Metallica frontman James Hetfield is tackling a surprising topic in the new award-winning documentary, Absent: fatherhood.

The movie – the brainchild of filmmaker Justin Hunt – examines modern-day fatherhood and profiles absentee fathers, including Hetfield, who considers himself a reformed absentee father.

In a new interview with Rockville Music Magazine, Hunt and Hetfield talk about the journey toward the finished film.

“The fact that we did get [Hetfield] involved, potentially the millions of people we can reach by having him involved, [by telling his] story,” said Hunt, who’s a lifelong Metallica fan.

 “It’s a great story because it’s James but still it’s just a typical human story. The other side of it is what he did with it. That’s what makes it so unique. If you go backwards to all the people who have been effected [sic] by his music, and whittle that down to the fact that a lot of that came from a father wound, it’s amazing what he’s done with it in a positive sense.”

In the film, Hetfield looks at how his relationship with his father shaped his own parenting style and how he learned to change that.

“I had no clue on what to do. I thought I’d better start reading some books on how to be dad. I started to get mad. My dad didn’t teach me to do this or this. How can I teach my kids if he didn’t teach me?! I’d better go learn it. There was a lot of resentment that came from fear. And once I figured out they don’t need all of that. They don’t need the instructions. They need guidance. They need love. They need you to be there, simple as that.”