Metallica's James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett played a metal-infused version of the national anthem before the San Francisco Giants played the New York Mets at Oracle Park on Tuesday (May 24).
Appearing as part of the baseball team's eighth annual Metallica Night – which also saw Hetfield throw first pitch, Rob Trujillo deliver the “play ball” announcement and several other “pre-game shenanigans” – the duo took to the field with Giants-themed ESP electric guitars and guitar amps for a serving of patriotic harmonized leads. Check it out below.
“It's a tradition that we've missed the last two seasons, so we're really excited for the return of Metallica Night at Oracle Park with our hometown baseball team, the San Francisco Giants,” the band wrote in a statement when the event was announced back in February.
Metallica first partnered with the San Francisco Giants for the inaugural Metallica Night back in 2013. The event's 2020 and 2021 iterations were called off due to Covid.
As part of this year's Metallica Night, the thrash metallers are offering fans a chance to win the guitars they used to play the anthem before the game: Hetfield's ESP Signature Series Snakebyte and Hammett's ESP Signature Series KH-2. Both guitars will be autographed.
All proceeds from the prize draw will go towards World Central Kitchen's Chefs for Ukraine fund via Metallica's All Within My Hands Foundation. To enter, head to Fandiem.
While Metallica have performed The Star-Spangled Banner numerous times for the San Francisco Giants, they've also delivered guitar-heavy renditions of the anthem at other Bay Area sports events, including at Golden State Warriors basketball games and San Jose Sharks ice hockey matches.
James Hetfield's confidence looks to be back, after he admitted to the crowd at a recent show in Belo Horizonte, Brazil that he was “insecure” about his guitar playing.
Speaking to the 60,000-strong crowd after playing One – from 1988's ...And Justice For All – the frontman revealed he felt like “an old guy”, and that he “can't play anymore”.
This prompted his bandmates to leave their onstage posts to give Hetfield a group hug, leaving the legendary rhythm man visibly emotional.
