James Hetfield doesn’t seem very interested in turning a Metallica concert into a political lecture.
During the band’s Las Vegas Sphere residency, the heavy metal frontman took a second to thank fans for traveling to see the group before making one thing clear: Metallica isn’t there to push an agenda.
“Unless you live in Vegas, you’ve come a long way to spend some time with Metallica,” Hetfield told the audience during the band’s Oct. 10 show. “And I just gotta say: Metallica is not here, like some other entertainers, to influence you with their bullsh–.”
Instead, the singer and guitarist said the band wants fans to leave their outside worries at the door.
“We are here to forget about all the outside sh–,” he continued. “Metallica’s agenda is love, energy and heavy music, baby!”
Hetfield didn’t name any specific entertainers he had in mind, leaving his comments open to interpretation. Still, his message was unmistakable: When fans show up for Metallica, he wants the music to take center stage.
And the band’s staying power speaks for itself. Metallica’s ReLoad returned to the Billboard charts following an expanded reissue, landing at No. 1 on the Top Hard Rock Albums chart. The achievement was the band’s sixth leader on the ranking, following the success of its 2023 album 72 Seasons.
The remarks came during Metallica’s Life Burns Faster residency at Sphere, the immersive Las Vegas venue that has become known for its enormous wraparound screen and elaborate visual productions. The band kicked off the run in October, becoming the first heavy metal act to headline the venue. The residency features a series of performances scheduled through March 2027.
While Metallica doesn’t want to get political onstage, that doesn’t mean the band has refrained from being outspoken throughout their decades-long career. Over the years, they’ve addressed subjects ranging from war and addiction to social alienation in their music and they were on the frontlines of the fight against Napster, becoming the first musicians to sue the controversial music-sharing service in 2000.
There’s nothing quite as metal as a deal.
And, today, we found a doozy.
At the time of publication, prices are dropping fast to see Metallica in their third week of their Life Burns Faster residency at Las Vegas Sphere.
Just last week when our team reported on how much it cost to see James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo live on Oct. 15 and 17, two-day “No Repeat Weekend” passes started at $1,533 including fees on Vivid Seats.
Now, a mere six days later, prices start at $902 including fees for Thursday and Saturday’s shows.
Single-day passes have also plummeted.
Based on our findings, the lowest price to see Metallica this coming weekend on Oct. 6 was $810 including fees.
Less than a week later, they sit at $539 including fees.
Best of all, this drop in prices doesn’t just apply to this weekend. Over the past week, prices have gone down almost universally across the board (except for one date in March where they held steady).
Now, that’s metal.
None of the above should serve as a statement on the quality of Life Burns Faster shows at Sphere, though.
In fact, critics have been left spellbound by the marriage of the heavy music and wraparound imagery that flood the space.
