It’s not unusual to see odd sights at the Cannes Film Festival — people in costumes, dwarfs, even a horse wandering around. But one of the more striking sights I’ve seen in my three years coming here was perennially pale Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich, in a suit, standing on a French beach. It was a sunny Friday afternoon and he had the air of an aimless vampire about him — though he was definitely there with a purpose: beating the drum for the band’s upcoming IMAX 3-D film, Metallica Through the Never, which opens in the U.S. on September 27.

From the Cannes Film Festival, Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich explains why the band made the film. On the 3D experience, Lars added, “What’s it like being up there amongst it, being sweated on, spit on and in the thick of it.”

Lars Ulrich of Metallica cuts the ribbon to open the American Pavilion during the 66th Annual Cannes Film Festival at the American Pavilion on May 17, 2013 in Cannes, France.

There’s nothing typical about Metallica’s upcoming 3-D IMAX concert movie Metallica Through the Never, directed by Nimród Antal ­(Predators) and hitting theaters Sept. 27. In the movie, performance scenes are interspersed with a scripted story line featuring Chronicle star Dane DeHaan as a roadie ­dispatched into a chaotic city to carry out a mysterious task. Even producer Charlotte Huggins has a hard time categorizing the film: “It’s a ­dramatic movie in which a concert takes place,” she tells EW.

Metal Injection hits the Golden Gods 2013 black carpet featuring interviews with members of Metallica, Five Finger Death Punch, Pantera, Stone Sour, Suicide Silence, Queensryche, Anthrax, Sick Puppies, Testament, Miss May I, Zakk Wylde, Children Of Bodom, Dillinger Escape Plan, New Years Day, Broken Hope

Metallica played their own version of 'The Star-Spangled Banner' at a US baseball game yesterday evening (May 3) - scroll down to the bottom of the page and click to watch. The metal titans were guests at the AT&T park in San Francisco to watch the MLB game between the San Francisco Giants and the LA Dodgers, according to Antiquiet, and performed a heavy rendition of the US national anthem for the crowd. Their version of the song did not feature any lyrics - in January 2012, a US senator submitted a bill calling for artists who alter the lyrics of 'The Star-Spangled Banner' to be fined if they changed the words.

Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo sure could get used to this: a tour of sorts, with stops at the Bay Area's professional and college sporting venues. Or even some travel to ballparks and arenas beyond Northern California.

The performance everyone had been waiting for was Metallica‘s show-closing set, and the band came ready to rock. A blistering performance of ‘Disposable Heroes’ brought a standing ovation, with Lars Ulrich perhaps the only person on his seat at the end of the song when he tumbled backwards over a tech that was fixing his kit. ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’ followed with the audience singing along to James Hetfield‘s anthemic chorus. Metallica brought out Rob Halford for a cover of Judas Priest‘s ‘Rapid Fire,’ and they finished out the night with ‘Seek and Destroy’ and ‘The Frayed Ends of Sanity’ outro jam.