Metallica were nearing the completion of their five consecutive weeks of the North American portion of their M72 world tour. While we doubt we will see any surprise canines in the audience, the trek has been moving strong across the states. Unfortunately, something seemed off on Friday’s (1st) show when two songs appeared to have been cut from the setlist, “The Day That Never Comes” and “Master of Puppets.” While attendees were a mix between being on cloud nine seeing Metallica for the first time, veteran fans knowing something was off but unable to see amidst the chaos, or others who had noticed James Hetfield was struggling with his vocals, asking the crowd to singalong quite a bit throughout the night, it was clear something was going on. Questions on the shortened set were soon answered when Metallica revealed Hetfield tested positive for COVID, giving the band no choice but to postpone night two of the Phoenix show to September 9th at the State Farm Stadium. Unfortunately, this made many of the nearly 80,000 concertgoers unable to attend, but those who can make it are definitely in for a treat. Earlier today (5th), Metallica announced Suicidal Tendencies will replace Ice Nine Kills for the rescheduled Phoenix show with Five Finger Death Punch remaining on the schedule as direct support.
Metallica made the following announcements via Social Media:
“We’re excited to announce that our friends in Suicidal Tendencies will be making the trip out to Arizona to fill in for Ice Nine Kills, starting the show alongside Five Finger Death Punch. Tickets from the original show will be honored. If you can’t make it, refunds are available until Thursday, September 7 at 9 PM Local Time.”
“NIGHT TWO IN GLENDALE IS RESCHEDULED TO SEPTEMBER 9!
We’re very sorry to report that tomorrow’s scheduled M72 date at State Farm Stadium has been postponed to Saturday, September 9, 2023, as, unfortunately, COVID has caught up with James. We’re extremely disappointed and regret any inconvenience this has caused you; we look forward to returning to complete the M72 No Repeat Weekend in Glendale next Saturday. All tickets for September 3 will be honored at the September 9 show. For more information, including refund details, if you cannot join next weekend, please visit SeatGeek.com. Keep your eyes on Metallica.com and our socials for additional details and updates.
PS: All M72 Weekend Takeover events scheduled for today and tomorrow (9/2 and 9/3) are still happening.”
Metallica continues to share their professionally filmed videos as today (5th), they shared their performance of “Ride The Lightning” from their August 13th show at the Stade Olympique in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Watch the clip below:
With the second Phoenix show being pushed to September 9th, two more cities for their 2023 portion of the tour left in November with St. Louis, Missouri, and Detroit, Michigan. We do hope Hetfield has a safe and healthy recovery.
But wait, there’s more!
Metallica have been sharing individual city updates, photo galleries, interviews, and more.
Check out Metallica’s M72 2023 North American tour highlights below:
August 4, 2023 MetLife Stadium
August 6, 2023 MetLife Stadium
August 11, 2023 Stade Olympique
August 13, 2023 Stade Olympique
September 1, 2023 State Farm Stadium
