Metallica has released their 2017 tour schedule and it all gets kicked off at MT&T Stadium in Baltimore, MD on May 10th.
Avenged Sevenfold appears May 10-14, June 7-July 12, July 16-Aug. 16; Volbeat appears May 10-19, June 4-11, July 5-12, & July 16-19. Gojira appears July 29-Aug. 16.
Metallica is a heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, CA. Metallica was formed in 1981 when vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield responded to an advertisement posted by drummer Lars Ulrich in a local newspaper. The band brought a new energy and sound to the rock music scene. The band’s current line-up comprises founding members Hetfield and Ulrich, longtime lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo. Lead guitarist Dave Mustaine and bassists Ron McGovney, Cliff Burton and Jason Newsted are former members of the band. Their sound has since been described as thrash, metal, heavy metal, rock and hard rock.
Metallica almost did not get off the ground. The band was involved in a deadly bus crash in Europe in 1986 which led to the death of their bass guitarist, Cliff Burton.
In 1991, Metallica gained national attention with their self-titled album (also known as The Black Album) that featured the singles “One” and “Enter Sandman”. “Enter Sandman” is used by college and professional sports teams nationwide as a hype song. The Virginia Tech Hokies football team uses the song as their entrance song onto the field at home games. “The Black Album” went on to sell millions of copies worldwide and led to the band conducting a two-year tour that had ticket sales breaking all-time records.
Metallica could gain the respect from all types of genre of music fans. From thrash metal fans, to underground music lovers, to radio play, Metallica was truly setting a course unparalleled to any other band of the time. Metallica was selling tickets for sold-out shows to all types of music fans.
In 2000, Metallica was famously involved in a lawsuit against the file sharing company Napster. Hundreds of thousands of fans were barred from downloading Metallica songs on the site which embroiled their fan base and led to outright outrage from their most loyal supporters. Eventually, the case settles however not before tarnishing their reputation for a while.
Metallica did not stay on the sidelines long though. In 2003 they released the album, St. Anger, which featured the title song St. Anger. The single would go on to win them the “Best Metal Performance” Grammy at the 2004 Grammy Awards.
However, the band knew a change in direction was needed so they called on the services of Rick Rubin to help shape their sound. Rubin was known for his work with such bands as System of a Down and Slayer. This new relationship released, Death Magnetic, which was released in the most unusual way possible. The popular game, Guitar Hero III, struck a deal with the band and you could download the music with the purchase of the game. The first time this had been done in music. However, before the game came out a music store in Paris illegally pre-released the album which brought the excitement of the one-of-a-kind release to a standstill. In the end, it did not hurt the band as might be expected and the video game company even released Guitar Hero: Metallica in 2009 which featured the band’s greatest hits.
Metallica has been performing for over 30 years and the band is not going anywhere anytime soon! Metallica is arguably hotter than ever now and in 2016 released another album by the name Hardwired… to Self-Destruct. Instead of playing massive arenas and stadium to promote the album the band hit up small clubs and venues to introduce new and old fans to the thrash metal sounds of Metallica.
2017 Metallica “WorldWired Tour” Dates
May 10 – Baltimore, Md., M&T Bank Stadium
May 12 – Philadelphia, Pa., Lincoln Financial Field
May 14 – East Rutherford, N.J., MetLife Stadium
May 17 – Uniondale, N.Y., Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
May 19 – Foxboro, Mass., Gillette Stadium
May 21 – Columbus, Ohio, Mapfre Stadium (Rock On The Range)
June 4 – St. Louis, Mo., Busch Stadium
June 7 – Denver, Colo., Sports Authority Field At Mile High
June 11 – Houston, Texas, NRG Stadium @ NRG Park
June 14 – San Antonio, Texas, Alamodome
June 16 – Arlington, Texas, AT&T Stadium
June 18 – Chicago, Ill., Soldier Field
July 5 – Orlando, Fla., Camping World Stadium
July 7 – Miami Gardens, Fla., Hard Rock Stadium
July 9 – Atlanta, Ga., SunTrust Park
July 12 – Detroit, Mich., Comerica Park
July 14 – Quebec City, Quebec, Various Venues (Festival D’été de Québec)
July 16 – Toronto, Ontario, Rogers Centre
July 19 – Montreal, Quebec, Parc Jean Drapeau
July 29 – Pasadena, Calif., Rose Bowl
Aug. 4 – Glendale, Ariz., Univ. of Phoenix Stadium
Aug. 6 – San Diego, Calif., PETCO Park
Aug. 9 – Seattle, Wash., CenturyLink Field
Aug. 14 – Vancouver, British Columbia, BC Place
Aug. 16 – Edmonton, Alberta, Commonwealth Stadium