Metallica are set to be the first ever metal band to headline UK’s Glastonbury festival when they play the iconic Pyramid Stage on Saturday 28th June.

But not if 25,000 bear-lovers can help it.

The band’s booking has already drawn controversy from Glastonbury purists (and even Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner) saying Metallica are out of step with the band’s ‘hippy’ vibe and now the four-piece have come under fire due from animal rights activists, who are seeking to ban Metallica from performing at the festival.

The outrage comes in the wake of news that frontman James Hetfield, a keen hunter and member of America’s National Rifle Association, is narrating The Hunt, a new eight-part TV series that documents the killing of Kodiak brown bears in Alaska, as The Independent reports. “Metallica’s lead singer James Hetfield was a big game hunter and is a big game hunt promoter. This is incompatible with Glastonbury Festival’s ideals…”

One angered protester, Richard Fraser, has created a Facebook group called ‘Remove Metallica from Glastonbury Festival for their Support of Bear Hunting’, which has gathered more than 25,000 ‘likes’ from followers since launching on 25th May.

“Metallica’s lead singer James Hetfield was a big game hunter and is a big game hunt promoter. This is incompatible with Glastonbury Festival’s ideals and brings its good name into disrepute,” writes Mr Fraser on the campaign page.

“This is not hunting for the table, for food or survival. Bear meat can be eaten but it rarely is. Nor is hunting for conservation,” a spokesperson for the campaign tells NME“This is not particularly against Metallica,” they add. “[we] would do the same if any other band found itself in the same position.”
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“With fame comes responsibility and much as I applaud the work that James and the other members of the band has done in other causes, this does not let them off the hook in this case. It is also a great opportunity for them to stand up for a cause and make a statement against big game hunting.”

Metallica’s Glastonbury appearance has already caused controversy with fans who deem the metal icons out of step with the festival’s identity. “I’m not sure it adds up,” Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys (who headlined last year) told Time Out London of Metallica’s booking. “I know we’d buzz off it, but fundamentally could you have Metallica in the hippy nucleus?”

Influential scots Mogwai, who are set to play Glasto this year, have badmouthed the band too, labelling Metallica as “shite” in a recent interview with Gigwise, with multi-instrumentalist Barry Burns saying he “can’t wait” to hear drummer Lars Ulrich; “[he’s] unbelievably bad. He’s terrible.”

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Glastonbury takes place from 27th to 29th June at its home on Worthy Farm in Somerset, with Arcade Fire and Kasabian headlining alongside Metallica.

The festival also features a selection of Australian talent, including Vance Joy, The Preatures, Courtney Barnett, and Jagwar Ma, as well as new additions Ngaiire, Melbourne Ska Orchestra, Nicky Boomba’s Bustamento, Blank Realm, Mista Savona, Formidable Vegetable Sound System, and Shaolin Afronauts, assuming their Pozible campaign can raise the necessary $3,350 needed to get them to the festival.

If you have tickets to the sold out festival, be sure to check out our Festival Guide for travel and insider tips, and view the full lineup below.

Glastonbury 2014 Lineup

Metallica
The War On Drugs
Nick Mulvey
English National Ballet
The Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band
St. Vincent
HAIM
Bombay Bicycle Club
The Horrors
The London Sinfonietta
Jonny Greenwood (Radiohead)
The Stepkids
Deltron 3030
M.I.A.
Bryan Ferry
Disclosure

Joining the previously announced lineup of:

Arcade Fire
Kasabian
Dolly Parton
Jack White
Elbow
The Black Keys
Robert Plant
Lily Allen
Lana Del Rey
Skrillex
Pixies
Massive Attack
Disclosure
Paolo Nutini
Manic Street Preachers
M.I.A
Rudimental
Bryan Ferry
Richie Hawtin
Ed Sheeran
De La Soul
Goldfrapp
London Grammar
MGMT
Jake Bugg
Jurassic 5
Dexys
Above & Beyond
The 1975
Bonobo
Kelis
Blondie
Warpaint
The Wailers
Wilko Johnson
James Blake
Gorgon City
Metronomy
Tinariwen
Chvrches
Little Dragon
Seun Kuti & Egypt 80
Kodaline
Interpol
Foster The People
Mogwai
Royal Blood
John Grant
Annie Mac
Lil Louis
Daptone Super Soul Revue
John Newman
Chromeo
Rodrigo Y Gabriela
Midlake
Angel Haze
Four Tet
ESG
The Sun Ra Arkestra
François Kevorkian
Parquet Courts
Danny Brown
Crystal Fighters
Nitin Sawhney
DJ Pierre
Toumani & Sidiki Diabate
Chance The Rapper
MNEK
Temples
Phosphorescent
Connan Mockasin
Public Service Broadcasting
Courtney Barnett
Gorgon City
Wolf Alice
Radiophonic Workshop
Suzanne Vega
Tune-Yards
Jagwar Ma
Eats Everything
Jamie xx
Ms Dynamite
Breach
Chlöe Howl
Shaolin Afronauts
Ngaiire
Melbourne Ska Orchestra
Blank Realm
Mista Savona
Formidable Vegetable Sound System

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