• facebook
  • twitter
  • rss

Watch: U.K. Lord Mayor Walks In To METALLICA's 'Eye Of The Beholder' At Inauguration Ceremony

May 18, 2023

The new lord mayor of Portsmouth in the United Kingdom used the METALLICA song "Eye Of The Beholder" as his walk-in music at his inauguration ceremony.

On Tuesday (May 16),Lord Mayor Tom Coles, who was chosen to take over from councillor Hugh Mason, sported his mayoral robes as he entered Portsmouth Guildhall to METALLICA's 1988 track from the metal band's fourth studio album, "…And Justice For All". The Labour politician also included a quote from the "Star Trek" language Klingon in his speech as part of a ceremony to make him mayor of Portsmouth City Council.

Regarding his decision to use METALLICA music for his entrance, Colestold the BBC that he went with what he liked.

"It went down well with the audience, I had a really good feedback," he said, adding that he was "a big heavy metal fan."

Speaking specifically about "Eye Of The Beholder", Coles said: "It's a good song to walk in to. It's got a little build-up and then it's got a good beat. It's a great song."

"Eye Of The Beholder" was reportedly written about imposed limitations on freedom of speech and freedom of expression in general.

In a September 2020 interview with Vulture, METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich named "Eye Of The Beholder" as a METALLICA song he wouldn't want to listen to again. As for why he hated the track so much, Ulrich revealed that he thinks it sounds "forced" and "awkward" due to its two different tempos.

"It sounds like you put a square peg in a round hole," he said. "There's kind of a 4/4 feel in the intro and on the verses, and then I think the choruses are more like in a waltz tempo. It literally sounds like two different worlds rubbing up against each other. It sounds very awkward to me. I'm not a huge fan of that song."

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).