METALLICA's KIRK HAMMETT Weighs In On MOTÖRHEAD And THIN LIZZY's Exclusion From ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME

METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett has expressed his disappointment over the fact that MOTÖRHEAD has yet to be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

Eligible since 2002, the Lemmy-fronted outfit was on the ballot for the class of 2020 but failed to receive enough votes.

During a career-spanning interview on Dean Delray's "Let There Be Talk" podcast, Hammett stated about MOTÖRHEAD's exclusion from the Rock Hall (hear audio below): "I really think that when things like that happen, it might be a generational thing where maybe some of the older people just don't get it — they just don't fucking get it. They don't see the range of influence and the impact and the inspiration that certain bands have. They don't hear it, because maybe they're part of a different generation and were told that vocals sung like that are bad. But they're not — they're fucking just another type of vocal. And [those people believe that] recordings like that have no merit. [I've] gotta admit, some of those MOTÖRHEAD recordings are fucking so beautifully raw."

Kirk continued: "For those kind of people, MOTÖRHEAD is a little bit of a bitter pill. And the comprehension of it is kind of — it could be a little better comprehended. And I think that's the problem — it's merely a generational thing. As much as I don't like saying that, because I think if it's good music, it's gonna transcend generations. But then, at certain times, people are just closed off from it from the get-go, for whatever reason. It's just one of those things that just happens."

When Delray opined that NINE INCH NAILS should not be inducted into the Rock Hall before acts like KRAFTWERK, Gary Numan and DEVO, all of whom were an influence on Trent Reznor, Hammett said: "If it weren't for those bands, where would NINE INCH NAILS be? It's so that way with so many other bands too. I mean, THIN LIZZY — fucking hell. I mean, Jesus Christ, they were such a huge influence with me and all my friends and all the bands that were coming up at the same time we were, and they're still not in the fucking Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Again, maybe it's generational. I don't know. Maybe they just didn't sell enough fucking albums. Sometimes it feels like you have to sell a certain amount of albums before they would even consider you, which is, I think, a big piece of shit, too."

Even though artists are eligible for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame 25 years after the release of their first album or single, iconic hard rock and metal bands like JUDAS PRIEST, IRON MAIDEN and SCORPIONS have yet to be recognized by the institution, which inducted METALLICA and GUNS N' ROSES in those groups' first year of eligibility.

Rock Hall rules state that artists become eligible a quarter century after their first records were released, but the Hall also claims that other "criteria include the influence and significance of the artists' contributions to the development and perpetuation of rock 'n' roll," which is, of course, open to interpretation.

Eligible for induction since 1999, KISS didn't get its first nomination until 2009, and was finally inducted in 2014.

DEEP PURPLE was eligible for the Rock Hall since 1993 but didn't get inducted until 2016.