Metallica's James Hetfield Just Made Massive Sum From Land Sale

By Daniel S. Levine

Metallica lead singer James Hetfield could afford to take a break from touring. The "Enter Sandman" band's frontman reportedly made a big land deal in Arizona recently. The sale comes as the band celebrates their 30th anniversary. In September, Metallica released The Metallica Blacklist, a massive collection featuring covers of every song from their 1991 debut album by a diverse group of artists.

Hetfeld, 58, sold about 20 acres of vacant land he owned in Pima County, Arizona for $1.2 million, according to documents obtained by TMZ. He sold the land to the Rosemont Copper Company, which paid Hetfield in cash. The land sits close to the U.S.-Mexico border and was purchased by Hetfield in 1998.

The rocker has close ties to Pima County. In September, Pima Community College received a $100,000 donation for the new Metallica Scholars Initiative, funded by Metallica's All Within My Hands and the American Association of Community Colleges. The group established the Metallica Scholars Initiative to support community colleges.

"As a touring entity we are in direct involvement with multiple essential career choices along our path. From electrical, professional driving, culinary, mechanical maintenance, public safety, logistical organizers. And that just scratches the surface," Hetfield said in a statement. "Those, along with a multitude of other technical careers, make our touring and our performances possible. We are passionate and grateful to these trades and tradespeople."

Metallica recently released The Metallica Blacklist, which features covers of The Black Album songs by dozens of different artists spread over three discs. The set even includes a version of "Nothing Else Matters" by Miley Cyrus, with Watt, Elton John, Yo-Yo Ma, Robert Trujillo, and Chad Smith backing her. SiriusXM also launched a limited-run station, Mandatory Metallica, to celebrate the influential heavy metal and.

Hetflield recently revealed that he wasn't the first person Metallica considered for their lead singer. In an interview for Mandatory Metallica, Hetfield said they wanted to hire Armored Saint singer John Bush at one point. "Obviously John Bush was a singer we got to know really well and really really tried to get in him into the band as a singer," Hetfield said. "[It] didn't work out, he was dedicated and very in love with what he was doing with his brothers in Armored Saint, and we absolutely respect that but we got to hear them and love them every single night." 

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