After sitting through three and a half boring hours of lame inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Metallica was finally introduced by a blue-haired Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Flea talked about hearing “Fight Fire With Fire” for the first time in 1984, the forces that make metal magic possible, and the brilliance of Cliff Burton.

During the induction, Burton’s father spoke on his late son’s behalf and Jason Newstead received an arousing round of applause before administering a teary eyed speech. Rob Trujillo, Kirk Hammett, Lars Ulrich, and James Hetfield thanked their families, road crew, and fans.

Metallica performed “Master of Puppets” with Trujillo and Newstead playing bass together which provided a bass-heavy mix, and singing backup into the same mic. Hetfield hit a few sour notes during the mid-section guitar solo, while Hammet’s solo was flawless.

A performance of “Enter Sandman” and an all-star jam with Jeff Beck, Jimmy Paige, Ronnie Wood, and Flea of “Train Kept A-Rollin'” followed. Hetfield’s aggressive vocals sounded excellent on the jam.

Overall, it was great to see Newstead play live again with Metallica and watching him share the stage with Trujillo was surprisingly not awkward. Congratulations to Metallica and their families on the evening and accomplishment, even though the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is a highly flawed institution when it comes to heavy music.