We're getting psyched up for our return to Australia and New Zealand next week . . . it's been six long years since we've visited and we're ready to throw down! The nice people at Universal Music were so darn excited that they actually suggested that we release something special to commemorate this last run of World Magnetic tour dates, so . . . ta-da . . . we present the "Six Feet Down Under" limited edition EP! Coming to Trans-Tasman record stores and right here at the Metallica.com Store on September 20.
Here's the story . . . the collective brain trust came up with what we thought might be a kinda fun idea . . . how about some live recordings from each time we have been lucky enough to visit the area? It was all well and good until we realized that we did not start making multi-track recordings of every show until 2004 . . . oops! But you guys, the fans, came to our rescue with some pretty decent bootleg options and we trimmed those down to two songs from each tour in 1989, 1993, 1998, and 2004. In digging a little deeper, it occurred to us
Video footage of the short speech METALLICA guitarist/vocalist James Hetfield gave at a special event to celebrate the life of Debbie Abono — a well-respected and much-loved manager and promotional machine behind some of San Francisco Bay Area's strongest metal bands (POSSESSED, FORBIDDEN, EXODUS, VIO-LENCE, SKINLAB).
The event, which took place on August 29 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel & Resort in Concord, California, was also attended by musicians from MACHINE HEAD, DEATH ANGEL, FORBIDDEN, SKINLAB and D.R.I., as well as former members of EXODUS, OVERKILL, S.O.D., POSSESSED, SACRILEGE B.C. and STEREOMUD.
James said, "Debbie was, to me, the mom that wasn't around for me. [Hetfield's mother died in 1979 when he was 16 years old. — Ed.] She was the place we could kind of go to if we needed to talk about problems, if we needed a safe place to party, if we needed inspiration, hope... She did so much that I didn't even know about to help the music... [Read More]
Metallica's two sold-out shows next month in Christchurch should go ahead despite the earthquakes which struck New Zealand's second-biggest city over the weekend.
The American heavy rock outfit is booked to play Sept. 21 and 22 at Christchurch's CBS Canterbury Arena (formerly known as Westpac Arena), a 9,000-capacity venue operated by locally-based management company Vbase. Fear Factory and the Sword will support.
In a memo to clients, Vbase today (Sept. 6) assuaged concerns of any damage done by Saturday's (Sept. 4) earthquakes on the country's South Island.
Vbase CEO Bryan Pearson says it does not appear that either its 50,000-capacity AMI Stadium or CBS Canterbury Arena have sustained structural damage, confirmation on which will be announced when engineers have completed their assessment this Wednesday (Sept. 8).
The company's Christchurch Convention Centre and Christchurch Town Hall for Performing Arts have been cleared of structural damage and will reopen at 8am Wednesday.
The good news will be welcomed by Michael Coppel Presents, promoter of Metallica's 20-date tour of Australia and New Zealand, which kicks off Sept. 15 at Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena.
A state of emergency will remain in place until Wednesday across Christchurch, following the quake which measured 7.1 on the Richter scale. The city's... [Read More]
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