Kirk Hammett joined Judas Priest onstage during their set at the Louder Than Life music festival over the weekend (September 26) for a performance of The Green Manalishi (With the Two Pronged Crown).
For the track – which was originally written by late Fleetwood Mac guitarist Peter Green, and later covered by Judas Priest for their 1979 album Hell Bent for Leather – the Metallica guitarist played his 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard, affectionately dubbed “Greeny” after its original owner, Peter Green. Check out fan-filmed footage of the performance below.
A photo posted to Instagram by Judas Priest guitar tech Robb Philpotts shows Hammett with bassist Ian Hill and guitarist Andy Sneap – who has been filling in for Glenn Tipton, who retired from the band due to his battle with Parkinson's disease in 2018.
“A pretty special moment tonight with Kirk Hammett from Metallica joining us for [The] Green Manalishi,” his caption reads.
“I even managed to tick off a bucket list moment by getting a picture with Greeny before soundcheck. A huge thanks to Kirk for being very cool and his tech Justin for being even cooler. A pleasure gents.”
Back in June, Hammett told Guitar World about how Judas Priest led him to The Green Manalishi, and Green-era Fleetwood Mac in general.
"I have to admit I was introduced to that song [Manalishi] by Judas Priest when they covered it on [1979’s] Unleashed in the East," Hammett said. "I looked at the label one day and saw the song credits: 'Peter Green, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood,' and I went, 'Huh, what’s this about?' I asked someone and he said, 'Oh yeah, it’s old Fleetwood Mac.'
"I said, 'What do you mean old Fleetwood Mac?' And he said, 'Yeah, Fleetwood Mac used to be a blues band.' He gave me a tape of Green Manalishi and some of their other songs, including Rattlesnake Shake and Black Magic Woman. I listened to it and really, I felt like it was more rocking than their stuff on the radio."
In response to a question about how Priest's cover stacks up with the original, Hammett said "In retrospect, I obviously have a lot of respect for Judas Priest, and their cover version of Green Manalishi is really heavy.
"But the original is dark as night and it comes from a deep, deep place in Peter Green’s soul. It resonates from within, and I can relate to it from the dark place in my own soul. I always liked darkness and I still do. I have that outlook, that perspective, that awareness."
Hammett – with Greeny in tow – played a major role in Mick Fleetwood & Friends Celebrate The Music Of Peter Green And The Early Years Of Fleetwood Mac, an all-star Peter Green tribute concert that took place on February 25, 2020 at the London Palladium.
At that particular show, Hammett teamed up with ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons for a similarly red-hot version of, you guessed it, The Green Manalishi.
