Run-DMC, Metallica in Rock Hall of Fame
CLEVELAND — Metallica shoved the mosh pit into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Heavy metal’s heaviest hitters, whose menacing, monstrous sound has banged heads around the globe for decades, were inducted into rock’s shrine on Saturday night, capping a star-studded ceremony that felt much more like a concert than an awards show.
Many came to pay homage to Metallica, which earned top billing in an eclectic 2009 class that included rap pioneers Run-DMC, virtuoso guitarist Jeff Beck, soul singer Bobby Womack and rhythm and blues vocal group Little Anthony and the Imperials.
Metallica’s members have survived some of the dark themes — death, destruction and desolation — that threads through its music, and their induction was a chance to celebrate their legacy as perhaps the hardest band to ever walk the earth. The event also served as a reunion as bassist Jason Newsted, who left the group in 2001, joined his former bandmates on stage for seering versions of “Master of Puppets” and “Enter Sandman.”
“Whatever the intangibles elements are that make a band the best, Metallica has them,” said Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, who delivered a heartfelt speech in presenting the band. He recalled being on tour and hearing Metallica on the radio for the first time.
“My mind was blown. It wasn’t punk rock. It wasn’t heavy metal. It just stood by itself,” he said. “I didn’t know what it was, but I knew it was a mighty thing.”
With two turntables and a microphone, Run-DMC broke down the barriers between rock and rap. With sparse, stripped-down lyrics above pounding beats, the trio of Joseph “DJ Run” Simmons, Darryl “D.M.C.” McDaniels and Jason “Jam Master Jay” Mizell changed rap in the 1980s by taking the realities of the streets to the suburbs.
“They broke away from the pack by being the pack,” said rapper Eminem, looking like the band’s lost member by sporting the group’s trademark black fedora and black leather jacket. “They were the baddest of the bad and the coolest of the cool. Run-DMC changed my life.”
“There’s three of them and if you grew up with hip hop like I did, they were the Beatles.”
Their remake and collaboration with Aerosmith on the rock band’s “Walk This Way” changed modern music.