“When James comes in, there’s a presence”: Metallica producer explains what James Hetfield and Johnny Cash have in common

Hardwired… To Self-Destruct and 72 Seasons producer Greg Fidelman has said what trait Metallica’s frontman shares with country’s legendary man in black

Photos of James Hetfield in 2023 and Johnny Cash in 1994

(Image credit: Christian Petersen/Getty Images | Paul Natkin/Getty Images)

Longtime Metallica producer Greg Fidelman has explained what the thrash metal titans’ frontman, James Hetfield, has in common with country icon Johnny Cash.

Fidelman co-produced Metallica’s two latest studio albums, Hardwired… To Self-Destruct (2016) and 72 Seasons (2023), with Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich.

Before that, Fidelman served as the sound engineer on Death Magnetic (2008), which was produced by Rick Rubin. Fidelman previously worked with Rubin on Cash’s 2006 album American V: A Hundred Highways, handling the album’s mix.

In a new interview with podcast The Metallica Report, Fidelman has compared working with Cash and with Metallica.

Of Cash, Fidelman said (as transcribed by Ultimate Guitar): “Working with Johnny, he [had] an older, very grateful gentleman vibe, but still just [had] the legend, part of it. I suppose that the part of the person that’s the legend also [comes down to] the person that’s approaching the legend; what they have in their head.”

Fidelman went on to describe mixing a Cash record as “completely fairytale stuff” and remembered being starstruck in the presence of the country star.

“When I’d hear Johnny say, between the takes or something, ‘Hey, Greg, can you bring me another cup of tea?’ – when I heard that over the speakers in the control room, I was definitely like, ‘Whoa, okay!’”

Fidelman is then asked if Hetfield has the same “very rare energy” as Cash, to which the producer replies: “I would agree, definitely.”

He elaborates: “James is also obviously a lot younger than Johnny was when I met him, but James isn’t the middle-finger guy [people see from the outside].

“I don’t know that James; I know of that James, but by the time I’m working with him, he’s already trying to not be something other than just a guy. I think he wouldn’t really like [it], but he’s more than that.”

Continuing to compare Hetfield to Cash, Fidelman later adds, “James can be much harder to sort of dig into – he’s very easy to work with, for me, anyway – but just to understand what’s happening on the inside. There, sometimes it’s a little complicated.”

Metallica are currently enjoying downtime in the middle of their M72 world tour, but will return to the road with a run of European shows from May to July. The band will then perform in North America from August to September.

Metallica 2024 tour dates:

May 24: Munich Olympiastadion, Germany
May 26: Munich Olympiastadion, Germany
May 29: Milan I-Days Festival, Italy
Jun 01: Vienna Racino Rocks Festival, Austria
Jun 07: Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Finland
Jun 09: Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Finland
Jun 14: Copenhagen Parken Stadium, Denmark
Jun 16: Copenhagen Parken Stadium, Denmark
Jun 26: Oslo Tons Of Rock Festival, Norway
Jun 29: Clisson Hellfest, France
Jul 05: Warsaw PGE Narodowy, Poland
Jul 07: Warsaw PGE Narodowy, Poland
Jul 12: Madrid Estadio Cívitas Metropolitano, Spain
Jul 14: Madrid Estadio Cívitas Metropolitano, Spain
Aug 02: Foxborough Gillette Stadium, MA, USA
Aug 04: Foxborough Gillette Stadium, MA, USA
Aug 09: Chicago Soldier Field, IL, USA
Aug 11: Chicago Soldier Field, IL, USA
Aug 16: Minneapolis US Bank Stadium, MN, USA
Aug 18: Minneapolis US Bank Stadium, MN, USA
Aug 23: Edmonton Commonwealth Stadium, Canada
Aug 25: Edmonton Commonwealth Stadium, Canada
Aug 30: Seattle Lumen Field, WA, USA
Sep 01: Seattle Lumen Field, WA, USA
Sep 20: Mexico City Foro Sol, Mexico
Sep 22: Mexico City Foro Sol, Mexico
Sep 27: Mexico City Foro Sol, Mexico
Sep 29: Mexico City Foro Sol, Mexico