Metallica “don’t wanna be a legacy band that just play their greatest hits”, says James Hetfield
Metallica frontman James Hetfield has said they have no plans of becoming a “legacy band”.
Speaking on The Metallica Report, Hetfield was asked how the experience of playing their record-breaking world tour – which kicked off in April 2023 and so far has seen them play to three million fans worldwide – will shape how they play the recently announced 2025 ‘M72’ shows.
“I think that the confidence, the fact that the ‘72 Seasons‘ album is well received and some of the songs that we’re playing live work, and they kind of fit seamlessly in with all the catalogue, all the albums we have,” he said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth).
“We’re not afraid of it, but we’re not overindulging in it as well. We know people wanna hear the ‘best of’. And you’ve gotta challenge them to listen to some of the new stuff as well, ’cause we certainly don’t wanna be a legacy band that just plays their greatest hits and then that’s it.”
He continued to say being on stage and having the confidence to know “mistakes are a part of the show” played a part too. “That’s part of what we say before we go out: ‘Hey, all mistakes are free,'” he explained.
“And it’s not a mistake. Really, that word is kind of ridiculous in a way. It’s just a unique way of playing it that night. Everyone gets to enjoy whatever happens right then. And frankly, I think it’s a challenge.”
The 2025 itinerary will continue another challenge the band set themselves, namely the ‘No Repeat Weekend’ tradition, with each night of the two-show stands featuring entirely different setlists and support lineups, but the new dates will also see support from Pantera, Limp Bizkit, Suicidal Tendencies and Ice Nine Kills.
Visit here for tickets and check out a new list of dates below.
Metallica’s 2025 US tour dates are:
APRIL:
12 – Las Vegas, NV Sick New World @ Las Vegas Festival Grounds
19 – Syracuse, NY JMA Wireless Dome *
24 – Toronto, ON Rogers Centre *
26 – Toronto, ON Rogers Centre +
MAY
1 – Nashville, TN Nissan Stadium *
3 –Nashville, TN Nissan Stadium +
7 – Blacksburg, VA Lane Stadium *
9 – Columbus, OH Sonic Temple @ Historic Crew Stadium
11 – Columbus, OH Sonic Temple @ Historic Crew Stadium
23 – Philadelphia, PA Lincoln Financial Field +
25 – Philadelphia, PA Lincoln Financial Field *
28 – Landover, MD Northwest Stadium *
31 – Charlotte, NC Bank of America Stadium *
JUNE
3 – Atlanta, GA Mercedes-Benz Stadium *
6 – Tampa, FL Raymond James Stadium +
8 – Tampa, FL Raymond James Stadium *
14 – Houston, TX NRG Stadium *
20 – Santa Clara, CA Levi’s Stadium +
22 – Santa Clara, CA Levi’s Stadium *
27 – Denver, CO Empower Field at Mile High +
29 – Denver, CO Empower Field at Mile High *
* Pantera and Suicidal Tendencies support
+ Limp Bizkit and Ice Nine Kills support
As always, a portion of proceeds from every ticket sold will go to local charities via the band’s All Within My Hands Foundation. Established in 2017 as a way to give back to communities, the non-profit has already raised over $15million (£11.3m).
During the podcast, Hetfield went on to explain that mistakes made while playing live “could be devastating to other bands”, but wasn’t for them. “For us, it’s just, ‘Okay. We fucked it up. Let’s start it again.’ Or, ‘Hey, let’s take it from here.’
“There’s been times when I’ve edited out a whole middle section and then at the end of the song said, ‘Oh my God, I forgot to play that part here. Let’s just play it for you.’ There’s a freedom up there that the fans allow, there’s a grace that they allow us to be human. So there is a confidence that you can’t go wrong. You just can’t go wrong. You show up and you do your best and you know it’s from the heart.”
In other Metallica news, the band recently paid tribute to a Canadian fan who died during their concert in Edmonton.
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Poppy Burton
NME
