Metallica - The Unforgiven II - Live Debut at The Billboard Awards (1997) [TV Broadcast]

MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, NV. December 8, 1997.

[@jeppyjep]

I love how Jason headbanged to the entire song. Still had that metal attitude

[@richardgalpo7363]

Commiting his self to be human metronome for lars😂😂

[@Oldy87]

I'm surprised they even let him on the stage.

[@rhendry5832]

@@Oldy87 how?

[@rhendry5832]

Well it’s a metal song so why wouldn’t he??

[@godsinbox]

and Jason never got any lingering issues from this practice?

[@DavidDeaton]

kirk hammet's slide work at the beginning was epic!

[@trobertw]

Lol

[@TheSilverGate]

I thought it was a joke at first xD

[@InterstateDrive]

At least we know where Nick Jonas got his inspiration

[@preston2636]

It was out of key and sounded like absolute shit

[@joshuajkoplin]

@@TheSilverGate I thought it was one of those joke videos where they overdub crappy guitar. That was terrible. Search Metallica when doves cry. That shits terrible

[@greenhazeee]

Rare.... Never seen James playing a telecaster before ::

[@jessedeleon4123]

Shalit Wentz the only reason I think because it has b bender

[@rtm217]

Shalit Wentz he played the telecaster in the music vid for this song

[@mrchristian0457]

Shalit Maitrechit In case you didn’t know, The Unforgiven 2 was written with a Tele with a B Bender.

[@Hunter-mw1uu]

I hate telecasters myself (everything about them) and I'm surprised James is using one

[@shawnhuff6024]

The load and reload albums were mostly recorded with this telecaster

[@Fixxxer1999]

Lars - Lars Jason - Jason James - Ryan Reynolds Kirk - Prince/Rob Schneider

[@Xavier315]

James reminds me of a young Tom Waits here, and especially in the music video

[@exoduskore5674]

lare looks like a gay welsh skater

[@OscarLee-er6ky]

Do you mean Lars?

[@jordanschoepke1864]

This performance is like Bizarro Metallica. James is playing a Telecaster, and Lars is not only playing well but has a ride too!

[@samharradence5689]

and Kirk is not bending properly lol

[@rodolfosilva8974]

Los yeeeeaaaa de jetfield son antologicos

[@kaicleckler361]

And you can hear the bass

[@licccio2133]

@@samharradence5689 I mean that's not unusual :D

[@MrBassOutdoors]

He has to play a telecaster here to get the sound he needs.

[@theones261]

Still watching on this year 2020. : )

[@akesson3726]

Ncov 2019 Me too lol

[@alxmnslv]

23 years? It took me only 6 minutes

[@AdrianMartinez-rp7pt]

Bro we watch till the end of time (not my comment btw)

[@rodolfosilva8974]

Que facha tenía hetfield en aquellas épocas

[@xDasVixo]

Si

[@danielx1224]

Intro... damn Kirk. But vocals are fucking perfect. Wish they'd play this live in 2018.

[@metfan4l]

I agree, The Unforgiven II is actually my favorite of the three. Sadly the most recent performance was in 2015 and they haven't played it since... at least we got a good video for that one: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rmHEcn6Mls5rrZom28s

[@colinmiller8824]

Yeah i know right they rarely play this version of Unforgiven

[@ketakatane]

lot of you morons do know nothing about guitars. the song was written using a special bender only on the B string. he's only using a regular guitar on this live performance. lol, idiots

[@louisianaball]

Santong Galit this performance has a b-bender lmao. The 2015 ones don’t. If you’re going to be an asshole about it atleast be right

[@KINGMARS413]

@@ketakatane James is using a b-bender, Kirk uses a regular guitar for the recording I believe, and James uses the B-Bender tele

This is actually very good, I only wish Jason would've sung "So I dub thee Unforgiven" and "Never free, never me" in the final chorus.

