Ed Sheeran loves a bit of Korn and Marilyn Manson... who'd have thought it?

(Image credit: Jason Kempin, Matt Jelonek/WireImage, Katja Ogrin/Redferns - via Getty)

He’s appeared on a spoof Jimmy Kimmel sketch playing acoustic versions of Iron Maiden’s Run To The Hills and Limp Bizkit’s Break Stuff, but it turns out Ed Sheeran actually likes a bit of metal.

The pop star was at Marilyn Manson’s show in Nashville earlier this week – and as if that wasn’t enough, the singer/songwriter got to hang out backstage with Korn guitarist Brian ‘Head’ Welch following the performance.

Welch uploaded a picture of the pair to his Instagram account, saying: “Of course Ed Sheeran would walk right past me and Munky at the Marilyn Manson concert and tell us he just listened to Freak On A Leash earlier today.

“Why should we be surprised.”

So there you have it. One of the world’s biggest mainstream solo artists really does like music with a harder edge. Maybe he’ll ditch the acoustic guitar for something a bit more substantial on his next album.

Back in February, Asking Alexandria performed an acoustic cover of Sheeran's track Perfect.

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent 35 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving into e-commerce in 2020. Scott keeps Louder’s buyer’s guides up to date, writes about the best deals for music fans, keeps on top of the latest tech releases and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more for Louder. Over the last 10 years, Scott has written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, The Tragically Hip, Marillion and Rush.