METALLICA Pays Homage To 'Pasadena Boys' VAN HALEN With 'Runnin' With The Devil' Cover (Video)

July 30, 2017

METALLICA performed an abbreviated cover version of VAN HALEN's classic song "Runnin' With The Devil" Saturday night (July 29) at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The one-minute nod to the hometown band saw METALLICA frontman James Hetfield attempting to replicate those iconic David Lee Roth screams, much to the delight of the packed stadium. "That's all I can sing," he proclaimed to the crowd after the impromptu rendition ended. "That's a little homage to the Pasadena boys," he continued. "Sorry you had to put up with that. METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett then launched into the opening riff of "You Really Got Me", with Hetfield adding, "That wasn't too bad. That was kind of fun."

METALLICA's professionally filmed footage of the "Runnin' With The Devil" cover, along with a fan-filmed clip, can be seen below.

A few years back, Hetfield and METALLICA bassist Robert Trujillo spoke about the impact VAN HALEN had on them when they were teenagers in Southern California.

"I remember hearing on some radio station that VAN HALEN's [first] album was coming out," Hetfield recalled. "[I was like], 'Whoa! What is that? It's crunchy.' That really made my hair stand up. Back when I was growing up, VAN HALEN was the heaviest we had in California." Trujillo added: "I remember hearing ['Eruption'] blasting and thinking, 'What is that?!'"

METALLICA and VAN HALEN toured the U.S. together in 1988 as part of the "Monsters Of Rock" package, also featuring SCORPIONS, DOKKEN and KINGDOM COME. Hetfield later said about the trek: "That whole 'Monsters Of Rock' tour was a big fog for me. Those were my Jägermeister days. It was bad coming back to some of those towns later, because there were a lot of dads and moms and husbands and boyfriends looking for me. Not good. People were hating me, and I didn't know why…"

The North American leg of METALLICA's "WorldWired" trek will hit stadiums in seven more cities before ending in mid-August.

The next stop on the tour is Phoenix, Arizona on August 4.

The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame band is touring in support of its tenth studio album, "Hardwired... To Self-Destruct", which came out last November.

RUNNIN' WITH THE DEVIL! @vanhalen #MetAtTheRoseBowl #WorldWired #Metallica #VanHalen

A post shared by Metallica (@metallica) on

Find more on Metallica
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).