Fans split over Metallica's Glastonbury debut
As Metallica prepare to headline Glastonbury tonight, festival-goers were divided as to whether they would watch them although most seemed to have an opinion on whether they deserved the top billing.
Some have said the group’s inclusion is against the event’s environmental ethos, as frontman James Hetfield supports bear hunting while there have been claims their heavy metal sound does not fit the “hippy” vibe of the festival.
Metallica fan Laurence Mozafari, 24, from London, said he thought they would surprise people with their performance.
“I think they’ve got a lot to prove as they’ve had to much stick about getting this slot,” he said.
“I think because nobody’s expecting anything – kind of similar to the way it was with Jay Z playing and Beyonce – people don’t have high hopes so they could come out and surprise.
“Metallica is an outside choice but then so was Jay Z and look where he’s got to. So was Beyonce and she’s taken over the world since then.”
But Damien Doughty, 35, from London, said: “I’m not interested in seeing them. They’re not the right kind of vibe.
“I don’t even know why they have big names here, it’s more about the party.”
And Steve Kirkby, 43, from Wincanton, Somerset, said: “I’d rather throw eggs at them if he thinks it’s okay to shoot bears.”
But he defended the decision to have them as headliners, saying diversity was what made the festival special. “It’s a complete mixture, they’ve never stuck to a formula,” he said.
“There could be anything on the main stage which is one of the great things about Glastonbury. There’s no prejudice.” Lucy Morrell, 25, from Birmingham, said that although their style was not to her taste, all music should be embraced at the festival. “I think it’s really sad that people have taken to protest against it,” she said.
“It doesn’t seem to be in the spirit of Glastonbury to exclude things.
“It’s meant to be the Festival of Contemporary Arts so it should support all types of music.
“Glastonbury is increasingly embracing different types of music – there’s been some pretty brutal types of hip hop coming in.”
Karen Haden, 60, from Greenhithe, Kent, said: “We’ll just catch a little bit, out of curiosity.
“It’s a celebration of all music as far as I’m concerned.
“It’s not my scene but there’s lots of other acts out there that people can go and see if they don’t like them.”
Mr Mozafari said he was expecting the band to put on the show of their lives.
“I’ve seen them before and they do huge pyrotechnics, like really big massive flames, and you can be right at the back of the crowd and it’s singeing your face,” he said. “They’re going to be loud.”
He added that their performance, which will also be broadcast to millions on the BBC, could lead to a boost in sales for the band and even a more mainstream appeal.
Festival organiser Michael Eavis, who was spotted chatting to drummer Lars Ulrich last night, has defended the decision to have the band headline as no other act has ever been as “keen” to play the music festival.
“I am looking forward to seeing them,” the 78-year-old said previously.
“We have been going for so long that people don’t expect us to put on a heavy metal band.
“We had Rage Against The Machine and we have had lots of fairly heavy metal bands in the past but this is not a typical headline.
“We usually have bands like Radiohead, Coldplay and U2, the Rolling Stones, but I am really looking forward to them.
“There’s no other band in the whole history of the festival that has been so keen to play, they will do the best set of their lives here.”
