
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