James penned a musical tribute to tragic Alice in Chains star Layne Staley - but decided it wasn't good enough for the band's latest CD.
He admits he didn't really know the late star, who died from a drug overdose in 2002, but his tragic demise inspired him to write many of the dark tracks on Metallica's new album.
And one track, Shine, was written all about Staley.
Hetfield tells Rolling Stone magazine, "I know Jerry Cantrell from Alice In Chains quite well and learned about Layne through him. I could see some of the things Jerry went through to keep that band together.
"I started writing a song around a Layne Staley type - a rock 'n' roll martyr magnetised by death. Why did he choose that path, someone with such talent?" Metallica recorded with a photo of Staley taped to the wall of their studio control room.
Layne Thomas Staley was the lead singer in Alice in Chains and the groups Class of '99 and Mad Season. He struggled throughout his career as a musician with severe drug addiction, which eventually led to his death in April 2002.
"I started writing a song around a Layne Staley type - a rock 'n' roll martyr magnetised by death. Why did he choose that path, someone with such talent?" Metallica recorded with a photo of Staley taped to the wall of their studio control room.
