Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull Finally Plays On A Metal Song
In 1989, Jethro Tull won a the first ever Grammy in the Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance category for their album Crest of a Knave, and the world will never forget it. And the Grammys will never live it down. Among the artists in the category were AC/DC, Jane’s Addiction, Iggy Pop and Metallica.
It’s probably something that comes up in nearly every interview that Jethro Tull frontman Ian Anderson has sat through in the past three decades. Anderson does have some heavy metal bona fides: for one, Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath was briefly a member of Jethro Tull. It’s true: he can be seen peforming with them at the Rolling Stones’ infamous Rock and Roll Circus concert film. (And we do mean “seen”: while Ian Anderson’s vocals were live, the rest of the music was pre-recorded, and you’re hearing original Tull guitarist Mick Abrahams’ playing.)
Anderson has also played on records by hard rockers ranging from Uriah Heep to the Darkness; none of those collaborations would really be referred to as “metal.” But now, he is on a song that could only be called metal: Opeth’s “§4.” It’s from their new album, The Last Will And Testament.
In a press release, Opeth frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt discussed how the unlikely collaboration happened. “We ended up with a flute solo by Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull, which was kind of an accident in a way, because I asked him to do a narration, not flute. As he was doing the spoken word bits, he asked me, ‘Do you need a flute solo?’ I was like, ‘Yes, please!'”
However, the frontman noted: “I didn’t really have a part for a flute solo! I had to shuffle through the songs quickly in my head before he would change his mind. I had him on the hook, of course I was gonna find a piece! So, he played almost like a common response type flute solo in ‘§4.’”
As the frontman told Louder Sound, “I’ve cried to Jethro Tull. Ian’s given me so much joy over the years, it’s incredible. Just to mention his name in the same sentence as this band is incredible.” It’s worth mentioning that whether or not Jethro Tull was a heavy metal band, they have influenced metal bands: besides Opeth, Tull definitely influenced Iron Maiden and particularly the band’s bass player and founder, Steve Harris.
Check out the new song below:
Meanwhile, Jethro Tull’s most recent album was 2023’s RökFlöte. Ian Anderson is currently on a European tour, and has a number of European dates scheduled for next year. He has no U.S. dates on the books for now, according to the band’s official website.
