Watch: Metallica Cover Celtic Frost’s “The Usurper”

Metallica’s live shows currently feature a segment called “Doodles,” in which Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo perform cover songs by artists from the city or country in which they’re playing while James and Lars take a break.

It’s a super-cool idea in theory, and for all I know it may be a treat to watch in person. But from what I’ve seen of these segments so far online they’re not only uninteresting, but sloppy. There was the cover of Prince’s “When Doves Cry” that Hammett and Trujillo covered in the purple one’s native Minnesota last fall, and now this, a rendition of Celtic Frost’s “Usurper” performed in Zurich, Switzerland earlier this week… and yikes, these are tough to watch.

I couldn’t even make it through more than ten seconds of this thing. Like I said, maybe it comes off better if you’re there. I like Metallica and I like Celtic Frost so there’s no reason one covering the other shouldn’t work (unless it’s simply the absence of drums that makes these sound so bad, which is funny considering it’s Lars Ulrich we’re talking about). But yeah, I dunno, this ain’t working. See for yourself below.

[via Blabbermouth]