Los Angeles, California - Music legends Metallica have lost a lawsuit against their insurers over Covid-era losses, with the judge quoting Taylor Swift in her ruling.

The Enter Sandman four-piece had wanted $3 million to cover bills after concerts in South America had to be canned in 2020 as the coronavirus raced around the world.

But their insurers, Lloyd's of London, denied their claim, saying it did not have to pay out in cases where communicable diseases had caused the losses.

Frontman James Hetfield and his fellow rockers filed suit in California, asking a judge to force the insurers to cough up, insisting that other factors could have been behind the show cancellations in Argentina, Chile, and Brazil.

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But Justice Maria Stratton ruled this week that Metallica's claim did not hold water, saying it was "absurd to think that government closures were not the result of Covid-19."

"There was no vaccine against Covid-19 in March 2020 and no drugs to treat it. Ventilators were in short supply. N-95 masks were all but non-existent. Patients were being treated in tents in hospital parking lots... People were terrified."

Then, switching gears from the world of big hair and tight trousers to that of glitter and friendship bracelets, she added: "To paraphrase Taylor Swift: 'We were there. We remember it all too well.'"

Vast swathes of the world shut down in 2020 as governments tried to halt the spread of Covid-19. The then-novel disease killed millions and wreaked economic and societal havoc as scientists raced to develop treatments and vaccines.

Metallica, whose original line-up formed in California at the start of the 1980s, are one of the most influential metal outfits of the last half century.

Albums like ...And Justice for All and Master of Puppets were critical and popular successes, helping to make the group one of the most bankable in US music history.