Metallica have been announced as the final headliner for this year's Glastonbury Festival.

The US rockers will top the Pyramid Stage on Saturday June 28, joining previously announced headliners Arcade Fire and Kasabian.

They are the first metal act to headline the Worthy Farm festival in its 44-year existence.

Festival organiser Michael Eavis commented: "Metallica are one of the most popular bands in the world! And they really are a phenomenal live act. This is a band that can sell out stadiums in pretty much every country on the planet."

The band themselves said that Glastonbury was the one venue left to play on their checklist.

The group, who formed in 1981, said on their website: "We’ve made no secret that there was still one live music festival on our wish list that has eluded us...until now! It is with a great deal of pride that we announce that we have been tapped to headline the Pyramid Stage at the Glastonbury Festival on Saturday, June 28th!"

"There is such a vibe at Glastonbury and it's maybe the most quintessentially English festival, so when we finally got that call to visit Worthy Farm, we just had to reply with a resounding “YES!”."

The news, however, has been greeted with a mixed response due to Glastonbury's traditionally non-metal crowd.

Watch Metallica in action below: