On Thursday afternoon Metallica sat down with Howard Stern for a special edition of SiriusXM’s The Howard Stern Show to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the band’s Black Album. Miley Cyrus and Elton John joined Metallica on The Howard Stern Show and their appearance included the first live performance of Miley and Metallica together. Thursday’s celebration of the album’s 30th anniversary came ahead of the release of The Metallica Blacklist, a covers-filled tribute compilation featuring a bevy of artists from Chris Stapleton and Weezer to Miley Cyrus and Elton John.

Elton John telling Howard his decision to play piano on the star-studded cover was an absolute “no-brainer.” “This is one of the best songs ever written, to me. It’s a song that never gets old. Playing on this track I just couldn’t wait because the chord structure, the melodies, the time changes—it’s got drama written all over it,” he said.

Miley Cyrus, meanwhile, lent her voice to the song for other reasons. While sitting next to Metallica singer James Hetfield, drummer Lars Ulrich, guitarist Kirk Hammett, and bassist Trujillo at the SiriusXM studios in Los Angeles, she told Howard she first performed “Nothing Else Matters” in 2019 at England’s Glastonbury Festival during a pivotal moment in her life.

“It was right before actually that the world knew I was getting a divorce, but I knew that I was,” Miley said. “I had just lost my house in the fires … I was so heartbroken and my purpose was coming from this performance. I got sober at that time. I really pulled my fucking shit together. This song was what drove me to that place.” “My life in regards to love was falling apart, but I had my love for music,” she added.

Miley was undergoing a career transformation at the time, too, rebranding herself as not just a pop sensation but also a bona fide rock star. “There was a kind of rocky transitional period for sure where a lot of my fans … would feel disappointed. By me leaving a certain identity behind, I would leave them too,” she said. “It’s been kind of this journey of taking them along with me, and the way that I’ve been able to do before transitioning my own music was by doing covers.”

Elton John on collaborating with Miley Cyrus on the Metallica song. “When I heard her sing ‘Nothing Else Matters’ I just couldn’t believe it,” he told Howard. “It’s just astonishing, her voice. She’s probably the best rock and roll singer out there, without question.”

Elton John on Metallica: “You can’t really define them,” Elton said. “[They’re] not a heavy metal band they’re a musical band. Their songs aren’t just heavy metal, they’re beautiful songs. This is just such a melodic song. It’s fucking great actually.”

“What’s it like for you, Metallica, to hear Elton John say these things?” Howard wondered.

“We’re celebrating our 40th anniversary this year, and if you could’ve said 40 years ago—when James and I started down the 605 in fucking Norwalk, in a garage down there without a pot to piss in— if you could say 40 years later that we would still be functioning, that we’d be sitting here with one of the greatest stars in the world [in Miley] next to us, with Elton on a Zoom, and doing [Howard’s] radio show, and talking about our accomplishments and what this record means to so many, that would be the mindfuck of all mindfucks,” Lars responded. “It’s just crazy cool.”

“[Elton] is the king of melody. He put melody into my heart … I remember picking up a tennis racket and rocking out to ‘Saturday Night’s Alright (for Fighting),’” James later added. “He created melody in me. So, for Elton to say this is one of the most beautiful songs and the melody is amazing, my heart is so full right now from Elton.”

The Howard Stern Show, which airs on SiriusXM channel Howard 100, is broadcast live Mondays through Wednesdays starting at 7:00 AM ET. The full show is also available on the SiriusXM app.