James Hetfield turns 57 today. When Metallica first came out they could do no wrong with their fans but then came “Fade to Black”on 1984’s “Ride the Lightening”. It was a ballad and even though it had one of the best guitar solos ever fans were mad. They even accused the band of selling out. James Hetfield says that was a first for the band:
“‘Fade to Black’ was the first time we got some guff from fans. ‘Ooh, you sold out. You did a ballad.’ Wow. Okay. ‘What’s sell out mean to you, my friend?’ You know. And you have to sit and explain to everyone that ‘sell out’ means you’ve done something you don’t want to do, or you’ve compromised for someone else. And everything we write is for us.”
