Metallica joins the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Metallica has been officially enshrined in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.



The Red Hot Chili Peppers' Flea — sporting blue hair — gave the intro. "Metallica is fucking rad and their music is bitching," he said, causing James Hetfield to cover his young daughter's ears. "They did more to bring people together than any other peace-and-love band ever did," he added. This was literally true at the ceremony: Metallica flew in 150 of their friends and family for the event. Former bassist Jason Newsted, who hasn't performed with the group since he quit in 2001, was around for the weekend's festivities. If there's any bad blood, he certainly hid it well. "I've been levitating all weekend," he said during his speech. He later performed with the band and his replacement, Robert Trujillo, on "Master of Puppets" and "Enter Sandman." Both musicians played bass and often shared a mic on back-up vocals. Earlier, original bassist Cliff Burton's father gave a moving speech about his son, who died on a tour bus accident in 1986.

"If you're gonna have a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ... you've got to have Metallica in it," Flea said.

Hetfield said the Hall of Fame honor was a "dream come true."

"Dream big and dare to fail ... 'cause this is living proof that it is possible to make a dream come true," Hetfield said.

Metallica got their start in the 1980s and made their mark with albums like 1986’s Master of Puppets and 1991’s self-titled Metallica, which proved to be a smash hit.

But their influence extended beyond just making music. In the early 2000s, Metallica sued song-sharing website Napster, alleging copyright infringement. Eventually their battle led to legal downloads and the rise of sites like Apple’s iTunes.