Metallica share stripped-down acoustic reworking of Blackened in quarantine

Add Metallica to the list of artists, alongside Brian May, Alex Skolnick, Post Malone and many others, who have taken it upon themselves to get together for a jam – at a safe distance, of course – during the coronavirus shutdown.

The band, with a bespectacled James Hetfield on acoustic and electric guitar player Kirk Hammett on Greenie, convened via video chat for a mellow, Load-like reworking of the normally raging …And Justice for All leadoff track, Blackened.

"Here’s a little something we cooked up over the last few days,” Metallica wrote in the accompanying caption. “Hope you’re all safe & sound.”

In addition to the acoustic-ified take, which features some tasty harmonic work from Hetfield, Hammett also adds in an Eastern-tinged, Wherever I May Roam-sounding solo. And hey – you can even hear the bass!

Lars isn't the only member of the Ulrich family keeping himself busy – his sons went viral last week with their “insane, crazy, garage-rock version” of The Beatles' Eleanor Rigby.