
James Hetfield has been a great craftsman at the forefront of Metallica's music, which has always been centered around the band's powerful riff. Heavy metal heavyweights like Judas Priest and Black Sabbath served as influence for the band, but Hetfield's inventiveness and accuracy made him stand out and turned Metallica's sound into something very special. His finest accomplishment is Creeping Death, which appears on the band's landmark 1984 album Ride the Lightning and is one of his innumerable iconic riffs.