“WHEN A BAND WITH OVER 40 YEARS OF METAL HISTORY PLAYS AN ELTON JOHN SONG — YOU STOP SCROLLING.” You know a tribute hits differently when the people who wrote the song can’t stop smiling. At the Gershwin Prize ceremony, Metallica didn’t play it safe. They went straight into the fire. With Elton John and Bernie Taupin sitting just a few feet away, the band tore into “Funeral for a Friend / Love Lies Bleeding.” The lights were low. The sound was massive. James Hetfield didn’t soften a thing. He leaned in. Let the grit show. What surprised everyone wasn’t the volume. It was the respect hiding inside all that noise. Elton was nodding. Singing along. Two worlds met — and neither one blinked.
When Metal Meets Melody: Metallica Honors Elton John in a Genre-Defying Moment Stand as towering figures in entirely different musical…