L.A. GUNS' TRACII GUNS: METALLICA's 'JAMES HETFIELD Has Ended Up Being The Bravest Man In Rock'

On a new episode of the "Talk Louder" podcast, hosted by veteran music journalist "Metal Dave" Glessner and lifelong hard rock/metal vocalist Jason McMaster (DANGEROUS TOYS),L.A. GUNS guitarist Tracii Guns expressed his appreciation and respect for METALLICA frontman James Hetfield. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "I think James Hetfield has ended up being the bravest man in rock. Because I've known James, musically and personally, from a distance, but when we see each other, it's, like, 'Whoa, what's up, bro?' We're not good friends, but we respect each other. And they came to the very first L.A. GUNS release party here. Those guys have been around L.A. GUNS. And I always liked METALLICA.

"We had a weird exchange once in New York when [L.A. GUNS' 1989 album] 'Cocked & Loaded' was coming out and [METALLICA's] 'Black Album' was coming out [in 1991]," he continued. "Somehow we ended up alone at the Scrap Bar in New York. It was like a Tuesday night and there was nothing else to do. We were both there doing press; he was doing press for his album. And I came in, and he was the only person in there, and the bartender. So I went, 'Hey, man.' He goes, 'Tracii Guns.' And right away I knew he was wasted. I knew he was gone. I knew he was off his tree. And I go, 'I have a cassette of your new album.' He's, like, 'You don't like METALLICA.' I go, 'Yeah, I do. This is a fucking great record.' He goes, 'Well, I got the CONTRABAND record [early 1990s supergroup featuring Guns]. He goes, 'Fucking great playing, but those songs are shit, bro.' I'm, like, 'Yeah. Cool, man. Whatever.' And he just started getting kind of amped up, and I'm, like, 'I'm gonna talk to you later.' 'Where are you going?' 'I'm not gonna sit here and just listen to you be mad at me.' He goes, 'I'm not mad at you.' 'You sure sound like you're mad at me.' He goes, 'Whatever.' He was just drunk. I left. So, years go by. I'd see him every now and then. I saw him at Download festival when Lars [Ulrich, METALLICA drummer] didn't show up, and we talked for a few minutes, and I saw Kirk [Hammett, METALLICA guitarist]. And there's always been this cool kind of vibe between me and those guys. But then I saw that he opened up his heart in public. 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."

Elaborating on what impressed him about the way Hetfield confronted his issues, Guns said: "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 fucking METALLICA. 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 shit 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 fucking dude. What a badass."

Back in November 2021, Tracii was asked by the 96.7 KCAL-FM radio program "Wired In The Empire" to pick a METALLICA song so that it could be played on the show after the interview. Tracii said: "Oh, man. 'For Whom The Bell Tolls' is always the one, but let's just do 'Whiplash'. It just doesn't get any gnarlier. There's something about that song. It's so young. Unbelievable… It has this thing… It's what I like about the early L.A. GUNS and even some of the newer stuff, is that incorporation of… When the metal hits a certain tempo, and it's not necessarily the speed of the tempo, it's the way the tempo is played, it's mistaken for kind of a punk edge. And I think MAIDEN had it too on the early records. And I always loved that song more than other METALLICA songs, 'Whiplash'."

L.A. GUNS' latest album, "Leopard Skin", was released on April 4. It marked the first fruit of L.A. GUNS' reunion with Cleopatra Records, a label known for its diverse roster and innovative approach to music production.

Not only is "Leopard Skin" hot on the heels of 2023's "Black Diamonds" album, but is also L.A. GUNS' fifth studio effort in seven years, since the core team of Guns and singer Phil Lewis reunited in 2017.