James Hetfield might just have won Halloween 2025 for Metallica, having ripped through thrash classic For Whom The Bell Tolls dressed as a kangaroo.
Metallica's set at Optus Stadium, Perth, on October 31st saw half the band get into the spooky spirit early on in their performance, surprising fans at the 70,000 capacity venue.
Hetfield the Kangaroo, with a spring in his step, was joined by bass player Robert Trujillo in a hi-vis vest and builder's helmet. The items were likely cobbled together from crew members backstage, but he gets marks for trying. Kirk Hammett and Lars Ulrich’s casual attire, though, didn't quite nail the brief.
“Let’s hop to it!” Metallica posted on Instagram, accompanied by footage of the Ride The Lightning cut. Hetfield’s vocals are a little muffled by the costume, but, playing an Electra Guitars 2236 Flying Wedge inscribed with the band's Scary Guy logo, he handled its guitar parts with aplomb. He’s set a high bar for next year.
The guitar is a cheap Japanese copy of the Gibson Flying V, and the original featured on their debut album, Kill 'Em All. Speaking to Ultimate Guitar in 2023, the band's guitar tech Chad Zaemisch revealed that he and luthier Bill Nash had recently been tasked with tracking down several of these guitars and modifying them to recreate the tonal magic of the band's early days.
He also revealed that the original V was dusted off and put back into circulation around this time, so the one Hetfield is playing here could be the one that was such a key part of the band's formative years.
In related news, Kirk Hammett's mystery Back to the Beginning SG is headed to auction, along with more than 150 guitars from his personal collection. He'd used the Custom Shop Gibson SG to cover Black Sabbath's Hole in the Sky during the historic event.
In more recent Metallica-related news, Dave Mustaine has revealed that the last song on Megadeth's forthcoming final album will be a reimagining of Ride the Lightning, a song he helped write before leaving the band in 1983.
