METALLICA'S MUSIC IS THERAPY FOR FRONTMAN AND TODDLER

Metallica frontman James Hetfield said in a new interview with Germany's Bild magazine that music is "therapy" for him, saying, "There are times when I'm happy; there are times when I'm not as happy. I think I'm a human most of the time. Music is therapy for me. I get to write lyrics, I get to get crazy thoughts out of my head and onto paper, and other people read them and say, 'Wow! I understand that.' So it makes me feel okay. I'm looking to feel okay most of the time." Even though he's a family man and sober since 2001, Hetfield told us a while back where he thinks the dark subject matter of his songs comes from these days: "Well, I think a lot of this darkness is coming from actually seeing the light side. You know, you don't recognize what you have until you've almost lost it. The near death experience of Metallica during the (Some Kind Of) Monster movie was pretty profound, and I think when you notice that, it's easier to write about, 'Hey, we almost died.' But there's always gonna be darkness. I mean, there's always fear and anxiety and unanswered questions in us all, and I feel fine visiting them."

• Meanwhile, Metallica's music acts as therapy of a different sort for a toddler named Lars, who lives in St. Louis and, although hearing impaired, was fascinated when a department store Santa Claus began singing a Metallica song to him -- both turned out to be fans of the band.
  
• Yes, Lars' parents named him after Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich.
  
• Hopefully, Santa left a copy of Metallica's new album, Hardwired...To Self-Destruct, under the tree, although Lars might be too young to go see the band on th