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Keith Richards Insults Metallica, Black Sabbath, And Hip Hop In New Interview

By Dustin Wicksell
Published on: 05:53 PST, Sep 3, 2015

Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards has expressed his feelings regarding the current state of the music industry in a new interview, lashing out at heavy metal and rap and calling Metallica and Black Sabbath “great jokes.”

Speaking with the New York Daily News at his manager’s office in downtown Manhattan, the 71-year-old Richards hardly pulled any punches when discussing other rock acts currently at work in the industry.

“It sounds like a dull thud to me. For most bands, getting the syncopation is beyond them. It’s endless thudding away, with no bounce, no lift, no syncopation.”

When it comes to heavy metal, Richards apparently isn’t a fan. Name checking both Metallica and Black Sabbath, Richards voiced a statement sure to not win him any approval from either group’s legions of followers.

“Millions are in love with Metallica and Black Sabbath. I just thought they were great jokes.”

Lest anyone be left out, Richards also let fly regarding hip hop, letting his feelings be known about that form of art as well.

“Rap — so many words, so little said,” Richards reportedly said. “What rap did that was impressive was to show there are so many tone-deaf people out there. All they need is a drum beat and somebody yelling over it and they’re happy. There’s an enormous market for people who can’t tell one note from another.”

Richards is currently promoting the release of his newest solo album, which hits shelves later this month. Crosseyed Heart is the first record that Richards has released under his own name in 23 years, and the iconic guitarist also vented his frustrations regarding the Rolling Stones’ decade-long absence from the recording studio.

“I had no intention of making solo albums. I always thought, ‘I’m a Stones man. None shall leave!’ At the same time, we had years of spare time and I wanted to work.”

Metallica once opened for the Rolling Stones, as Blabbermouth notes, and drummer Lars Ulrich has publicly recalled the negative aspects of the experience. Expressing his distaste with the Stones’ interactions with other bands, Ulrich nonetheless said that he felt honored to have opened for Richards and his bandmates at all.

“If you can sit there and tell your kids, ‘I opened for Iron Maiden, I opened for Deep Purple, and I opened for The Rolling Stones,’ then you’re pretty much good to go, you know what I mean?”

Keith Richards releases Crosseyed Heart on September 18.

[Photo by Michael Hickey / Getty Images]

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