James Hetfield, the co-founder and lead singer for the successful heavy metal band Metallica, left his home in the San Francisco Bay Area because of an 'elitist' attitude.

In an interview Friday with radio talk show host Joe Rogan, Hetfield says that after decades of living in Northern California, he grew tired of the negative reaction from locals who did not look kindly upon his political views and lifestyle choices.

'I kind of got sick of the Bay Area, the attitudes of the people there, a little bit,' Hetfield said.

'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.'

James Hetfield (above), the co-founder and lead singer of heavy metal act Metallica, told radio host Joe Rogan on Friday that he left the San Francisco area because of the 'elitist' attitude

'My form of eating organic doesn't vibe with theirs.'

Hetfield says that in the Bay Area, 'there was an elitist attitude there - that if you weren't their way politically, their way environmentally, all of that, that you were looked down upon.'

Hetfield instead decided to relocate to 'super quiet' Vail, Colorado, with his wife, Francesca.

The singer said Vail was a natural choice since he loves nature, hunting, and the fact that his wife grew up there after she moved to the United States with her family from her native Argentina.

Hetfield, who is busy promoting his band's latest album, Hardwired...to Self-Destruct, says that he is more at home in Vail, Colorado

Still, he takes with him mostly warm feelings about Northern California.

'I love the ocean, and I love the Bay Area, I love what it's got to offer, but there's just an attitude that it was... It wasn't healthy for me,' he said.

'[I was] starting to feel like I was just fighting all the time, and I just had to get out of my own head.'

'So Colorado does it for me.'

Hetfield and his group are hard at work these days promoting their recently released album Hardwired…to Self-Destruct, the first original Metallica collection of songs since Death Magnetic in 2008.

Hetfield says that while he still loves the Bay Area, he felt people there 'looked down' on those who hold different political views. Above is an aerial view of San Francisco

He told Rogan that Metallica has traditionally veered away from political messages in its music and will continue to do so even now given the polarized climate in the country.

'We stay away from politics [and] from religion,' Hetfield says.