"We're a young band from Norway and we want to get signed," said the lead guitarist of the band taking the Stubb’s stage Friday night during SXSW.
Except this wasn’t just any new band looking for a break. In fact, it wasn’t even a new band, and the guitarist’s Norwegian accent was obviously phony. And he looked very familiar. As did the rest of the group.
Metallica rocked SXSW March 20, playing slightly more than an hour, mixing favorites with new tracks from the band’s latest album, Death Magnetic. The band was in town to promote a new release in the Guitar Hero franchise – “Guitar Hero: Metallica,”
Playing a 2,100 seat room is different than the arenas the band is accustomed to. And that was the point. During an interview before the gig, Hetfield said the band wanted to play an old-school gig to balance the promotion of the high-tech video game.
“Here is the grass roots. Here is the basis of why we like music. Artists are getting up in front of 2,100 people and giving it what they got,” Hetfield said. “We've always wanted to support live music. We've been road dogs since the day after high school.”
Rumors of Metallica’s appearance were circulating the festival all day Friday and the band’s 18-wheelers parked outside of Stubb’s were further evidence that something was up.
But for Hetfield and the band, they just wanted to “blend in.” That is, if such a thing is possible for a group that’s sold more than 50 million albums and plays before sell-out audiences the world over.
“Have you seen some good bands here?" Hetfield asked at the end of the band’s set. "Hope we're one of them."