Metallica Star Reacts To Rock Hall Snubbings

William Lee | 01-23-2020

Metallica lead guitarist Kirk Hammett has offered his thoughts about the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame snubbing rock icons Motorhead and Thin Lizzy for this year's induction.

The Cleveland institution once again sparked controversy when they left out popular and influential rock artists like Judas Priest, Motorhead, Thin Lizzy, Pat Benatar and others this year in favor of non-rock artists.

Hammett was asked about the snubbing during his recent appearance on the Let There Be Rock podcast and said, "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 f***ing 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 just another type of vocal. And they believe recordings like that have no merit. Some of those Motorhead recordings are so beautifully raw.

"For those kind of people, Motorhead are a little bit of a bitter pill. And it could be a little better comprehended. 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 said of the Thin Lizzy snub, "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 f***ing Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

"Again, maybe it's generational. I don't know. Maybe they just didn't sell enough f***ing 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 sh*t, too."