Metallica’s Kirk Hammett on Rock Hall Snubs: Maybe They Just Don’t F–king Get It
Another year, another Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction class devoid of metal inclusion. That's something that's not sitting well with Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Kirk Hammett of Metallica, who offered his theory on why this keeps happening with Dean Delray's Let There Be Talk podcast.
Of particular interest for Hammett was the overlooking of Motorhead, a band who are one of Metallica's biggest influences. The guitarist stated, "I really think that when things like that happen, it might be a generational thing where maybe some of the older people just don't get it — they just don't fucking get it. They don't see the range of influence and the impact and the inspiration that certain bands have. They don't hear it, because maybe they're part of a different generation and were told that vocals sung like that are bad. But they're not — they're fucking just another type of vocal," says the guitarist. "[Those people believe that] recordings like that have no merit. [I've] gotta admit, some of those Motorhead recordings are fucking so beautifully raw."
He continued, "For those kind of people, Motorhead is a little bit of a bitter pill. And the comprehension of it is kind of — it could be a little better comprehended. And I think that's the problem — it's merely a generational thing. As much as I don't like saying that, because I think if it's good music, it's gonna transcend generations. But then, at certain times, people are just closed off from it from the get-go, for whatever reason. It's just one of those things that just happens."
Hammett and Delray then discussed the idea of Nine Inch Nails getting in ahead of Trent Reznor's influences in Kraftwerk, Devo and Gary Numan that preceded them. Hammett said, "If it weren't for those bands, where would Nine Inch Nails be? It's so that way with so many other bands too. I mean, Thin Lizzy — fucking hell. I mean, Jesus Christ, they were such a huge influence with me and all my friends and all the bands that were coming up at the same time we were, and they're still not in the fucking Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Again, maybe it's generational. I don't know. Maybe they just didn't sell enough fucking albums. Sometimes it feels like you have to sell a certain amount of albums before they would even consider you, which is, I think, a big piece of shit, too."
Motorhead had been eligible for induction since 2002, but made the ballot for the first time this year. However, when the induction class was announced they were not part of it. Nine Inch Nails will serve as the main rock act in this year's class, with Depeche Mode, Notorious B.I.G., Doobie Brothers, Whitney Houston and T. Rex joining them.
Hear Kirk Hammett on Dean Delray's Let There Be Talk Podcast
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