‘The Ultimate Metallica Show’ Recap: Vivian Campbell on Why Metallica Were ‘A Breath of Fresh Air’

Another special show is in the books.

Like last weekend, we dedicated the first hour of the latest Ultimate Metallica Show to all things live Metallica as we get ready for the M72 tour to kick off in April. And in the second hour, we had the tremendous privilege of being joined by Vivian Campbell of Dio, Def Leppard and Sweet Savage fame.

While we talked to Campbell about what his band Last in Line is up to these days—they're preparing for the release of their new album, Jericho, on March 31—we also heard from him about what it was like for Metallica to cover Sweet Savage's "Killing Time."

"[They] were influenced in a way that no other American band seemed to be displaying those influences of New Wave of British Heavy Metal, which was really coming off the back of punk music," Campbell told me during the show. "That's what was driving the NWOBHM movement...Metallica absorbed that. For an American band, that's what made them unique."

That absorption of the NWOBHM influences is clear on their cover of "Killing Time," which was originally released as the B-side to the official single for "The Unforgiven" and then was later included on the second disc of Garage Inc. Sweet Savage's original recording of the track was a B-side itself for their song "Take No Prisoners."

You can hear Campbell's comments on the show, as well as check out our full playlist, below. And don't forget you can always stream The Ultimate Metallica Show 24/7 right here or on our mobile app (you can see when the most recent show plays on the stream here).

The Ultimate Metallica Show — Hour 1

• "Lux Æterna" — Live at Microsoft Theater, Los Angeles, California, Dec. 16, 2022
• "All Within My Hands" — Live at Microsoft Theater, Los Angeles, California, Dec. 16, 2022
• "Master of Puppets" — Live at Charleston Civic Center, Charleston, West Virginia, Aug. 1, 1986
• "Creeping Death" — Live at Charleston Civic Center, Charleston, West Virginia, Aug. 1, 1986
• "All Nightmare Long" — Live at Yankee Stadium, New York, New York, Sept. 14, 2011
• "Orion" — Live at Yankee Stadium, New York, New York, Sept. 14, 2011
• "Harvester of Sorrow" — Live at Richfield Coliseum, Cleveland, Ohio, Dec. 1, 1991
• "Battery" — Live at Richfield Coliseum, Cleveland, Ohio, Dec. 1, 1991

The Ultimate Metallica Show — Hour 2

• "The Unforgiven II" — Reload
• "Lords of Summer " — Lords of Summer

"I thought it was a pretty authentic cover. I'd like to say that James Hetfield, his vocal style, was actually inspired quite a bit by Ray Haller, who was the bass player and lead singer of Sweet Savage."

• "Killing Time " — Garage Inc.
• "Here Comes Revenge " — Hardwired...to Self-Destruct

"They were definitely a breath of fresh air in contrast to a lot of the hair bands...they were certainly a much more substantive band, more authentic hard rock for sure."

• "Jump In the Fire " — Kill 'Em All
• "Wherever I May Roam " — Cover by The Neptunes, The Metallica Blacklist Album
• "Eye of the Beholder " — ...And Justice For All
• "Hit the Lights " — Kill 'Em All

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If you want to get a request in for next weekend's show, make sure to drop me a line in the Ultimate Metallica app and I will see what I can do!

Listen to Sweet Savage's "Killing Time"