10 Greatest Hard Rock Frontmen Of All Time
9. James Hetfield - Metallica
It almost seems like a mistake that James Hetfield became one of the greatest metal frontmen of all time. When he first started getting the ball rolling with Metallica, Hetfield never really had the intention of being at the front of the stage, instead choosing to write riffs and fill out the rest of the guitar sound. Make no mistake, James Hetfield didn't so much desire to be the leader...he just turned himself into one.
On the surface, there's not a lot to Hetfield's standard vocal delivery, with him possessing the same kind of bulldog vocal approach that you would find in modern metal. However, the main draw that you get from Hetfield is the pure way he whips the audience into a frenzy, as he constantly speaks to the fans about the healthy push and pull between the musicians and the audience.
Even on their more gargantuan tours, it wasn't out of the question for James to let Jason Newsted take over on vocals as he ran through the crowd to try to get them to sing along. The amount of charisma Hetfield has is so strong that you often tend to forget that he has to also provide some of the most heart-pounding riffs of the entire show. Above all else, Hetfield is the one frontman who has never forgotten where he comes from, as he provides the ideal example of a metalhead who just so happened to make it big. If he can play music on his own terms, why can't you?