James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett spotted in the crowd rocking out with fans during Judas Priest’s set at Power Trip

It’s not every day you get to see Metallica play live, but it’s even rarer to get to rock out side by side with them while watching your (other) favourite band.

Fans attending Power Trip festival at the weekend had the chance to do just that, when they spotted guitarists James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett in the crowd during Judas Priest’s set on Saturday, 7 October.

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And for your viewing pleasure, one fan took a wholesome video of Hetfield bobbing his head to Living After Midnight – from Judas Priest’s 1980 album British Steel.

James Hetfield from Metallica loving the performance by Judas Priest at Power Trip Festival 2023

Legends🤘#PowerTrip #powertripfestival #PowerTrip2023 #judaspriest #jameshetfield #Metallica pic.twitter.com/7Xete8mbee

— 𝐌𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐨𝐜𝐤 𝐙𝐨𝐧𝐞 ™ (@metalnrockzone) October 8, 2023

Another image posted directly to Metallica’s Instagram page shows Hetfield and Hammett enjoying Priest’s set with some understandably excited fans in the background. The post is captioned “Pounding the world like a battering ram”, so we can safely assume they were listening to Rapid Fire – also from British Steel – when the shot was taken.

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Judas Priest’s set was rounded out with a host of other classics from their catalogue, including You’ve Got Another Thing Coming, Painkiller, Turbo Lover, Breaking the Law and Metal Gods. Glenn Tipton even made an appearance during the band’s encore.

Power Trip festival – which took place in at Indio, California’s Empire Polo Club last weekend – saw an all-star lineup of rock and metal royalty, with Judas Priest, Metallica, Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Tool and Guns N’ Roses having a spot on the bill.

Metallica – who rounded off the weekend on the Sunday night – played a bona-fide crowd-pleasing set, shaped with classics like Creeping Death, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Enter Sandman, Nothing Else Matters, Sad But True and Master of Puppets, as well as newer cuts including Lux Æterna and Too Far Gone?