“No disrespect, but I’m not sure the shirt fits the song”: Alex Skolnick criticises Darius Rucker’s Metallica T-shirt during NYE performance

CNN’s New Years Eve celebrations saw a slew of stars take to the stage to welcome in 2024. Rock and country king Darius Rucker was one of the select few, and his joyous sing-along Beers and Sunshine proved to be a perfect way to welcome in the new year with a positive spirit.

However, Testament’s Alex Skolnick was particularly critical of the Hootie & The Blowfish singer’s choice of attire. Speaking on X, the thrash metal guitarist pointed out: “No disrespect, but I’m not sure the shirt fits the song.”

https://twitter.com/AlexSkolnick/status/1741647299128786974?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1741647299128786974%7Ctwgr%5Ef83361e60d1ff849437d26aa76b96134ba18a9db%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fmetalheadzone.com%2Falex-skolnick-criticizes-darius-ruckers-metallica-t-shirt%2F

Rucker fans weren’t too pleased by the remark. “A bit of a cheap shot,” one user noted, while another asked “Can’t country musicians be fans of heavy metal bands?”

Skolnick later clarified that his comment was not a jab at Rucker, but merely commenting on the contrast of the dark, brooding era of Metallica in comparison to Beers and Sunshine’s lust for life.

“Not a cheap shot, just an observation,” he stated. “Metallica is some very non-party music, it’s an interesting choice for a song called Beers and Sunshine, that’s all.”

Not a cheap shot, just an observation. Metallica is some very non-party music, it’s an interesting choice for a song called Beer & Sunshine, that’s all.

— Alex Skolnick (@AlexSkolnick) January 1, 2024

To another user, he added: “Nothing wrong with it. I’m not sure why anyone would get offended. I was just live tweeting about many things on TV in this case early Metallica brings to mind songs about war, death  mental anguish etc, so it was funny to see paired with a song like Beers and Sunshine.”

While Beers and Sunshine’s shimmery country twang is certainly at odds with Metallica’s brooding darkness, Rucker himself has been a vocal lover of Metallica for years. His 2021 performance of Nothing Else Matters for charity record The Metallica Blacklist is a real stunner.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Rucker explained how Nothing Else Matters was the perfect fit for him to cover, due to its ability to be transformed into any genre. “A great song can be played any way,” he noted. “You play it reggae, heavy, country – it will still be a great song.”

“When Hootie & the Blowfish were making and selling records, Metallica was that band that made me feel so wimpy,” he mused. “I would listen to their records, and I was such a fan of James Hetfield’s singing, and the guitar was so hard. I knew that that was something that we would never – or could never – do.”