How James Hetfield’s Son Learns From Metallica’s Mistakes
Castor Hetfield, son of James Hetfield, said his dad made it easy to “pre-learn” from Metallica’s mistakes.
Castor is the drummer with Bastardane, along with vocalist-bassist Jake Benn and guitarist Ethan Sirotzki. The trio are gradually advancing their career with assistance from Hetfield Sr., who’s been on hand to offer advice.
“My dad had told me a lot of his tour horror stories from when he was young, so I feel like that helps, so we can pre-learn from his mistakes,” Castor told Noisecreep in a new interview. “Like just leaving all your gear in the car and having everything stolen out of it, or partying maybe a little too much and then having the next show not be as great… just things about consistency, which is something I think is really important.”
Benn cited a specific example where Hetfield said the right thing at the right time as he struggled with pre-show nerves. “I remember him saying basically, 'The audience wants you to do well just as much as you want to do well. The audience is there to have a good time.' Because at times it can feel like if you mess up, it feels like they're going to judge you and have a bad time, but that's really not the case.” He added: “It’s useful to hear stuff like that.”
Bastardane released debut album Is This Rage? in March. “We are Bastardane and we are not some average chump white male band looking to get laid,” the trio said. “There is a time in every generation when music is the guiding light out of hard times. We just want to make emotionally empowering music that isn't trying to cater to a certain audience. Our career is about making people happy and fulfilling the emotional needs of those who can’t tolerate words alone.”