GROUP HUG TIME!

Metallica hit the stage last Thursday in Brazil and frontman James Hetfield got a little emotional.

“I’ve gotta tell you I wasn’t feeling very good before I came out here,” Hetfield admitted to the crowd before launching in “Sad But True.”  “[I was] feeling a little bit insecure, like I’m an old guy, [I] can’t play anymore — all this bull**it that I tell myself in my head.”

“So I talked to these guys, and they helped me — as simple as that,” he added. “They gave me a hug and said, ‘Hey, if you’re struggling on stage, we’ve got your back.’ And I tell you, it means the world to me.”

At that point, Hetfield and his bandmates joined in for another group hug.