Watch METALLICA's KIRK HAMMETT And JAMES HETFIELD Perform National Anthem At Eighth Annual 'Metallica Night'

METALLICA and the San Francisco Giants held the eighth annual "Metallica Night" on Tuesday, May 24 at Oracle Park — formerly AT&T Park — in San Francisco as the Giants took on the New York Mets. Guitarists Kirk Hammett and James Hetfield played a metal version of the U.S. national anthem, while bassist Robert Trujillo delivered the "Play Ball!" announcement. Watch video of the national anthem performance below.

When the eighth annual "Metallica Night" was first announced in February, METALLICA said in a statement: "It's a tradition that we've missed the last two seasons, so we're really excited for the return of Metallica Night at Oracle Park with our hometown baseball team, the San Francisco Giants. This year marks the eighth time we'll take the field for the National Anthem, first pitch, and a few other pre-game shenanigans."

At previous "Metallica Night" events, Hammett and Hetfield had also performed the national anthem before drummer Lars Ulrich threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

Hetfield had said about the yearly event: "We're blessed to be doing this every year and being a part of the vibe here. You know, when times are good, when times are bad, they need the support."

Hammett added: "It's great. It's a lot of fun. It's a good opportunity for us to interact with our home team, hometown, and interact with the people of the Bay Area in San Francisco. And for me, it's a lot of fun to be able to play the national anthem."

Hammett told ESPN.com that he feels the version of the national anthem he plays is "really unique and different," and it's great that he can play it for his home team and hometown audience.

METALLICA has always kept strong ties to the Bay Area sports scene: the band has also performed before Golden State Warriors basketball games and San Jose Sharks hockey games.