'Metallica Night' at S.F. Giants Game Features National Anthem Performance from James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett

‘Metallica Night’ at S.F. Giants Game Features National Anthem Performance from James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett

2022-05-27

Metallica promo photos, featuring James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett, Lars Ulrich and Robert Trujillo, dressed in black and gray.

Metallica – Story by Anne Erickson, photo by Ross Halfin

Watch James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett of Metallica perform the National Anthem during “Metallica Night” in San Francisco

The San Francisco Giants had the eighth annual “Metallica Night” on Tuesday (May 24), hosting a special, Metallica-fueled game against the New York Mets. As in previous years, all of Metallica’s band members — including James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett, and Lars Ulrich — were at the game. Hetfield even threw out the first pitch and shredded “The Star-Spangled Banner” with Hammett. It’s a tradition that appears to be a permanent thing, with the band already making plans for 2023.

“It’s a tradition that we’ve missed the last two seasons, so we’re really excited for the return of Metallica Night at Oracle Park with our hometown baseball team, the San Francisco Giants,” Metallica said in a collective statement. “This year marks the eighth time we’ll take the field for the National Anthem, first pitch, and a few other pre-game shenanigans.”

As it turns out, “Metallica Night” brought a really exciting game, with the Mets coming from a 8-2 deficit to pull ahead 11-8 in the top of the eighth inning. It was almost enough to win it, but not quite, as the Giants were able to rally to win 13-12.

In other news, Metallica are giving away the two guitars used by Hetfield and Hammett to play the anthem at the game: a James Hetfield Signature Series ESP Snakebyte Guitar and the Kirk Hammett Signature Series ESP KH-2 Guitar — both emblazoned with Giants iconography. Fans are able to enter a sweepstakes to win the guitars, with funds going to the group’s All Within My Hands Foundation.

Thankfully, much of the Metallica action was caught on camera, for those who were unable to attend the game. Watch footage of Metallica’s national anthem performance and Hetfield’s impressed first pitch from the 8th annual Metallica Night below.

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Anne Erickson

Meet the expert - Author, writer and editor Anne Erickson is a Detroit-based music reporter and radio host. She has written for the USA Today Network, Consequence.net, Blabbermouth.net, Loudwire.com and many more. Anne holds a master's degree from Michigan State University. Contact Anne at anne@audioinkradio.com.