Metallica and Judas Priest have been buds for quite sometime. Over the years, the San Fransisco metal heavyweights have admitted to being greatly influenced by the leather-clad troupe, and have also collaborated with them for a number of live performances. This July, James Hetfield and Rob Halford were even spotted rocking out together at Norway's Tons Of Rock Festival, which made for a totally wholesome moment.
Their well-documented bond is one of the reasons why we know that this video of Hetfield supposedly "mocking" Priest is all just playful banter. Filmed during the recording sessions for Metallica's eighth studio album, St. Anger, the behind the scenes Jump In The Studio footage shows Papa Het doing his best attempt at an impression of Priest's powerhouse frontman Rob Halford.
As guitarist Kirk Hammett jams out the riff to Priest's 1978 version of Fleetwood Mac's Green Manalishi, Hetfield tries to sing along, but humorously finds he can't quite reach Halford's loftily high-pitched vocal tone - so uses the help of a helium balloon to push his voice just that little bit further, as he belts out notes in between sucks of air.
The results are quite amusing, with the band giggling mischievously, before Hetfield declares, "thank you, goodnight! We are Judas Priest!".
Thankfully, most viewers in the comments have seen the funny side, with one writing: "Even with the helium James couldn't hit the note. Sorry James but you're no Green Manilishi!", as another says: "This is more like a compliment to Rob's powerful vocals". And we have to agree. Check out the video below:
