Malaysia braces for Metallica
We might be able to hear the show from here, but fans will want tickets to Kuala Lumpur
Heavy metal being an uncontrollable beast, the eternally molten American band Metallica has shot wide of Thailand on its current Asian tour, so Thai fans will have to commandeer transportation to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur or points east.
Singer-guitarist James Hetfield, drummer Lars Ulrich, lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo will be at Japan’s Summer Sonic Music Festival on August 10 and 11, then Shanghai, Seoul, at Stadium Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur on the 21st, at Changi Exhibition Centre in Singapore on the 24th and in Jakarta on the 25th.
“Metallica Live in Malaysia”, part of the government promotion Visit Malaysia Year 2014, “is going to be an awesome concert experience”, says Alan Chan of Galaxy Group, the Kuala Lumpur show’s main organiser. “It’s the band’s first time in Malaysia.”
Metallica have been making a ferocious noise since 1981, when Ulrich and Hetfield were among the founding members. They became one of the most influential and commercially successful rock bands in history, selling 110 million albums and playing to nearly that many people around the world. Their multi-platinum albums include “Metallica” (aka “The Black Album”) in 1991, which alone sold 16 million copies – just in the United States.
Their most recent album, “Death Magnetic”, went platinum six weeks after it debuted atop charts in 33 countries in October 2008. The Metallica trophy case contains nine Grammy Awards, two American Music Awards and more MTV Video Music Awards than Justin Bieber can ever hope for. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009.
The band recently celebrated its 30th anniversary with a week of fan-club concerts at San Francisco’s Fillmore Theatre. Last year they launched their own two-day annual festival, Orion Music + More, and this year unveiled their new concert stage for eight shows in Mexico City. At subsequent shows in Canada they shot a 3D feature film, “Through the Never”, directed by Nimród Antal.
Metallica are widely regarded as a band whose success can be directly attributed to the passion and no-compromise attitude they bring to every project, and that includes the tours.
Ear ringgitt
_ Seats in Kuala Lumpur cost RM195 to RM680 (Bt1,890 to Bt6,500) at www.TicketCharge.com.my, Galaxy ticket counters at Mid Valley and Sg Wang counters.
_ Find out more at www.Galaxy.com.my and on Facebook.