[@michaelangeloh.5383]

Yea, what you hear on the album is like hearing James 6-7 years before that. I'm not sure if they made it to sound like the Black Album or if perhaps they looked up recordings to mix it in like a throwback. - Always thought that was a cool detail.

[@FullConcerts100]

DarthUno I think he might have had some vocal parts but it looks like the guys setting up for them put the mic on Kirks side instead. No way to know wince this is the only performance of UII with Jason

[@paulpadua3563]

i think he can’t. kirk has the mic.

[@maddencoker1016]

Who's Jason

[@sillybanana1101]

+Madden Coker what's a Jason

[@MartyFarty1981]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="66">1:06</a> Wow Kirk, you know how to hit the notes, don't cha!? 🤣

[@coledurbin2610]

That note was so painful to listen to!

[@jug1415]

I know... if you know your are not it the same tuning as the record why wouldn’t you transport it...

[@jumpybowl4743]

So cringie

[@sunyt3431]

He fucked up.

[@ketakatane]

lot of you morons do know nothing about guitars. the song was written using a special bender only on b string. he's only using a regular guitar on this live performance. lol, idiots

[@quakeranger]

During Load and Reload albums, James has that unique style of vocals that kinda cool that hard for me to describe. It gaves those two albums a special kinda sound. Well done James 🤘🏻😁🤘🏻

[@atomicdeathray2004]

he adopted a more mellow, relaxed, ballad-ish style because he blew out his vocal cords. He was still recovering around this time and couldn't afford to continue with his harsh vocals.

[@Mzlady1212]

Because it's his Uniqueness! 😎

[@Mzlady1212]

It's Always been there.. Never lost touch 🥰😎

[@whysoblutube]

After that guitar flub at the beginning, they wouldn’t play this song live again for almost 15 years.

[@senordylanroberto4600]

It brings back flash backs

[@H.E.M.]

People saying this was a shit performance but James is singing fine. Solo was good. Idk what’s wrong other than the slide guitar fail

[@yeniceriucaklar3955]

Dont be a fanboy i love metallica but This performance is actually bad

[@bwgti]

This song. Is not good. So they would have had to go above and beyond to make the performance special. Unfortunately in 2019 they are not much better live

[@ketakatane]

@@yeniceriucaklar3955 lot of you morons do know nothing about guitars. the song was written using a special bender only on b string. kirk is only using a regular guitar on this live performance. lol, idiots

[@yeniceriucaklar3955]

@@ketakatane so doesnt that sound bad you idiot

[@Platica.Vasile]

Bad ,very bad

[@revolverdolls]

Breathless...What an album Reload!!!!

[@danielreagan7656]

reload sucked but load is one of my favourites

[@taliesinangling3564]

@@danielreagan7656 It didnt suck one bit its fantastic

[@ville85]

Both Load and Reload are great albums, way better than anything they've written after that.

[@matte_donny2826]

It's so strange if you think that they are the same people who played at Moscow Monsters of Rock 1991

[@facekidnoise]

And Seattle 89

[@sirkayda7205]

Why? They expanded their musicianship and songwriting. This was a weird mix, but they still haven't equalled the emotional power of songs like this.

[@ash80510]

It's called versatility

[@sharonbones6750]

I cant believe they the same guys from damage justice 1988 1990

[@sirkayda7205]

@@sharonbones6750 - They grew and matured musically and became better writers.

[@vergil2067]

The funniest part about Kirk’s slide was how he kept a straight face.

[@x1viren]

😂

[@blackenedmartyr]

Man, I remember being there. It was right after I moved to Las Vegas. Only went for Metallica. It sounded great live from what I remember. I remember being all jazzed about it afterwards. The 14 year old me was in heaven.

[@redskull5085]

rob Schneider was the lead guitarist at that time

[@rtadeo_]

@Jacob St Gelais that's true men Hahahhahaha

[@giogionist2148]

Chris cornell

[@thrashedd]

funny cos kirk and rob are both filipino

[@tamadrummer1nz]

His Dave Navarro years

[@nidzdotnet76]

I thought it was Dave Navaro

[@timothyryan8753]

Best song on Reload right here.

