Metallica announce new show in a country they’ve never played before
Metallica have announced a new show for 2025, taking place in a country that they have never played before.
The thrash metal pioneers shared in a new update that the end of this year will see them head over to Bahrain for their first live performance in the country. It will be held on December 3 at the Beyon Al Dana Amphitheatre.
Although the band have performed in all seven continents – and landed an inclusion in the 2015 edition of the Guinness Book Of World Records as the first band to do so – they have never visited the Middle Eastern country of Bahrain before.
In addition to announcing that gig, they have also confirmed details of a show in Abu Dhabi as part of the F1 Grand Prix.
They made the announcement just days after kicking off their 2025 tour dates in Syracuse, New York. These shows are an extension of their ‘M72’ world tour, which has run throughout 2023 and 2024, and celebrates the release of latest album ‘72 Seasons’.
“Greetings from the road as we kicked off our 2025 run on Saturday in Syracuse … it feels great to be back!” the band said in a new statement announcing the show. “We’re going to extend the good vibes in 2025 and make two more stops following our visit to Australia and New Zealand.
“On December 3, we will hit the stage for the first time ever in Bahrain at Beyon Al Dana Amphitheatre, and on December 6, we’ll be headlining one of the three After-Race Concerts at the Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix at Yas Island.”
The venue in Bahrain has a capacity of 10,000 people, which is considerably less than the other venues Metallica has booked on the tour. That being said, the unique venue is unlike the US stadiums, as Loudwire highlights it is carved from rock and built “nearly 50 feet into the ground of the Sakhir desert”.
Tickets for the show will be available here, and go on sale tomorrow (April 24). You can also find the full setlist for Metallica’s first 2025 show here, and visit here for tickets to other tour dates.
In other Metallica news, the band recently released the first trailer for their new documentary Metallica Saved My Life.
The forthcoming film is set to be screened in cities on the North American leg of the band’s ‘M72’ world tour. An official synopsis describes the project as “not-quite-finished”, and that it “explores the world of Metallica through the lives of their fans”.
The clip, which you can see above, features testimonials from various fans talking about what the metal pioneers mean to them, from a survivor of a civil war calling the group as “the soundtrack to my life”, to the Metallica subculture in Botswana, whose members describe their sound as giving them a “lion heart”.
The post Metallica announce new show in a country they’ve never played before appeared first on NME.
Liberty Dunworth
NME
