I enjoyed Metallica’s Glastonbury Pyramid Stage set last night. Prior to becoming acquainted with (what came to be) techno / electronica I was a teenage rock fan of sorts. Never a ‘proper metaller’ in all honesty but aged ~8-11 I had a modest collection of albums on tape from the likes of Alice Cooper, Twisted Sister, WASP (yes), Guns N’ Roses and Motley Crüe. And then on starting secondary school I became acquainted with Megadeth and Metallica, before Nirvana came along and then died and then I sort of discarded it all for years having discovered the whole dance music thing.
Anyway I still have a soft spot for Metallica. They can't half write a cathartic harmonised instrumental. I realise that I speak here as a lay-person and that for true 'metallers' there are certainly more nuanced artists who technically do the genre better. But for me they are great entertainers. A bit cheesy, but it's fun.
I gather that some much closer to genre have been whinging about them being sell-outs for accepting the gig – scoffing about "tofu-munching hippies". Presumably these elite only eat raw beef, whist head-butting each other to the death in mosh pits. In the 1980s.
But how many bands would have honestly turned down the chance to headline at Glastonbury if actually asked? Would the aforementioned naysayers rather keep Metallica for themselves? You can't be (of have been?) the biggest rock band in the world and stay underground. And hey Lars Ulrich’s bald patch isn't getting any smaller.
They're entertainers. People were entertained. Job done.
Metallica at Glasto http://t.co/RHrSr1Mph5