[@andremonsaobrito8100]

James sings so beautiful, amazing performance

[@marioskaloudis22]

i just can't understand why there are so many hate comments here. people complaining about their hair, about the music, about the vocals... Fine, Kirk messed up in the intro... shit happens, people make mistakes. At least he didn't panic and kept on playing. The vocals are amazing, James' voice was super kick ass at that time. The fact that this song is not thrash metal or whatever crap doesn't make it bad! Stop finding comfort in things staying the same. These guys had the courage to switch from thrash metal to other genres, it's not a sellout, it's musical growth. And even if the point of the musical switch is commercial, it's not bad to want more people to discover your music! Don't you want the best for your favorite band? About the hair thing now... whoever's mad at that please tell me why cause i can't figure out a serious reason. That's all i had to say, feels good to get it out man

[@JIMMYCUMBERLAND]

Exactly. Although they do look a bit silly in the short hair....

[@marioskaloudis22]

@@JIMMYCUMBERLAND 😂😂

[@swepotato8926]

It’s a really good performance but the one guy that tuned Kriks guitar did never get to tune a guitar again. I just can’t un-hear Kirks guitar it’s so bad.

[@ArisAris-ku7np]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="66">1:06</a> it’s the notes in between that they are fucking with me ...

[@Hoscitt]

this would be better if the guitars were in tune!

If you're talking about Kirk's Little lick in the intro, it's because the song was written with a special bender on only the B string. So pretty much every time he fails it live, because he uses a regular guitar.

[@michaelangeloh.5383]

Yea, it's Kirk fucking up the slide-playing... Cause the rest is in tune. Also, I don't know why, because he's also been fantastic at slide-guitar.

[@ribbone1975]

Kay this is how country music is/sounds

[@ivonahora]

@ it's actually James who wrote this song with a b-bender, that's why he's playing that Tele, it's got one. Kirk just probably was too nervous or something. Slide guitar can be tricky

[@baberahamlincoln3095]

Would have been better if James was in tune

[@mgmor1238]

I love load-reload era. They introduced me to rock-metal. I was 9 years old

[@fernandom5150]

Johnny depp covering for Kirk Hammett - circa 1997

[@kellybrincks]

I wish they had been able to take the lyrical writing James was doing on Load and Reload and put that into Death Magnetic and Hardwired

[@Ninnuam999]

Rehab happened

[@aaronhennessy2136]

@@Ninnuam999 rehap, relapse

[@franksemyon5855]

Death Magnetic was awesome as fuck but I agree songs like Bleeding Me and Outlaw Torn are among the best the band has ever done.

[@hbledzep8]

Absolutely love this song and I thought I would only ever like their old thrash stuff. This is the same Metallica I love doing something different.

[@kanshiketsu89]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="66">01:06</a> when you f**k up in front of thousands of people and cold sweat starts running down your back, but you keep on going as if nothing happened. XD Damn even my intestines twitched at that first note, Kirk must've died inside that very moment lol.

[@HughJazzTTs]

love this performance, fuck the haters!

[@TheRoMandaloriaN]

Holy shit 1997 Metallica. I was 14. I remember watching this on TV!

[@hulkslayer626]

Every Unforgiven song is soooooo badass!! Fuckin love it!

[@ryangarcia6475]

It's nice to have metallica for diffrent moods :)

[@atem4699]

Holy. Kirk………. You wrote ride the lightning solo. You’re able to play Dyers Eve. But……. That starting solo. My god.

[@gabrielfelixrr]

Sounded terrible

[@danielx1224]

It was the sound engineers. He played the right notes, they fucked him over.

[@D-Man_Jam]

Them in their "short hair" phase.

[@joncortezz]

Love it

[@BecD1983]

Don’t like it lol

[@ktulu92ponce14]

So fucking what?

