Metallica’s James Hetfield and Judas Priest’s Rob Halford were seen enjoying a recent Turnstile festival set.

Both metal legends were filmed sidestage at Norway’s Tons Of Rock Festival, where Metallica headlined on June 26, and Judas Priest on June 28. Nova Twins, Tool and Parkway Drive were among the other performers at the festival.

Both have been vocal proponents of newer artists in metal, throwing support behind the likes of Ghost and Sleep Token. They’re also no stranger to sharing a viral moment, given similar footage of Hetfield watching Judas Priest at Power Trip festival took social media by storm last year.

Advertisement

Discussing playing festivals with NME fresh after appearing on Glastonbury’s John Peel Stage in 2022, Turnstile frontman Brendan Yates said: “I think maybe there’s a subconscious way of just adapting to wherever you’re at, be it a room with 50 people or a big festival: you’re always going to do exactly what you do and be exactly who you are. I don’t know if that’s a particular thing [we do], but it’s maybe more of a subconscious search for the ways to connect the most.”

Credit: Andy Ford

Touching on the meteoric rise of the Baltimore band, he continued: “The ability to reach whoever might be looking for our music, and seeing that happen, is always an amazing feeling.

Recommended

“Since we’ve been able to play live again, the opportunities we’ve been blessed with to play for so many new people… I think playing music, no matter who you ask, it’s always an exciting opportunity, especially to never feel like you’re doing the same thing [and that] you’re always constantly growing. That doesn’t necessarily mean the size [of a crowd], but more so growing as far as challenging yourself, putting yourself in new scenarios and taking your opportunities to grow moving forward.”

Turnstile are among a slew of artists currently touring and holding concerts in Asia in 2024.

10815