James Hetfield (Metallica)

Main years active: 1981-1993

Readers of a certain age will recall 1991, when the San Franciscan thrash metal legends Metallica decided to take a deep breath, slow down and play heavy rather than fast. A generation of thrashers mourned, and continues to mourn, but it has to be admitted that the new, MTV-friendly ’Tallica had its moments – not least in the superb Sabbath homage ‘Sad But True’, one of the highlights of the planet-shafting Black Album. James Hetfield’s millimetrically perfect downstrokes, coupled with a strutting groove and a very Iommi-like down tuning to straight D made ‘Sad But True’ one of the biggest, most crushing songs Metallica ever recorded.

Metallica ‘Sad But True’

Total Guitar issue 210 (originally on sale 24 December - 20 January) featured Tony Iommi on the cover and contained 11-pages of Iommi coverage, including an in-depth interview and a complete tab of 'Planet Caravan'.