The Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards is a creature of habit, famously sticking to his pre-show shepherd’s pie ritual and musical roots that date back to his formative years. Much like his devotion to classic English comfort food, Richards’ musical tastes have remained largely unchanged, focusing on blues, reggae, jazz, and soul—the genres he feels nourish his soul. His rigid palate extends to a distaste for heavy metal, which he sees as the antithesis of the rhythmic syncopation he values.
Richards has been vocal about his disdain for metal, dismissing bands like Metallica and Black Sabbath as “great jokes.” For Richards, blues legends like John Lee Hooker embody the essence of “heavy” music far more than anything the metal genre offers. As he puts it, “If you want heavy metal, listen to John Lee Hooker… that’s armour.”
Richards’ opinion has held steady for decades; he didn’t appreciate Led Zeppelin’s brand of hard rock in the ‘60s, calling Robert Plant’s vocals “a little too acrobatic” and referring to John Bonham’s drumming as an “uncontrolled 18-wheeler.” To Richards, heavy metal lacks the bounce and emotional depth he seeks, making it as unappealing as a burger compared to his cherished shepherd’s pie.
For Richards, music—and life—is about comfort, familiarity, and soulfulness, which he finds in the music of his youth rather than the thunderous riffs of metal.
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