We’re all getting ready to chill out for the holiday season, so that means great food, good friends, and classic stories that remind us of the holidays we enjoy celebrating with our loved ones. Earlier today, the folks in Metallica uploaded something to YouTube that might help fans get in the Christmas spirit — a recording of James Hetfield reading a classic story.
In the clip posted below, you can hear Papa Het narrate the well-known story A Visit From St. Nicholas. You know the one — “’twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring… not even a mouse.” That one.
The recording had originally premiered on Metallica’s SiriusXM channel, Maximum Metallica, but was promptly thrown up onto the internet for everyone to hear. The YouTube version included an animated chimney done a Metallica style, with stocking for James, Lars, Kirk, and Robert hung above the fire.
And while it’s cute and cozy that a dude in his 60s would record himself narrating such a tale, it’s got a little bit of that classic Hetfield grit, which is a nice little touch.
This isn’t the first time Hetfield’s done some voice work. He’s gained credits on TV shows like Skylanders Academy, The Simpsons, American Dad, Metalocalypse, the History Channel’s hunting show The Huntand on a documentary about fatherless children titled Absent.