Footage and images of Metallica rocking out to Judas Priest at Power Trip festival are going viral, and honestly, judging by how much fun they're having, we're not surprised

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It's safe to say that Kirk Hammett and James Hetfield were Having A Lovely Time at Power Trip this past weekend

James Hetfield and Rob Halford
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Unless you were avoiding the internet in an act of envious rage this past weekend (and, given the lineup, we could hardly blame you), you're probably aware that the first ever Power Trip festival took place on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (Oct 6-8), featuring the biggest set of hard rock and heavy metal headliners ever to share one bill. Guns N' Roses, Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Judas Priest, Metallica and Tool played to crowds of almost 100,000 people across three blockbuster days at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, with AC/DC's incredible set marking their first show in seven years.

Social media has been awash with photos and videos of various members of the bands that played over the weekend hanging out, catching up and enjoying each other's sets, but few have brought as much attention as those depicting Metallica guitar duo James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett loving life and enjoying the hell out of themselves during Judas Priest's set on Saturday night.

Though the metal legends weren't due to play until Sunday, they evidently snuck into town early to enjoy the festivities for themselves, with a photo of the duo throwing horns with the crowd posted on Metallica's official Instagram page, and fan-filmed footage of frontman Hetfield having the loveliest of times doing the rounds on social media elsewhere.

See Metallica appreciating some Judas Priest for yourself below.

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Judas Priest are a huge influence on Metallica, with the bands hooking up for collaborative live performances numerous times over the years. As well as Priest frontman Rob Halford singing his own band's classic anthem Rapid Fire with Metallica on a number of occasions, Kirk Hammett jumped up on stage with Priest in 2021 to blast through their acclaimed cover of Fleetwood Mac's The Green Manalishi (With The Two Prong Crown).  

We suspect Metallica enjoyed the hell out of AC/DC's amazing headline set on Saturday night, too: they do, after all, famously air It's A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll) over the PA before every show.

Merlin Alderslade
Merlin Alderslade
Executive Editor, Louder

Merlin moved into his role as Executive Editor of Louder in early 2022, following over ten years working at Metal Hammer. While there, he served as Online Editor and Deputy Editor, before being promoted to Editor in 2016. Before joining Metal Hammer, Merlin worked as Associate Editor at Terrorizer Magazine and has previously written for the likes of Classic Rock, Rock Sound, eFestivals and others. Across his career he has interviewed legends including Ozzy Osbourne, Lemmy, Metallica, Iron Maiden (including getting a trip on Ed Force One courtesy of Bruce Dickinson), Guns N' Roses, KISS, Slipknot, System Of A Down and Meat Loaf. He has also presented and produced the Metal Hammer Podcast, presented the Metal Hammer Radio Show and is probably responsible for 90% of all nu metal-related content making it onto the site.