Who is Metallica's lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist?

James Hetfield is Metallica’s lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist.

Hetfield co-founded Metallica with drummer Lars Ulrich in Los Angeles in 1981 after responding to Ulrich’s advertisement in The Recycler. From the band’s earliest lineup, Hetfield handled the principal vocals while building the dense, highly recognizable rhythm-guitar parts that became central to Metallica’s sound.

His role is sometimes confused with Kirk Hammett’s because Hammett is Metallica’s lead guitarist. The distinction is straightforward: Hammett generally plays lead lines and solos, while Hetfield supplies the main rhythm-guitar foundation, although both have occasionally crossed those boundaries. Hetfield has also performed some guitar solos, including the studio solo on “Nothing Else Matters.”

Hetfield and Ulrich remain Metallica’s only original members. Together they have been the band’s principal songwriting partnership across albums such as Kill ’Em All, Master of Puppets, Metallica and 72 Seasons.