[@tropicwave1]

The Unforgiven II Metallica Lay beside me, tell me what they've done Speak the words I wanna hear, to make my demons run The door is locked now, but it's opened if you're true If you can understand the me, then I can understand the you Lay beside me, under wicked sky Through black of day, dark of night, we share this paralyze The door cracks open but there's no sun shining through Black heart scarring darker still, but there's no sun shining through No, there's no sun shining through No, there's no sun shining... What I've felt, what I've known Turn the pages, turn the stone Behind the door, should I open it for you? What I've felt, what I've known Sick and tired, I stand alone Could you be there? 'Cause I'm the one who waits for you Or are you unforgiven, too? Come lay beside me, this won't hurt, I swear She loves me not, she loves me still, but she'll never love again She lay beside me but she'll be there when I'm gone Black heart scarring darker still, yes, she'll be there when I'm gone Yes, she'll be there when I'm gone Dead sure she'll be there... What I've felt, what I've known Turn the pages, turn the stone Behind the door, should I open it for you? What I've felt, what I've known Sick and tired, I stand alone Could you be there? 'Cause I'm the one who waits for you Or are you unforgiven, too? Lay beside me, tell me what I've done The door is closed, so are your eyes But now I see the sun, now I see the sun Yes, now I see it What I've felt, what I've known Turn the pages, turn the stone Behind the door, should I open it for you? What I've felt, what I've known So sick and tired, I stand alone Could you be there? 'Cause I'm the one who waits, The one who waits for you.... Oh, what I've felt, what I've known Turn the pages, turn the stone Behind the door, should I open it for you? (so I dub thee Unforgiven) Oh, what I've felt... Oh, what I've known... I take this key (never free...) And I bury it (never me...) in you Because you're unforgiven, too... Never free... Never me... 'Cause you're unforgiven, too... Oh Writer(s): James Alan Hetfield, Kirk L. Hammett, Lars Ulrich

[@Flaminbullets]

thanks for the lyrics?

[@ralphdougherty1844]

Yeah we know the fucking lyrics dumb shit

[@YassineBoulfiham]

I’m deaf, thanks for the lyrics.

[@evsoldier1539]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="66">1:06</a> 😄

[@boudewijnwiskerke2754]

i'm pretty sure kirk is drunk😂. Or on drugs

[@anthonyandaya6299]

He knew he fucked up you can tell on his face😂

[@hunilimuhendis9426]

Im still crying... 😂

[@santiagovellon3811]

Kirk, eres grande. Te perdono.

[@thefirely1439]

R/there was an atempt

[@alexcastillo8373]

elvis presley and bob marley presents to metallica in this show

[@msnatif1557]

you deserve more likes dude

[@NickoRhz]

Chris Hemsworth actually

[@fernandoalencar6522]

Só ouro ♦️ metallica 🎸

[@henriqueandrade4380]

@Dave Mustaine doeu no ouvido essa afinação aí kkkkk

[@emialba8376]

Unas de las mejores bandas!!!

[@baddonkey6876]

I miss those days, when people actually got excited for the music awards, we planned our schedule around it, made a whole day of it

[@Billy-sm3uu]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="66">1:06</a> lmfaoooo

[@hellfire8883]

I remember watching this live. obviously this was during quite a transitional 5-6 years for Metallica. But knowing the original unforgiven I thought that's what they were going into then they debuted this. It doesn't touch the original unforgiven but it still had an impact on me and it still does. I appreciate the subject matter the cleverness and the guitar riffs. I guess I appreciate the whole fucking song. ....But also seeing busta rhymes and Wayne newton introduce them is hilarious.

[@Fuel4TLC]

I watched this live.

[@baberahamlincoln3095]

We all did

[@2721546]

Old

[@airrloww]

I'm sorry for you man

[@sagarsharma7117]

my favorite metallica guitar solo.....

[@vincentforest4522]

James is playing a tele because it provides the 'country' sound you and I need to enjoy this song.

