re: Bob Weir... greatest rhythm guitar player ever? I’m starting to think so.

You realize the Dead played rock, right? What “genres” did Metallica create in America or anywhere else? Are you saying Metallica is big in Vietnam? The Dead sort of had some obstacles to playing there during their heyday. Lulz.

When Lars Ulrich dies, it’s not going to make the news the way it did when Jerry died. (Is he the most prominent member of the band? That’s the only name I’ve ever been familiar with. I’ve never actually met a Metallica fan in real life and I’ve known a lot of musicians.)

The Dead have a worldwide following too. I’m not sure if we have a reliable way to determine who in Australia, New Zealand, or South America bought more Metallica albums vs. how many Dead tapes they collected. Are there thousands of Metallica shows up on archive.org that fans around the globe can download for free? I don’t know. Is there any reason to want to listen to every show Metallica played during any given tour?

Lars has respect for the Dead:

Metallica: ‘We model our existence on the Grateful Dead’

And the post-Jerry members of the Dead covered a Metallica tune:

About The Night The Dead Covered Metallica

There’s an album called Deadicated that’s made up of Dead covers by other bands. One of the best on the album is by Jane’s Addiction. I searched to see if there was a similar tribute album for Metallica but all I found was an album Metallica made covering the work of other artists. Why do you suppose that is?

It’s not a competition. It’s just reality.

Deadicated

Donald Fagen covered Shakedown

I mean, if you want to go with a covers war, we can go.