Metallica sprinkled some John Butler magic into their Perth show — and the man himself loved it.

The heavy metal legends kicked off their Australian tour at Perth’s Optus Stadium on Saturday, November 1st, packing in plenty of hits as well as a few surprises into their set.

As is their wont, Kirk Hammett and Rob Trujillo had fun with a fun jam section during the show, featuring Budgie’s “Crash Course in Brain Surgery”. Their jam session also featured “Zebra” by John Butler, adding a nice Aussie flavour to their set.

Butler quickly caught wind of the inclusion, taking to social media to express his pride at seeing Metallica cover his music.

“I’ve just woken up in London to several texts/vids of them performing Zebra wtaf!?? This is a spin out!! RESPECT,” he wrote excitedly on Instagram, sharing a clip of the cover.

Some of Butler’s fellow Aussie artists took to the comments to congratulate him.

“Sooooo huge! And kinda cute?!” wrote Danielle Caruana, one half of Mama Kin Spender. “Whaaaaa!!!?” wrote Kav Temperley.

Following their WA show, the local leg of Metallica’s ‘M72 World Tour’ will take the heavy metal veterans to Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Sydney over the coming weeks, followed by a quick stop in New Zealand for an Auckland performance.

Tone Deaf was at the band’s Perth show — check out our four takeaways from the spectacular tour opening here.

Butler, meanwhile, released his latest solo album, PRISM, in September. It was his 10th studio album, and the third instalment in his ongoing “Four Season” rollout, which began with a meditation album (Running River) and an instrumental release (Still Searching).

“It’s a big life and, the world, in many ways, is in turmoil,” Butler said. “Personally, I did a lot of soul-searching and reflecting as this record took shape. For me, PRISM is a cathartic release, a celebration of going solo, moving away from the John Butler Trio moniker, and yet another sonic stretch as I continue to refine my musical journey. The title reflects the sonic and emotional ‘bandwidth’ I wanted to explore: the whole spectrum of what it is to be human. Love, death, politics, inner and outer turmoil and redemption.”