When it comes to band dynamics, disputes and confrontations are typical, and even the most famous bands are no exception. Metallica went through it behind the scenes of their enduring career when the two founding members, Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield, had a heated disagreement in which the drummer was on the verge of hitting the vocalist. When it comes to band dynamics, disagreements and confrontations are common, and even the most famous bands are not immune. Metallica went through it behind the scenes of their enduring career when the two founding members, Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield, had a furious quarrel in which the drummer was on the verge of punching the vocalist. These debates were documented in the documentary ‘Some Kind of Monster.’ The climax occurred when Ulrich approached the frontman’s face and yelled loudly, ‘F*ck,’ which may have concluded with closer physical contact. Metallica’s psychologist Phil Towle revisited those memories for a special edition of Metal Hammer magazine’s ‘Metallica 40’ issue.
He described the argument as follows: “These men are expecting James. Waiting, waiting, waiting… not just waiting, but also wondering if James would ever return. They were terrified that it was all over. And when James marched back and said, ‘I can’t work between certain hours and certain hours,’ Lars was furious.” Towle went on to describe the confrontation: “Like, ‘What the f*ck is going on?'” We’ve been waiting for you for ten months, and you’ve had us under your grip. And he presumably thought James had them under his control for more than ten months, right? So this was the culmination of years of angst.” However, this was not Metallica’s first run-in with trouble. The band members revealed a story from their early days on the Howard Stern Show in 2021, when James Hetfield punched Lars Ulrich during one of their early shows. A disagreement between Ulrich and Hetfield over which song to open the encore with led to frustration: Ulrich preferred a song with a drum intro, while Hetfield preferred a different track. Lars started the drum entrance tune as they walked out for the encore, which got on James’ nerves.