[@eazye519]

This performance is great.

[@roaam78]

But what's wrong with the audience. They Look like they came to see Celine Dion and they were forced to watch Metallica

[@asya9608]

Metallica is always perfect

[@karthikprabhu9622]

Try to spell "Metallica" Properly next time

[@kornflickr27]

@anton Dsilva. You fell short to spell It correctly. Metallica fans knows it better. Think someone is really waiting for Celine here 🤣🤣

[@theevildrummingsithlord1492]

It's an award show, I guess.

[@karthikprabhu9622]

@@theevildrummingsithlord1492 yes it is

[@EliasUlrich1984]

The snare sound is soooooooo good

[@uriahuriah3792]

Priceless 👍🏼🔥🔥

[@mariakhaneladejesus-saplal7741]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="67">1:07</a> a band's nightmare... your gear/effects go awry while playing live at a major event... happens to the best of us.

[@rahiabrar8400]

Nope that's just Kirk Hammett being Kirk Hammett.

[@x8nis]

@@rahiabrar8400 What

[@NytronX]

That isn't gear related, his intonation just sucked in that moment with a slide. His fretting hand lacked finesse in that moment.

[@alexnelson8]

@@NytronX intonation is irrelevant with a slide. He just sucked.

[@markmatarese3172]

For sure he blew it but that wasnt Hetfields greatest singing either...hopefully the mix is way off and that's the quality of the audio but I doubt it. All ever hear after cliff passed isbtteble so if they dont do their job this is the outcome lmao

[@kendonato1887]

The slide guitar from kirk happened nearly 30 years ago... but I remember the cringe of hearing it for the first time like it was yesterday. It's all I remember from this performance, unfortunately.

[@user-ex2ri2zu7v]

My favorite.

[@pereirajonhson7048]

Seeing james rocking out on a telecaster is something I wasn't expecting

[@morejake0391]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="77">1:17</a> Can't get the slide on the guitar. See ya

[@skinnynuggetsmith7548]

Kirk with short hair scares me Also, can we acknowledge the amount of camera zoom outs there are in this video!

[@claireasr]

perfect

[@rattsjcfanpage01]

back when music was great! still is, with METALLICA! :)

[@skepptix]

i kinda like the slide in the beginning, makes me feel like a better guitar player.

[@Deanobucko917]

Metallica in their prime, never have they looked or sounded better!

[@lrenz2963]

Prime metallica are past behind at this point

[@deborahmagni2403]

i love it

[@Chronoxidex]

Freaking AMAZING!!!!!!!

[@gnr716]

Get well James 🤘🤘

[@ferko7429]

Schumacher rockin those drums

[@lexustech48]

So cool seeing that B Bender work! Such a unique sound. Load and Reload are a vastly underrated set of albums.

[@Jackhammer69able]

Reminds me of High School. Lots of good times.

[@samlane1510]

su voz es tan magica...:,v...esa cancion es hermosa...:,u

[@rkturn7393]

Kirk nailed that intro lick the second time they did it live in 2015 without the slide

[@joeycastillo3352]

My favorite

[@2jsalomon]

hetfields voice at <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="113">1:53</a> is epic. and the way he goes up instead of down on the next line is incredible

[@BrickaBoy]

james voice sounds so good here

[@Beiskraft]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="225">3:45</a> blast that shit

[@charliepreidis3004]

I grew up on Metallica, huge HUGE fan. I still argue that lyrically and vocally Load and ReLoad were James’ best albums.

[@fatherlandchild2780]

Interesting

[@Jackhammer69able]

and Garage Inc (the covers).

[@alexsymphony966]

nice cheers

[@anneeeev]

Always wondered why Jason didn’t do the backing vocals for this song. Great performance tho!

[@dragonthevest]

Holy pants, is it James with the tele?

[@nicolasvillamil7523]

He needs it for this song because it has a B-bender string

[@musstazza]

No, it is edited

[@JakyllRise]

@@musstazza What kind of drugs are you on?

