Watch Metallica’s Robert Trujillo + Kirk Hammett Cover Europe’s ‘The Final Countdown’ in Sweden
Metallica are in the midst of a two-night stand in Stockholm, Sweden, and that means Robert Trujillo and Kirk Hammett are paying tribute to a local band with their nightly "doodle" segment like they have been in all the European cities in which they are performing on the WorldWired Tour. Saturday night (May 5.), it was as regional as you can get, as the two took on "The Final Countdown" by Europe.
It wasn't as surprising as the cover from earlier in the week when the duo covered the '80s classic "Take On Me" by A-ha, but like that song, it's a guilty pleasure. As always, Trujillo handles vocal duties in the video clip which can be viewed above, though perhaps realizing he doesn't quite have Europe frontman's Joey Tempest's range, the bassist sped through the first verse to get to the chorus and quickly let Hammett do the heavy lifting on the track's solo.
The locals in attendance at Ericsson Globe seemed to appreciate the effort in giving the hometown band some well-deserved love. "The Final Countdown" topped the charts around the world when it was released in 1986 and received a new life in recent years when it showed up in a Geico commercial.
Trujillo and Hammett typically cut loose each night after the band does "Halo on Fire" when drummer Lars Ulrich and frontman James Hetfield leave the stage, leaving them to their own musical devices. The pair covered Michael Schenker Group’s “Into the Arena” and UFO’s “Rock Bottom” in Hamburg, Germany, Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” last fall in Birmingham, England and they covered Oasis’ “Don’t Look Back in Anger,” at a Manchester, England gig, which occurred in the wake of the bombing at an Ariana Grande concert. Recent weeks have seen them take on the Accept classic "Balls to the Wall" in Leipzig, Germany; paid tribute to the late Celtic Frost bassist Martin Eric Ain in Switzerland with a cover of "Procreation (of the Wicked)"; and salute German '80s star Peter Schilling's "Major Tom (Coming Home)" at a gig in Stuttgart, Germany.
Tonight is the second night in Stockholm for Metallica, and who knows what Rob and Kirk have in store for tonight. Then it's a handful of additional European dates on the WorldWired Tour before taking off for the summer and returning to the road in North America for a run of arena shows. The full list of upcoming dates can be found here.
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