Metallica are still thundering along, cranking it up and to 11 and inciting headbanging everywhere they go.
The Bay Area metal legends are currently locked in for a residency on Jimmy Kimmel Live, a celebration of their forthcoming 12th studio album, 72 Seasons.
On Tuesday (April 11), the second of their four-night stand, the Rock And Roll Hall of Famers went large with a classic, “Holier Than Thou,” lifted from their self-titled 1991 album, better known as The Black Album.
It was The Black Album that launched these monsters of rock into superstar territory, and saw them tagged as the most popular heavy band of them all. Metallica was the first of the awesome foursome’s six leaders on the Billboard 200 chart, logging four weeks at the summit.
If you want your rock tight, meaty and your guitar solos shredded, “Holier Than Thou” is for you.
On opening night, James Hetfield and Co. sat for a chat with Kimmel and performed “Lux Æterna,” lifted from 72 Seasons, due out this Friday (April 14).
When the conversation moved to the now-iconic placement of “Master of Puppets” in a pivotal scene in season four of Netflix’s Stranger Things, Hetfield said it was a no-brainer, and that he’s still “blown away” that people are still turned on by the high-octane speed metal cut. “It’s like a nine-minute heavy metal song from 1986 that probably predates most of these people by 25 30 years,” drummer Lars Ulrich added. “It’s just insane. Who would have thought?”
Metallica will perform “Master of Puppets” on Wednesday (April 12), which Kimmel reckons is the longest song ever performed on the show.
Watch the late-night performance of “Holier Than Thou” below.