Ruim twee weken voordat de tournee van Metallica door Australië en Nieuw-Zeeland van start moet gaan, heeft de band alle optredens geannuleerd. De reden: zanger/gitarist James Hetfield wordt opnieuw geteisterd door verslavingsdemonen. Zijn collega’s maakten het nieuws bekend op de Facebookpagina van de band.
Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett en Rob Trujillo schrijven er een persoonlijk bericht:
We are truly sorry to inform our fans and friends that we must postpone our upcoming tour of Australia and New Zealand.
As most of you probably know, our brother James has been struggling with addiction on and off for many years. He has now, unfortunately, had to re-enter a treatment program to work on his recovery again.
We fully intend to make our way to your part of the world as soon as health and schedule permit. We’ll let you know as soon as we can. Once again, we are devastated that we have inconvenienced so many of you, especially our most loyal fans who travel great distances to experience our shows. We appreciate your understanding and support for James and, as always, thank you for being a part of our Metallica family.
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