Metallica’s producer makes a comparison between James Hetfield and Johnny Cash: ‘James is much more talented than I imagined’

“So for me, and most people, probably, working with Johnny Cash was completely fairytale stuff.”

Producer for Metallica Greg Fidelman likened working with James Hetfield to that of Johnny Cash, pointing out that although both have a powerful presence, they express it in different ways.

Prior to taking on the job of producer for Metallica, Greg Fidelman was a productive sound engineer working with Rick Rubin. Working with Rubin on parts of Johnny Cash’s career-reviving “American” album series, Fidelman also had the chance to contribute to 2008’s “Deаth Magnetic” as part of that cooperation. When asked to compare the “amazing presences” of Cash and James Hetfield in a recent interview on “The Metallica Report” podcast, the producer spoke about his collaboration with The Man in Black (translated by Ultimate Guitar):

Yes, in my experience, he does have that presence, but it’s extremely different. When working with Johnny, he had an older, really appreciative gentleman attitude, yet he was still somewhat the legend. I think that the legend-bearing portion of the individual likewise [comes down to] the legend-approaching person; that is, what is in their minds.”

Therefore, working with Johnny Cash was like something out of a fantasy for me and probably the majority of people. I felt a bit nervous since this is still early in my career. However, I would sometimes hear Johnny ask, “Hey, Greg, can you bring me another cup of tea?” in between takes or whatever. “Whoa, okay,” was how I felt when I heard it over the control room speakers.