Metallica to headline Glastonbury on Saturday night slot

Metallica have recorded nine studio albums and four live albums since forming in 1981

US metal veterans Metallica have been announced as the Saturday night headliners on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury.

They will join the previously announced headliners Arcade Fire and Kasabian at the event in Somerset on 25-29 June.

It marks Metallica's debut appearance at Worthy farm and it is the first time a heavy metal band have headlined the event.

Tickets for this year sold out in just one hour and 27 minutes in October.

Glastonbury Festival founder Michael Eavis told BBC 6 Music's Matt Everitt: "[Metallica] wanted to play for a long, long time and they're one of the most amazing rock bands in the world, everywhere I go people say 'When are Metallica going to play?' I said, 'They will be here one day' and this is their time now.

"We've done it before (with Rage Against the Machine in 1994). People think that we're prone to have Radiohead and Coldplay and Oasis but when we had Jay Z a few years ago, people said he wasn't a Glastonbury act but we have all kinds of music."

There was some initial scepticism over Jay Z's headline status in 2008

"I feel ecstatic," Metallica's Lars Ulrich told Radio 1's Zane Lowe. "We've been waiting for this phone call for years."

The drummer said the band wouldn't choose their set-list until the last minute - but they'd bear in mind that the Glastonbury audience might not be hardcore fans.

"It'll be your friendly neighbourhood Metallica. If nothing else, we'll enjoy it," he added.

The news of Metallica's booking echoes that of the announcement in 2008 that Jay Z was to become the first rapper to fill the coveted Pyramid Stage headline slot.

His involvement was initially met with some scepticism, with Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher saying: "I don't know about it. But I'm not having hip-hop at Glastonbury. It's wrong."

The rapper won over critics with his exuberant performance, cheekily taking to the stage with a guitar and singing along to Oasis' song Wonderwall.

Other artists playing this summer include Dolly Parton, De La Soul, Manic Street Preachers and Ed Sheeran.

Hundreds of other acts will play across more than 100 stages at the festival in Somerset.

Metallica were formed in 1981 by singer James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich. The current line-up includes longtime guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo.

The band's eponymous fifth album, known as the Black Album, contained the hit singles Enter Sandman and Nothing Else Matters.

Metallica are also headlining the Sonisphere festival in Knebworth Park between 4-6 July.