Keith Richards Calls Metallica and Black Sabbath "Great Jokes"

In a new interview with the New York Daily News, legendary Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards slammed the current rock scene—and, to some degree, Metallica and Black Sabbath.

Of rock in 2015, Richards said, "It sounds like a dull thud to me. For most bands, getting the syncopation is beyond them. It's endless thudding away, with no bounce, no lift, no syncopation."

Of two heavy metal legends he said, "Millions are in love with Metallica and Black Sabbath. I just thought they were great jokes."

Early last month, in an interview with Esquire, Richards sounded off on the Beatles, essentially calling their landmark 1967 album, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, a "mishmash of rubbish."

“There's not a lot of roots in that music. I think they got carried away. You're starting to do Sgt. Pepper. Some people think it's a genius album, but I think it's a mishmash of rubbish, kind of like their Satanic Majesties [the Rolling Stones' stab at psychedelia]—'Oh, if you can make a load of shit, so can we.'

"The Beatles, chicks wore those guys out. They stopped touring in 1966—they were done already. They were ready to go to India and shit.”

Back to Metallica for a second ...

As Blabbermouth.net points out, in a 2007 interview, Metallica's Lars Ulrich discussed opening for the Stones in 2005.

"It's the second show—[we played] two shows [with the Stones] in a row—and some assistant with, like, five walkie-talkies and a water-bottle holder, whatever, comes in before the show and says, 'Do you want your picture taken with the Rolling Stones?' We were like, 'You know what? Sure. Why not?'" he told The Opie & Anthony Show. "So after our show and then they're getting ready to go on, this assistant comes in and says, 'OK, be ready in five minutes' or whatever.

"So she comes in, she escorts us into this place in the tunnel leading into the stadium and she says, 'Wait here.' As we're standing in this tunnel, literally, and this band Everclear—who were playing also—they were kind of like over there on their 'X.' So we're standing there and we go over and say 'Hello' to the guys in Everclear, 'Hey, how was your show?' And this assistant comes back and says, 'No. The guys in Metallica stay here, and the guys in Everclear stay over here.' We were like, 'Whoaaah.'

"So then about five minutes later the Stones come in, and I swear they didn't stop—they slowed down their pace, or their walk, just slow enough to get, like, two or three pictures taken, two or three frames shot with Everclear, and then they came over to where we were standing waiting, and they all looked at us… No, actually, Charlie Watts said 'Hello' and I think Keith [Richards] nodded or something, and Mick [Jagger] looked like we were all gonna give him pneumonia or something—he had this disgusting look on his face. And then they slowed down long enough while the photographer took two or three frames, and then they walked off. And then the assistant came over and said, 'If the band approves the photo, we'll send you a copy.' That kind of sums up the Rolling Stones experience."

Richards' new album, Crosseyed Heart, will be released September 18 via Virgin EMI/Universal Music. It's his first solo album in 23 years.