Danish PM gifts Indonesian President signed Metallica ‘Master of Puppets’ box set
Indonesian President Joko Widodo was given a very metal gift when the Danish PM Lars Løkke Rasmussen arrived for a three-day state visit yesterday.
Aware of President Widodo’s penchant for the heavy metal genre, Prime Minister Rasmussen handed him a copy of the recently released remaster of Metallica’s seminal classic ‘Master of Puppets’ during a bilateral meeting at Bogor Palace in West Java.
Not only was it the expansive deluxe box set version of ‘Master of Puppets’ that retails at around £150, but one of Denmark’s most famous sons, Lars Ulrich, also personally signed the album.
Smiling and eager to dip into the box set to inspect it, President Widodo told the gathered press: "Prime Minister Rasmussen understands my favourite music.”
In return for his special gift, Jokowi gave Rasmussen a rencong - a type of knife originating in Aceh, Indonesia.
Lars Ulrich himself also shared an image of the gift-giving on Instagram, saying “music really does connect people!”
> This is way cool… I signed an MOP box set for Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen to give to Indonesian President Joko Widodo who is well known as a huge fan of rock music and came to see us in Jakarta in ‘13… music really does connect people!!! ???? @larsloekke @jokowi #masterofpuppets > > A post shared by Lars Ulrich (@larsulrich) on Nov 28, 2017 at 9:56am PST
A self-professed fan of “loud rock music”, Widodo lists Metallica, Lamb of God, Led Zeppelin and Napalm Death as among his favourite bands.
In March 2015, Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi wrote a letter to Widodo asking him to spare the lives of Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran who were on death row for drug smuggling.
“I appeal to you, as a forgiving man, to take note of their transformation,' Tony wrote. “They are now reformed men who are making a positive difference to the lives of their fellow prisoners.
“For this reason, I would ask that you stop the execution of Andrew and Myuran. Please allow them to serve out life sentences where they contribute to the well-being of Indonesia and make good for the error of their previous ways.”
Despite both men pleading for clemency directly to Widodo, they were executed on 29th April 2015.
In February 2015, Napalm Death singer Barney Greenway penned an open letter to President Widodo urging him to show “mercy and restraint” to Lindsay Sandiford, a British grandmother sentenced to death for smuggling in £1.6million of cocaine to Bali. Sandiford is currently on death row.