Metallica teases October 10th announcement

Metallica XX was released over the weekend

Metallica is set to announce something big on Thursday, October 10th. The group silently launched metallicaxx.com over the weekend with a countdown to noon PT. No further details have been released, but it’s likely to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the S&M shows as it comes one day after the group’s Metallica and San Francisco Symphony: S&M² concert film hitting theaters.

The original S&M was released on November 23, 1999 on 2 CD and 2 DVD. S&M² hasn’t been announced for a home video or audio release yet, so could it be that S&M² will get its own release? Maybe the original S&M will get a remastered Blu-ray release, or perhaps a boxed set containing audio and video from both sets of shows will be announced. It could be any, none or all of the above.

The original S&M concerts were performed by Metallica and San Francisco Symphony and conducted by the late Michael Kamen in spring of 1999 at the Berkeley Community Theatre. 2019’s S&M² concert will feature the first live performances of these arrangements in 20 years, plus the first-ever Metallica and San Francisco Symphony renditions of songs written and released since the original concert, with new orchestral charts by Bruce Coughlin.

Legendary conductor Michael Tilson Thomas completes the first week of his final season as San Francisco Symphony Music Director with a special appearance, conducting a portion of the show.

The S&M² shows were recorded live on September 6th & 8th at the new Chase Center in San Francisco in front of sold out crowds.

The announcement follows the news that frontman James Hetfield has re-entered rehab, forcing the band to cancel their upcoming eight city tour of Australia and New Zealand. All tickets purchased to the shows in Australia and New Zealand, including Enhanced Experiences and Black Tickets, will be fully refunded via Live Nation Australia and Live Nation New Zealand.

Hetfield’s sobriety was documented in the 2004 documentary, Some Kind of Monster. The revealing documentary nearly broke the band apart as they struggled to cope with family and work. Hetfield had been sober ever since.

Buddy Iahn
Buddy Iahn

Buddy Iahn founded The Music Universe when he decided to juxtapose his love of web design and music. As a lifelong drummer, he decided to take a hiatus from playing music to report it. The website began as a fun project in 2013 to one of the top independent news sites. Email: info@themusicuniverse.com