But over the years, the Hall's stance has thawed a bit, with Black Sabbath, Metallica, AC/DC, Van Halen, Rush and even RS adversaries KISS being inducted in recent years.

And next week, 23 years after they were first eligible, the iconic British band Deep Purple is finally being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich couldn't be happier.

Ulrich is a life-long fan; he's also been announced as a presenter at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, which will take place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on April 8.

"It's been no secret that I have been fairly vocal about my appreciation for Deep Purple ever since I was about that big [gestures as if he here knee high]. They have probably been the primary musical backbone in my body ever since I first heard them when I was nine years old. I do believe that most people have heard me say that 'It's long overdue for them to join the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame'… but now they're here: hallelujah!"

He noted their importance during the early days of hard rock and metal: "When I grew up in Copenhagen, Denmark in the early '70s, Deep Purple was the biggest rock band. There were three big bands at the time; Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple. In Scandinavia, Germany and so on, Deep Purple were the biggest. People were just more aware of them. Led Zeppelin was probably more appreciated in the United States and Black Sabbath obviously were super heavy but I just didn't get to them 'til a few years later." Read more - here.

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