- The limited edition Metallica pinball machine
Rock musicians are one of the leading demographics of pinball players, probably because of the fact that they spend an inordinate amount of time in clubs and bars, where pinball machines usually reside, with plenty time to kill between soundchecks and set times. And, you know, because they refuse to ever stop acting like teenagers.
Metallica are among the more outspoken rock star pinball fans around. A couple of years ago front man James Hetfield went so far as to commission a one-of-a-kind custom Metallica table from designers Wade Krause and Tanio Klyce and retro-lowbrow visual artist Dirty Donny. Now the band has partnered with Melrose Park-based Stern Pinball to bring a full-on Metallica-licensed pinball machine to market.
Over the course of the week Stern’s been posting photos and videos of the upcoming machine to their Facebook page, and it looks incredible. The game was designed by the legendary John Borg, who’s responsible for a number of incredible games in the past, including the legendary Guns ‘n’ Roses machine, and Dirty Donny’s returned to contribute its fantastically lurid artwork.