James Hetfield says he moved his family out of San Francisco over intolerance to his passion for hunting.
And the Metallica frontman has described his interest as his own way of living organically.
When the band headlined the Glastonbury festival in 2014 Hetfield faced an organised campaign against him by those who disagreed with hunting.
He tells the Joe Rogan Experience: “I kind of got sick of the Bay Area, the attitudes of the people there, a little bit.
“They talk about how diverse they are and things like that, and it’s fine if you’re diverse like them. But showing up with a deer on the bumper doesn’t fly in Marin County.
“My form of eating organic doesn’t vibe with theirs.”
He says of the Glastonbury protest: “I kind of just took it as, ‘Okay, that’s how it’s been for me in the Bay Area.’
“People don’t understand it. I don’t think they understand that if you’re passionate about something, there’s someone who’s opposite – and that’s okay.
“You can get along. You can talk about it. No one’s right, no one’s wrong. We can coexist. Let’s really be diverse.”
He continues: “For me, whether it’s planting my own vegetables, having my own beehives, harvesting my own meat on the range, that’s what I love doing.
- Lars Ulrich on how failed tennis career led to birth of Metallica
- Watch Metallica sing Enter Sandman in a supermarket
- Metallica’s James Hetfield sold his motorbike for health reasons
- What happened at Metallica's intimate gig in Hollywood?
“I love sustaining my family as organic as possible. I respect people don’t want the blood. They would rather see their meat show up in a cellophane package. They don’t want to know how it got there.
“I respect that. My kids are like that. But I want to be as close to the earth as possible. I want to be part of every bit of it and respect it.”
Hetfield and his family now reside in Colorado – but he says he’s “glad there is a place” like San Francisco with an attitude of “we’re creating the future here.”
He adds: “But then there’s a part of me that’s frontier style. I love that. I would rather be simple.”
Metallica released 10th album Hardwired… To Self-Destruct last month. They commence their WorldWired global tour in January.
Metallica tour dates 2017 so far
Jan 11: Seoul Gocheok Sky Dome, South Korea
Jan 18: Beijing Le Sports Centre, China
Jan 20: Hong Kong AsiaWorld-Expo, China
Jan 22: Singapore Indoor Stadium, Singapore
Feb 03: Copenhagen Royal Arena, Denmark
Feb 05: Copenhagen Royal Arena, Denmark
Feb 07: Copenhagen Royal Arena, Denmark
Feb 09: Copenhagen Royal Arena, Denmark
Mar 01: Mexico City Foro Sol, Mexico
Mar 03: Mexico City Foro Sol, Mexico
Mar 25: Sao Paulo Interlagos Racetrack, Brazil
Mar 31-Apr 01: Buenos Aires Hippodrome San Isidro, Argentina
Apr 01-02: Santiago Parque O’Higgins, Chile
May 19-21: Rock On The Range festival, OH
