James Hetfield Reveals New “Papa Het” Tattoo on Right Hand

METALLICA’s James Hetfield has recently showcased a fresh tattoo. The 60-year-old guitarist/vocalist’s latest ink features his nickname “Papa Het,” prominently placed on his right hand.

Similar to the neck tattoo “Thy Will Not Mine Be Done” he acquired in August, Hetfield entrusted Corey Miller, the owner of Six Feet Under tattoo parlor in Upland, California, with his latest artwork.

Miller shared images of him working on Hetfield’s tattoo and captioned the post: “Meant to post this the other night.. yes we were at a METALLICA show.. it was awesome.. and then this happened.. huge honor tattooing one of the greatest rockers in the world.. always a fun hang.. thanks James.. @metallica”.

Years ago, Hetfield revealed that some of his early tattoos were inspired by a phase when he was “infatuated with angels and just the next afterlife or something, and my parents kind of leaving this earth earlier than others, having some kind of guide in my life. 

‘Cause I know I should have died hundreds of times. And I know I’m not the only one, but I can only speak for myself that I know there are things — like after I’ve done something like, ‘Wow, that was really stupid. I could have…’ It’s, like, ‘Man, my mom or dad or somebody made that car turn this way instead or something.’ And it’s kind of nice to realize those things.”

Last year, TMZ reported that James and his wife of over two decades had separated. Sources close to the former couple disclosed that James filed for divorce from Francesca Hetfield in their home state of Colorado earlier last year.

Hetfield and Francesca, married since 1997, are reportedly still in contact as they co-parent their daughters Cali and Marcella, and son Castor.

James and his family relocated to “super quiet” Vail, Colorado, after spending decades in the San Francisco Bay Area. He expressed to podcaster Joe Rogan his enjoyment of Vail, where he could feel “a part of nature” and engage in one of his favorite hobbies, hunting, with less judgment.

METALLICA’s 12th studio album, “72 Seasons,” released in April via the band’s Blackened Recordings, marks their first full-length collection of new material since 2016’s “Hardwired…To Self-Destruct.” The album, produced by Greg Fidelman with input from Hetfield and METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich, features 12 tracks and spans over 77 minutes.