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Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett “blown away” to be performing at an all-star tribute concert to Fleetwood Mac co-founder at the London Palladium.
His comments come as it was announced the band have cancelled two festival headline performances due to take place later this year in order to support frontman James Hetfield’s recovery.
The tribute event, which will be happening today (February 25), is being curated by Green’s fellow Fleetwood Mac co-founder Mick Fleetwood, will feature additional appearances by Billy Gibbons, David Gilmour, Jonny Lang, Andy Fairweather Low, John Mayall, Christine McVie, Zak Starkey, Steven Tyler and Bill Wyman.
On Monday (February 24), Hammet made the statement on his blog FearFestevil.com admitting to being excited with the opportunity.
He wrote: “I’m honored to be playing a part in the Peter Green Celebration Show being staged by Mick Fleetwood at the London Palladium. Between Mick, Billy Gibbons and Dave Gilmour I am going to be in the presence of some severe legends, and in truth, I’m completely blown away by that.”
Meanwhile, Hetfield entered rehab in September 2019 to deal with his “struggles with addiction”. His addiction and alcoholism issues were previously detailed in the 2004 documentary Some Kind of Monster.
Metallica will now no longer be headlining Columbus’ Sonic Temple festival in May or Louisville’s Louder Than Life in September. At the former event, they will be replaced by Red Hot Chili Peppers and Tool.
Other appearances at events including Epicenter, Welcome To Rockville, and Aftershock will still go ahead as planned.
In a letter to fans, Hetfield explained why the band were pulling out of the festivals. “As part of my continuing effort to get and stay healthy, I have critical recovery events on those weekends that cannot be moved,” he wrote.
“I apologise to all of our fans who have bought tickets for these festivals. We are working with the festival promoters to provide for refunds or exchanges. My intent with this statement is saying ‘I apologise’ to each one of you. The reality is that I have not prioritised my health in the past year of touring and I now know that my mental health comes first. That might sound like a no-brainer for most of you but I didn’t want to let the Metallica team/family down and, I alone, completely compromised myself.”
The frontman added an update on his journey so far, saying his therapy was “going well” and he is “optimistic about the blessings I have been given and what the future brings”.
“Like the moth into the flame, being human in this career has its huge challenges and can be difficult,” he concluded. “Your understanding helps the healing.
Last week (February 20), Hetfield gave his first public performance since entering rehab. The musician appeared at a tribute for late star Eddie Money, who died in September 2019.
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