Metallica took the stage Tuesday for their final rehearsal before Wednesday’s kick off to their North American stadium tour.
Not only did a few hundred members of their fan club and contest winners get a front row seat to the action right here in Baltimore, so did fans around the world. For the first time, the band streaming their run-through on Facebook Live.
"This is the best. Once-in-a-lifetime situation for a Metallica fan," one person told ABC2.
Another fan said, "This is probably the coolest thing ever in Baltimore."
The upcoming summer stadium tour, which will be Metallica’s first since 2003, is in support of the band’s newest record Hardwired… To Self-Destruct. The record is their first studio album in eight years and is reminiscent of the band’s early work some 30-plus years ago.
ABC2 was the only local TV station to go 1-on-1 with a member of Metallica before their most important tour in years.
"It's great to be back here. The memory is a little foggy but, Hammerjacks 30 years ago," said Lars Ulrich, drummer and founding member of Metallica. "It’s just amazing that people still care. We’re like little kids still just running around going ‘oh my God.' Running around with a rock-and-roll band in your early 50’s is kind of pretty cool, pretty cool."
The tour's first stop? Right here in Baltimore at M&T Bank Stadium.
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