BLACK SABBATH Bassist Says It Was A 'Pleasure' And An 'Honor' To Perform With METALLICA

December 11, 2011

BLACK SABBATH legends Geezer Butler and Ozzy Osbourne joined METALLICA on stage last night (Saturday, December 10) for the fourth and final intimate show at the Fillmore in San Francisco as part of the week-long celebration of its 30th anniversary as a band for fan club members only. METALLICA bassist Robert Trujillo introduced Geezer as "my hero, [late METALLICA bassist] Cliff Burton's hero, [former METALLICA bassist] Jason Newsted's hero," before Butler and the METALLICA guys ripped through a mini-medley of SABBATH's "Sabbra Cadabra" and "A National Acrobat". Ozzy appeared on stage next, leading the musicians through a spirited double shot of "Iron Man" and "Paranoid".

Earlier today Geezer posted the following message on his official web site: "I had the pleasure and honor of jamming 'Sabbra Cadabra'/'A National Acrobat', and then 'Iron Man'/'Paranoid' (with Ozzy) with METALLICA at their 30th-anniversary MetClub [official METALLICA fan club] gig last night (Saturday, December 10) in San Francisco at the Fillmore. Great bunch of guys, and, of course, one of the world's greatest bands. They did their fan club proud. The late, great Cliff Burton was definitely in the house with us, and smiling…"

Fan-filmed video footage of last night's performance can be seen below.

A few years ago, METALLICA frontman James Hetfield told Rolling Stone magazine that he was surprised at how choked up he'd gotten while honoring BLACK SABBATH at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in March 2006 at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. Hetfield — dressed in black jeans and a black shirt amid a sea of tuxedos — fought back tears as he recalled a young James, nine years old, stealing SABBATH records from his older brother. "Those monstrous riffs lived inside of him and spoke the feelings he could never put into words, sending chills of inspiration through him," Hetfield said. "They helped crack the shell he was stuck in. . . They have spread their wonderful disease through generations of musicians." (Read the full text of METALICA's induction speech at this location.)

Afterward, Hetfield told Rolling Stone, "It was like, 'Oh, no, I'm going to start crying,'" he said. "I'd never known it until I had to access all those emotions in front of that crowd, but it just goes to show how much SABBATH mean."

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