[@RlotttHD]

Nah, it's a 8 string Esp

[@megacahh870]

It's a B Bender dude. You were new to Metallica at that time I guess lol :D

[@Epd3mik]

Aaah, ive seen this performance for years but its now that i understand that James using a B-Bender Telecaster!

[@bigfarting]

Thanks for tellin us about the B bender Andriy

[@Gzm-ci2pw]

Uff that guitar at the beginning 😣

[@ketakatane]

lot of you morons do know nothing about guitars. the song was written using a special bender only on the B string. kirk is only using a regular guitar on this live performance. lol, idiots

[@Votisx007]

Saint Anger no need to be so rude and gzm meant 1:07

[@konavamo3880]

Saint Anger you literally copy and paste your comment to everyone who says this lmao. You should learn more about guitars and then come back.

[@shvabrayeaaaah135]

Каждый раз когда пересматриваю - ржу с Кирка. Ну как так можно налажать?

[@BehzodSabirov]

Great bass

[@dThapa966]

That Kirk intro lick 😂😂 come on man 😭😭😂😂

[@Hohnathan]

The slide intro... literally sounds like someone dubbed over it trying to be funny 😅😂

[@bilboyourboss]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="289">4:49</a> that vibrato was insane

[@khall187]

"insane"... really? Barely had any.

[@krzysztof4607]

there was so little vibrato that I barely heard it, definitely not insane.

[@marcjantet9260]

😍😍😍😍😍😍

[@smarkmalark]

God damn the mid to late 90s was seriously Lars at his peak before he completely just gave up. Seriously, this is the best performance I've ever seen him give, actually impressive how he held such a beat together with all those extra bits

[@Hyperchicken]

I picture all 4 bands ready to play on 4 different stages, as if no one knew who the winner was going to be. So much logistical organization for no reason. This isn't what happened, but I pictured it, and I laughed.

[@blainwilson7937]

@Hyperchicken As if Wayne Newton really had to show Busta Rhymes the card for him to announce the winner with Metallica standing right there!😂😂😂

[@KrisGee]

That slide intro by Kirk 😂

[@galina1950]

❤❤❤

[@georgesix]

Despite the tune out of Mr Kirk , it was a nice performance 👍

[@ketakatane]

lot of you morons do know nothing about guitars. the song was written using a special bender only on the B string. he's only using a regular guitar on this live performance. lol, idiots

[@jmunley5714]

Saint Anger how many times are you gonna repost this comment.

[@airconditioningunit9777]

Santong Galit No, Kirk wasn’t using a b bender in the studio performance, it was James that was using one. James is using the b bender telecaster here too.

[@marq9687]

Kirk nailed it at starting😁

[@sofeaazzahrah5809]

love jason bass

[@guspram2705]

this was when metallica go with the flow in the end of 90s

[@geancarlovalleramos6373]

Love james!

[@megacahh870]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="121">2:01</a> those were the golden days of Lars lol :P

[@vzGeorge]

It’s a shame that there’s barely any live recordings of this song

[@JPX64Channel]

Only shady recordings from 2015 and this one i think.

[@fulgurfps]

They've only played Unforgiven II six times, including it's debut and a few performances in 2015

[@dayrapaolayaezocor3324]

Mucha banda de rock..

[@cesarcarneiro8391]

I believe the song was originally recorded on a Tele, because of the b-bender. I've only seen b-benders installed in Teles... so that's the reason for the Tele.

[@aoutii]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="67">1:07</a> 😬😬😬😬😬

[@mr.obvious6210]

As nice as it is to see them play this song, I would’ve loved it if they came out playing Damage Inc or Metal Militia or something like that just for the audiences reaction

[@ralphdougherty1844]

Creeping Death would have been fun too

[@fabio4910]

Whiplash, fuck yes

[@Jeferson_hetfield]

🤘🤘🇧🇷🇧🇷

[@checkm8852]

Metallicaster!!!!!!