Testing his metal
Survivor James Hetfield faces jitters – and bees
DURING the past 35 years, Metallica’s James Hetfield conquered alcoholism, dealt with bassist Cliff Burton’s death and repaired crumbling relations with the band’s cofounder and drummer, Lars Ulrich. But one thing still gets him after all this time; the pre-tour nerves.
“My wife knows that about four days before we hit the road for a tour, I get a little short-tempered and testy,” he tells The Post. “I get insecure. I get the usual silly dreams about guitar necks being made of rubber, but anxiety is a good sign because I think it shows how much we still care.”
The tour for Metallica’s apocalyptic new album, “Hardwired ... to SelfDestruct,” hits MetLife Stadium on Sunday and Nassau Coliseum on Wednesday. Here, the 53-year-old talks Grammys, Bieber and beekeeping.
Last year, Lars talked about pancakes that help keep his energy up. Do you partake, or do you have your own health silver bullet?
Danish chalk-cakes are what I call them. He puts some kind of yogurt in there that’s really chalky. They don’t taste horrible, but I don’t know how you could eat them all the time. Lars has expanded a little now — he is a total foodie. He thinks chefs are the new rock stars. I’ll eat pretty much
anything in moderation, which is not a word that has been uttered a lot in the Metallica world.
The band’s Grammys performance with Lady Gaga was a showstealer. Doyouthink the mike malfunction made it more exciting?
I haven’t been that angry in a long time. When something out of my control goes wrong, I still get wound up. I’m sure it taps into other stuff from my past, but I felt helpless. I agree, it ended up being a blessing because I ended up singing in a microphone with Lady Gaga — maybe even more than she wanted. It felt more like a real collaboration because of that.
Beekeeping is one of your hobbies. Have you had any mishaps?
I had to move a hive one time, and one bee got perturbed, and that sets them all off. I’m in my bee suit — everything’s fine except I didn’t put my boots on because it was hot. One area of my ankle was exposed and, of course, I end up with about 20 bee stings. If one stings you there, they all sense it and swarm there. I just had to throw my foot in a bucket of ice.
It’s so common to see celebrities wearing Metallica T-shirts now. Does it ever bother you?
I remember when Justin Bieber wearing a Metallica T-shirt went viral. I thought, “So what?” This is America — you can wear whatever the f-- k you want. If he doesn’t know the history of the band . . . it’s fine. I wear lots of stuff and I have no idea of the history, I just like the logo. People try to shock me sometimes and they’ll say, “My grandma headbangs to your music — and she’s 120!” or “I named my baby after you.” I’m like, “OK, cool.” I’m not surprised that anyone likes Metallica. Everyone is welcome here. From cradle to grave, we’ve got you covered!