[b]James Alan Hetfield[/b] (born August 3, 1963) is the rhythm guitarist, co-founder, main songwriter, lead vocalist, and lyricist for the American heavy metal band [[Metallica]]. 

Hetfield co-founded Metallica in October 1981 after answering a classified advertisement by drummer [[Lars Ulrich]] in the Los Angeles newspaper "The Recycler". 

In 2009, Hetfield was ranked number 8 in Joel McIver's book [i]The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists[/i], and ranked 24th by Hit Parader on their list of [i]The 100 Greatest Metal Vocalists of All Time[/i].
james hetfield