Last fall, James Hetfield said that he didn’t want Metallica to become another “legacy band that just plays their greatest hits.” I’d say releasing a rendition of a classic Christmas poem wouldn’t certainly achieve said goal.
That’s right, Hetfield has recited “A Visit From St. Nicholas” (aka “Twas The Night Before Christmas”) for all you Christmas plebeians. This much-needed dose of Yuletide joy debuted on the band’s own Maximum Metallica SiriusXM channel, with the legendary rockers asking listeners everywhere to “grab your cocoa and settle in by the fire” as Hetfield does his thing.
And boy oh boy does Hetfield, indeed, do his thing. Despite some folks critiquing his singing voice, in the early days of Metallica, Hetfield’s gruff, bassy pipes are the perfect delivery vehicle for this holiday classic. If anything, they add just the right amount of “darkness” and general intensity that perfectly pairs with the slightly edgy qualities of the original poem. In fact, I even like this rendition more than that one time he covered “Enter Sandman” after inhaling helium.
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Check out an animated video for the performance below.