Watch: Metallica Performs Acoustic Cover of Thin Lizzy’s “Borderline”

Metallica recently took part in a concert benefiting their All Within My Hands foundation. The “Helping Hands” charity show was live-streamed on Paramount + earlier this month, but the band has now shared some footage from one particular moment in the show: an acoustic cover of Thin Lizzy’s “Borderline.”

The show saw Metallica play two unique sets, beginning with a five-song acoustic section. The group performed “Blackened,” “The Unforgiven,” “Whiskey In A Jar,” a cover of UFO’s “It’s Killing Me” and the Thin Lizzy cover.

“Borderline” first appeared on Thin Lizzy’s 1976 album, Johnny The Fox. For their cover, James Hetfield sat at the front of the stage and hammered out the acoustic guitar melody—a much softer performance style than we’re used to seeing from the metalheads. Check out the band released footage below.

Elsewhere in the show, Metallica performed a full-band version of the oft-acoustic “All Within My Hands” and welcomed St. Vincent out to perform “Nothing Else Matters.” Their recent single “Lux Æterna” also received its live debut.

The show was held at Los Angeles’ Microsoft Theatre on Dec. 16. All the funds from the show went to All Within My Hands, which aims to create “sustainable communities by supporting workforce education, the fight against hunger, and other critical local services.”

Metallica shared “Lux Æterna” as the lead single to their impending studio album, 72 Seasons. The album is set to arrive on April 14 via Blackened Records, marking the group’s first effort in seven years.

“72 Seasons. the first 18 years of our lives that form our true or false selves, the concept that we were told ‘who we are’ by our parents, possible pigeonholing around what kind of personality we are,” said Hetfield of the album. “I think the most interesting part of this is the continued study of those core beliefs and how it affects our perception of the world today.”

Photo: Tim Saccenti / Nasty Little Man