Metal giants Metallica have cancelled their Perth show and all other Australian and New Zealand dates on their WorldWired Tour less than a month before it was scheduled to open at Optus Stadium on October 17.
The announcement comes following news of singer James Hetfield‘s admission into rehab, detailed in a statement be the remaining band members (see below). Hetfield’s addiction issues were previously documented in the band’s 2004 documentary Some Kind of Monster.
Promoter Live Nation this morning released a statement saying: “Live Nation regrets to announce that Metallica’s 2019 Australia & New Zealand tour will not go ahead.
We are working with Metallica to secure a new tour period and will make a further announcement as soon as possible.”
In an emotional note, remaining members Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett and Rob Trujillo released the following statement:
“We are truly sorry to inform our fans and friends that we must postpone our upcoming tour of Australia and New Zealand.
As most of you probably know, our brother James has been struggling with addiction on and off for many years. He has now, unfortunately, had to re-enter a treatment program to work on his recovery again.
We fully intend to make our way to your part of the world as soon as health and schedule permit. We’ll let you know as soon as we can.
Once again, we are devastated that we have inconvenienced so many of you, especially our most loyal fans who often travel great distances to experience our shows. We appreciate your understanding and support for James and, as always, thank you for being a part of our Metallica family.”
All tickets purchased to the shows in Australia and New Zealand, including Enhanced Experiences and Black Tickets, will be fully refunded. More details on how to obtain refunds to the Optus Stadium show are available on the following link: https://www.livenation.com.au/artist/metallica-tickets.
