Metallica Cancels Sonic Temple and Louder than Life Performances

2020-02-25

Metallica – Story by Cat Badra, photo by Ross Halfin

Metallica has pulled out of their Sonic Temple and Louder than Life festival performances this year

Metallica has been forced to cancel the group’s upcoming headlining performances at this year’s Sonic Temple and Louder than Life festivals, as frontman James Hetfield needs the time to continue his recovery from substance abuse issues.

“As part of my continuing effort to get and stay healthy, I have critical recovery events on those weekends that cannot be moved,” Hetfield wrote in an official statement shared on Metallica’s website.

“My intent with this statement is saying ‘I apologize’ to each one of you,” he added. “The reality is that I have not prioritized my health in the past year of touring and I now know that my mental health comes first. That might sound like a no-brainer for most of you but I didn’t want to let the Metallica team/family down and, I alone, completely compromised myself.”

Sonic Temple and Louder than Life are two of the five rock festivals Metallica was scheduled to perform at this year. So far, the metal band is still set to play the Epicenter, Welcome to Rockville and Aftershock festivals. Metallica will perform two separate headlining sets at each festival.

Hetfield assures fans the other dates will go on, stating, “I want to stress that the band will play all other announced 2020 shows.”

In place of Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Tool will perform for Metallica at Sonic Temple. The Louder than Life lineup is still pending.

Hetfield re-entered rehab last September and has only made a few public appearances since. Last week, he surprised fans by performing at an Eddie Money tribute concert, which marked his first live performance since being in rehab.

Metallica’s first scheduled show with Hetfield for this year happens April 15 in Chile.

Cat Badra
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