Back in May, right before the summer break, Kirk and I sat down to discuss this and more general Hammettry backstage in Helsinki.

When it comes to selling merch on the European road, Andrew Scott has forgotten more than you’ll ever know.

It is the last day before school’s out in Helsinki. The last day before summer break that we will hear “Hardwired” kick the teeth of WorldWired attendees down the back of their necks. The last day before summer break (which in itself is something else – no Metallica gigs during a summer!) that we will revel in drones and fire. The last day before summer break that we will see Metallica bringing the WorldWired Tour to even more people in ever more wide-ranging global climbs. The last day before what appears to these eyes an extended, well-earned break. A vacation. Oh, how naïve can one get?!

Derek “Dewey” Evans – stage manager, load out sheet artist, all-round cheerful cheeky presence, and Metallica crew stalwart – is one of the most vital and experienced crew veterans on WorldWired. He explains to Steffan Chirazi just how that stage gets up and down on the road.

The latest addition to James Hetfield’s guitar stable is undoubtedly his most incredible yet. James, luthier Ken Lawrence, and artist Petar Milivojevic explain how Carl came to be.

The European WorldWired indoor tour is now officially over, with the last picks and sticks having been thrown in Helsinki an hour ago. Steffan Chirazi ties it all up in a neat package with a fancy bow on-top…well, sort of.

Helsinki Night #1 was the first time in over four years that Metallica has graced our shores.

So thanks to all my friends and obviously the band for being in Stockholm. It was A LOT of fun.

After over a year waiting, THE weekend had finally arrived!

The Metallica-days finally came! We had been holding on to our tickets for over a year, and the time was “now.” It has been a few years since the last gig in Oslo, so it was great having them back in my hometown again.

The concert in Krakow was our second concert on this tour. Me and my girlfriend, Wiktoria, were in Prague a month earlier. The concert had gone by fast, and we were waiting for our dream concert in our country.

Metallica in Munich! Hell Yeah!

At WiZink Center in Madrid, this past February, Rob Trujillo and Kirk Hammett sit down with So What! to explain the thought and process behind their always-anticipated territory-flavored jam song mid-show on the WorldWired Tour.

“We’ve done a lot off the radar over the years,” says Lars Ulrich, “very quietly, kind of ‘in the shadows.’ But I think we finally realized the last couple years that if we go public, the way the world is wired now, you can encourage people to join you.”

After four long years since their last gig in Basel (under an epic and raging thunderstorm, which transformed the snake-pit into an Olympic swimming pool and “Orion” into a mystical experience), Metallica were finally back in Switzerland for the last show of the second European leg of 2018. This time they hit the French part of the country (for all who doesn’t know, Switzerland is formed by three cultural areas, where four languages are spoken). This was the second time the band played in that corner of the land and the very first time in 37 years they performed in Geneva.

After a long wait it was finally time again. After seeing the 2nd show in Cologne on 16.09.2017, it was now the 2nd show’s turn in Stuttgart.

The meeting point was at our house at 4:30 pm. From here, Kevin and I from Rhein Inc. 473 Cologne Chapter, my wife Anja and my friend Dave started the approximately 100km long car journey to Stuttgart. The approach ran smoothly, no traffic jams or other traffic disturbances; even the passage through Stuttgart up to the parking lot of the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer Hall went flawlessly.

After a rough time, this was the first big event I attended [for a while]. Time to start something new. The circumstances seemed perfect, and the week after Easter were still “holidays” in my job. The weather-forecast was promising – dry and sunny with a balmy breeze and rising temperatures up to 23° C, which was perfect for spring. We met with almost 20 friends the day before the show in “Carls Brauhaus,” which offers delicious local food and their famous, privately brewed beer. The party grew better and bigger than expected because we met some other metal-heads form Belgium, Ireland, Austria and Australia…we got home later than planned!