METALLICA's JAMES HETFIELD Defends 'Jimmy Fallon' Performance: 'You've Gotta Laugh At Yourselves'

METALLICA performed its classic song "Enter Sandman" using children's musical instruments during an appearance on the November 16 edition of "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon". They were joined by the house band THE ROOTS and host Fallon.

Speaking to Spotify's "Metal Talks", METALLICA frontman James Hetfield said about the "Fallon" performance: "The 'Jimmy Fallon' thing is just one of those things that showed up in our lap. They said, 'Hey, you wanna do this?' [And we were] like, 'Sure. Why not?' And, yeah, we had a blast doing that."

He continued: "You have to have humor, you have to… you've gotta laugh at yourselves, you've got to… not take yourself so seriously all the time. Stuff like that is just fun, and it lightens your heart, and it humbles you as well.

"We're literally afraid to jam with certain people, 'cause we think we're not worthy enough; we're not great musicians. Even with those little flutes and stuff, I was worried… I mean, Kirk [Hammett, guitar] was practicing the song on this little recording thing. It's, like, 'Dude, stop practicing it! Just go have fun, man. Go screw it up.'"

Hetfield added: "It's fun to give each other permission to screw up, and you're not under a microscope. 'Cause live, I mean, sometimes we're really tight, sometimes we're really not. And before going onstage, we always remind each other that, 'Hey, mistakes are supposed to happen up here and it makes this gig unique. Don't be so hard on yourself. And if you're feeling down, just look at the other guys, and we'll carry you through.' So there's a freedom to fuck up in METALLICA."

Instrument list for METALLICA's performance on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon":

* James Hetfield - Vocals, Toy Clarinet
* Jimmy Fallon - Vocals, Bass Drum, Casio Keyboard, Kazoo
* Lars Ulrich - Fisher Price Drum, Toy Cymbals
* Kirk Hammett - Melodica
* Robert Trujillo - Baby Electric Axe
* Questlove - Hand Clappers, Kazoo
* Kamal Gray - Xylophone
* James Poyser - Melodica
* Captain Kirk - Ukulele
* Tuba Gooding Jr. - Kazoo, Banana Shaker, Apple Shaker
* Mark Kelley - Kazoo
* Frank Knuckles - Bongos
* Black Thought - Tambourine, Brown Hat

METALLICA's new album, "Hardwired… To Self-Destruct", which debuted as expected at No. 1 on The Billboard 200 album chart on Sunday night (November 27),selling 291,000 copies in its first week of release. Both of the band's previous outings, 2008's "Death Magnetic" and 2003's "St. Anger", sold more copies in shortened sales weeks. "Death Magnetic" moved 490,000 copies in a three-day window, while "St. Anger" shifted 418,000 copies in a similar frame.

"Hardwired... To Self-Destruct" consists of two discs, containing a dozen songs and nearly 80 minutes of music.

The album has already gone to No. 1 in 57 countries, with the album going Top 3 in 75 nations and Top 5 in 105 countries.