Metallica's Members Debate the All-Time Greatest Song

What do Metallica's band members think is the greatest song of all time? It seems like a simple question, but the mind starts racing with thousands of possibilities.

Put on the spot during a recent fan Q&A included in a recent edition of The Metallica Report Podcast, all four members of the group did their best to answer the challenging question. So who picked what and which answers might surprise you?

Kirk Hammett Goes Classical

Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett was the first to step up to the challenge, as was actually able to limit his response to picking just one song. It's probably not one that most might expect.

"[Johann Strauss'] 'Blue Danube,' the classical piece 'Blue Danube,'" Hammett chimed i immediately. "Every time I hear it, it just pulls at my heartstrings. I don't know why. But it's just a beautiful piece of music." After taking some razzing from Lars Ulrich, Hammett responded, "Why did you have to do this to me? (laughs)."

Johann Strauss II, "The Blue Danube Waltz"

James Hetfield Considers the Possibilities

The question opened up the potential layers to the possibilities for James Hetfield.

The singer first questioned, "Is this a song for every mood, every day, every action? You know, when I'm driving 'Ace of Spades' [by Motorhead] is the best song."

But he then veered off into the thought process of what would be the best WRITTEN song. "As stupid and simple as it sounds, I think [Led Zeppelin's] 'Stairway to Heaven' is just one of those songs that so many bands have tried to emulate. You start off light and end up heavy. [Lynyrd Skynyrd's] 'Free Bird's' that. 'One.' There's so many songs that have emulated that," he offered.

Motorhead, "Ace of Spades"

Lars Ulrich Doubles Down

Following the train of thought that Hetfield laid out, drummer Lars Ulrich also served up a pair of songs. "If you go for that kind of vibe then I'd throw [Deep Purple's] 'Child of Time' in there," he shared.

READ MORE: 10 Best God-Tier Rock Songs of the 1990s

"And if you go the opposite, cause there's this thing about simplicity in a song, and it's harder to write simple than the other way then the first one that comes to mind is [Oasis'] 'Supersonic,'" Ulrich concluded.

Oasis, "Supersonic"

Robert Trujillo Gets Backed Into Black

Bassist Robert Trujillo couldn't narrow it down to just one song, though he joked that that the full album he was picking was "like one good song to me."

His choice? AC/DC's Back in Black. "Seriously, if we're going down this route, I think every single song of freaking Back to Black,' said Trujillo, before clarifying that he meant AC/DC's Back in Black and not Amy Winehouse's Back to Black.

"Every AC/DC song on the Back in Black album is crazy," he added. "It's all like one good song to me."

AC/DC, "Back in Black"

At that point, James Hetfield laid down a final comment that everyone seemed fine with - "Ok, I got it. Anything by Black Sabbath."

Metallica Members Guest on The Metallica Report Podcast