NBA Finals: Metallica’s James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett perform National Anthem

How about this for a different performance of the National Anthem? Anytime that there is a major sporting event, we do tend to see some of the biggest names in show business hired to perform “The Star-Spangled Banner” … and it is pretty easy to understand why. It’s a way to showcase national pride, and a chance to do something a little bit different with the song.

For game 5 between the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals Sunday night, the Warriors and the arena in Oakland certainly decided to think outside the box, hiring Bay Area residents Kirk Hammett and James Hetfield of Metallica to perform. They didn’t have to worry so much about hitting all of the lyrics, or dealing with any nerves because of their voices. This was an instrumental version of the track, but at the same time a pretty amazing one. It is still a very risky move to perform the Anthem using just electric guitars, given that so much of this is still iconic to the legendary Jimi Hendrix.

Luckily, Metallica is still iconic in their own right, and while we’re sure that this probably won’t generate as much attention as some other anthems in recent years, it was still pretty darn cool.

As for the actually NBA game, the Warriors and Cavaliers are currently tied 2 – 2. If there are any TV-related headlines from the game (we’re not a sports site, after all), we will share some of those with you a little bit later on.

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