Metallica have confronted the criticisms regarding their upcoming Glastonbury 2014 headline set, defending their spot at the top of the bill on the legendary Pyramid Stage.
Earlier this week Mogwai branded the metal band “shite”, with Arctic Monkeys’ Alex Turner also stating his disapproval of the band being given the headline slot at Worthy Farm. But this hasn’t appeared to deter Metallica, as drummer Lars Ulrich told Radio 1’s Rock Show: “The fact that everyone’s got an opinion I’ll take as a good thing because it means that people still care and are still interested and we still have one foot in relevance of some sort.”
He continued: “It’s comforting that 33 years into a career you can still mange to stir it up a little bit. Glastonbury is the biggest, greatest festival on this planet and we’re headlining Saturday night. Bring it on. We’re going to show up and have fun, but all the hoopla is interesting.”
The criticisms leveled at Metallica have revolved around them being a metal band, a genre of music that is not typically hosted by the festival. As the first ever metal band to headline Glastonbury, it was inevitable that some degree of controversy would ensue, similar to how Jay-Z’s 2008 headlining performance led Noel Gallagher to state how hip-hop didn’t belong at the festival. It remains to be seen whether Metallica will prove the naysayers wrong, but it’ll certainly be interesting to see the crowd reaction.
