Metallica’s 2025 tour of Australia will include at least one concert in Perth, Rolling Stone AU/NZ can exclusively reveal.
When the Bay Area metal legends head south for their M72 trek, well-placed sources tell RS, Optus Stadium will play host with a concert on Saturday, November 1st. An east coast swing will follow.
It’s a huge coup for Western Australia and its capital which, due to the cost and time associated with freighting equipment across this vast country, so often misses out on major international shows.
Perth locals got lucky last year when Coldplay played two exclusive shows at the state-of-the-art 65,000-capacity venue. The WA government reportedly subsidised those 2023 concerts to the tune of A$8 million, describing the exercise as a “major tourism coup.”
Coldplay used the buzz from those concerts as a launch pad for a proper visit of Australia, the Music Of The Spheres Tour, through Live Nation, which kicks off later this month with Emmanuel Kelly in support.
Metallica is, without question, one of the most popular heavy music acts of them all.
Formed in 1981, the band has sold more than 120 million albums worldwide, generated upwards of 15 billion streams, collected nine Grammys and earned induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009.
Last year, the metal heroes dropped their 11th studio album 72 Seasons, which debuted at No. 1 on the ARIA Chart, for their eighth leader in Australia.
The touring lineup features founding members James Hetfield (vocals, guitar) and Lars Ulrich (drums), plus longtime lead guitarist Kirk Hammett, and bass player Robert Trujillo, who joined the band in 2003, for the St. Anger album.
The rockers last month announced a new leg of their M72 tour, with a string of dates across the US from April-June next year.
“Finally, North America is not our only stop in 2025, as this year, we will return to Australia and New Zealand after far too long away!!!” read a statement at the time. “Stay tuned for the full announcement coming VERY soon.”
Live Nation Australia, which is producing the domestic run, followed up with a post on its Facebook page, simply teasing: “Sign up to be the first to know,” with a link to a mailing list.
The Australia tour will mark Metallica’s first visit to these parts in over a decade. They last played here as headliners of the now-defunct Soundwave Festival in 2013. A planned 2019 tour of ANZ was postponed to allow Hetfield time to enter a rehab facility, and later canceled when the pandemic closed borders and grounded flights.
RS reached out to reps from Live Nation for comment on the forthcoming Optus Stadium tour date.
