There was no ′Metallica Night′ this season due to the pandemic, but that didn’t stop Kirk Hammett and James Hetfield from rocking the national anthem at yesterday’s San Francisco Giants game.
The San Francisco Giants have hosted an annual “Metallica Night” for the past few seasons, but with the COVID-19 pandemic leaving MLB stadiums vacant, the event didn’t happen this year. Instead, Metallica’s Kirk Hammett and James Hetfield played “The Star-Spangled Banner” remotely before the Giants’ game against the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday (September 23).
As they have in the past, the duo donned Giants jerseys for the performance, but this time they played the anthem from their own venue. They’re not exactly Jimi Hendrix, but Hammett and Hetfield tried faithfully, syncing up for a loose and lighthearted take, delivering a stunning performance.
Due to the pandemic, this season has seen real fans replaced by cutouts of people at select stadiums, so the stands don’t seem totally empty to both players and TV broadcasts. The cutouts have also been a way to honor the memory of past baseball legends and other luminaries, which appear in the stands in the form of cardboard. Ray, the father of late Metallica bassist Cliff Burton, who passed away earlier this year, appeared at a Giants game, while late Pantera drummer Vinnie Paul appeared at a Texas Rangers game, much to the delight of a television reporter. The Blue Jays, meanwhile, have been putting out a cut of Rush’s very lively leader, Geddy Lee, in their home games.
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