Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett has expressed his disappointment over the fact that Motorhead and Thin Lizzy were both overlooked this year for induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.
Both outfits have been eligible for years and were on the ballot for the class of 2020, but failed to receive enough votes. Speaking on the “Let There Be Talk” podcast, Hammett said, “I really think that when things like that happen, it might be a generational thing where maybe some of the older people just don't get it — they just don't f**king get it. They don't see the range of influence and the impact and the inspiration that certain bands have.”
Hammett said about Thin Lizzy, “They were such a huge influence with me and all my friends and all the bands that were coming up at the same time we were, and they're still not in the f**king Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Again, maybe it's generational. I don't know. Maybe they just didn't sell enough f**king albums. Sometimes it feels like you have to sell a certain amount of albums before they would even consider you, which is, I think, a big piece of s**t, too.”
The highly influential metal act Judas Priest was also passed over this year, while other eligible and noteworthy acts in the genre like Iron Maiden and Scorpions have yet to even be nominated. It also took Kiss, Deep Purple and Rush years to get inducted. Metallica itself was inducted in 2009, in its first year of eligibility.