Metallica and Billabong have taken part in one of the most unexpected collaborations of the year, launching a surf wear line inspired by the band’s albums.
How often have you found yourself gearing up for a swim in a body of water, only to complain that your outfit just doesn’t quite showcase your undying love of metal and hard rock?
Well, short of heading to Megadeth’s cruise, or catching KISS playing to great white sharks, Metallica have now come to the rescue, teaming up with Billabong to launch a new surf wear line.
Launched today, the collection includes a t-shirt, jacket, board shorts, and even a wetsuit, and will be available between October and March of 2020.
With the initial collection bearing artwork from Metallica’s 1991 self-titled release known as The Black Album, it’s currently unclear which albums will be chosen as the focus for the coming months, though promotional footage seems to imply the …And Justice For All and Master Of Puppets era will be featured.
Check out an image of the new collection:
“Released in the summer of 1991, the instant classic simply titled Metallica didn’t need any introduction. They had already arrived,” Billabong explains on their website.
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“This collaboration comes through Billabong LAB, a division that supports artists, musicians, designers, photographers.”
“We’re so excited to draw on Billabong’s longtime relationship with Metallica to celebrate their tremendous impact on surf culture through this premium collection,” added Billabong’s VP of global marketing, Evan Slater.
“Combining Metallica’s genre-defining album artwork and Billabong LAB’s forward-thinking apparel and wetsuit designs adds up to something far greater than the sum of all parts. We’re blown away with the results.”
“There’s a lot of rage in metal, but it’s a good rage,” added Metallica bassist and noted surfer Robert Trujillo. “It’s a great release, almost like surfing, out in the rhythm of the ocean.”
Check out a promotional video of the collection:
Though it’s not clear if this collection was set to coincide with the band’s planned tour of Australia, local metalheads were undoubtedly devastated last month to learn that the highly-anticipated tour from the band would not be going ahead as planned.
Originally slated to kick off last week, the band revealed that their upcoming dates would be postponed while frontman James Hetfield entered a treatment program in order to confront his struggles with addiction.
At this stage, there’s no word as to when these dates will be rescheduled, though proposed tourmates Slipknot say they’re hoping to bring their live show down to Australia regardless at a similarly undetermined date.
Check out ‘Sad But True’ by Metallica:
