Jamey Jasta of Hatebreed spoke to Metal Hammer about the conversation with James Hetfield that helped him quit drinking. The advice from the Metallica guitarist and singer was not to think about total sobriety, but about one sober show at a time.
The conversation took place backstage at MTV, when Jasta met Hetfield — who had entered a detox program in 2001. Jasta, 49, said that talk made sobriety seem less impossible, and that he had stopped drinking in 2008.
The point of the advice was simple: all you have to do is get through the first show sober. Once two or three have passed, the difficulty shrinks, because until then the whole thing seems impossible. Jasta described it as advice that applies to everything: whatever you think you can’t do, the other side of it is the best feeling.
Metallica had presented the first episode of the revived «Headbangers Ball» on MTV2 in May 2003, and Jasta became the show’s regular host until 2007. He had spoken publicly about Hetfield’s help in September 2019, when the guitarist returned to treatment and Metallica postponed their tour of Australia and New Zealand.
Hatebreed formed in Connecticut in 1994 and Jasta is now the only founding member left. They have sold more than 1.5 million records in North America, and «Live For This» was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Metal Performance category in 2005 — the award went to Motörhead for their cover of Metallica’s «Whiplash».
Hatebreed’s new album, «Fatal Paradox», is released on November 6 by BLKIIBLK. It’s their first record without founding bassist Chris Beattie, who left in November 2024 and sued Jasta and the band in July 2025 over owed profits. This year, a court rejected the band’s request to dismiss four of the six counts in the lawsuit.
More on the same side of metal: Knocked Loose: They donated $8,000 to the woman injured at their concert.
See also
Hatebreed: New video for «Fatal Paradox» · Dave Mustaine: The phone call from James Hetfield
See also: Bullet For My Valentine: The new album «Social Apocalypse» comes out in March 2027
