Watch Metallica's James Hetfield and Kirk Hammet shred the National Anthem at San Francisco Giants baseball game

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By ( Metal Hammer ) last updated

Hetfield and Hammet blast out the Star-Spangled Banner to open the San Francisco Giants baseball game

Metallica perform National Anthem
(Image credit: San Francisco Giants)

On Tuesday night (May 24), Metallica's James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett opened the San Francisco Giants baseball game with a shred version of the American National Anthem.

The LA metal champs have been in a long running partnership with the team since 2013, and have made their mark on one game a year ever since (par two cancelled seasons due to Covid), with a performance of the Star-Spangled Banner. Each appearance by the band is fittingly dubbed the "Metallica Night" of the season.

For the performance, the Metallica brethren sported "City Connect" Giants jerseys with "City Connect" guitars - a new design orchestrated by both Major League Baseball and the NBA that expresses the personality of the home city that the game is played in.

"It's a tradition that we've missed the last two seasons, so we're really excited for the return of Metallica Night at Oracle Park with our hometown baseball team, the San Francisco Giants" said the band. "This year marks the eighth time we'll take the field for the National Anthem, first pitch, and a few other pre-game shenanigans."

As part of the Metallica Night, and as per pervious years, the trash metal heroes also participate in kind, charitable gestures, rewarding their fans with a chance to win some special prizes. This year, Hetfield's Signature Series ESPN Snakebyte Guitar or the Kirk Hammett Signature Series ESP KH-2 Guitar that were both used to play the "National Anthem" prior to the game is up for grabs. What's more, both will be autographed.

For the prize draw, the band have joined forces with Fandiem. All funds raised by the sweepstakes will go to World Central Kitchen’s #ChefsForUkraine fund. 

The draw ends on Thursday, June 30, 2022 at 11:59PM PT.

Enter the sweepstakes now and check out both the performances below:

Liz Scarlett
Liz Scarlett
Content Editor

Liz manages Louder's social media channels and works on keeping the sites up to date with the latest news from the world of rock and metal. Prior to joining Louder as a full time staff writer, she completed a Diploma with the National Council for the Training of Journalists and received a First Class Honours Degree in Popular Music Journalism. She enjoys writing about anything from neo-glam rock to stoner, doom and progressive metal, and loves celebrating women in music.