Metallica filming new concert to debut at drive-in theaters (watch them rehearse)

Metallica have been doing a lot of cool stuff during quarantine, and now they’re planning to film a concert “at a top secret location” and broadcast an edited, mixed version of the concert film at drive-in theaters on August 29. Here’s more info:

It’s been a crazy, hectic, thrilling and exciting time at Metallica HQ as the four of us have all been in the same room making music for the first time in almost a year! “What’s going on?” you ask? We’re recording a concert to appear at your local drive-in theater… that’s what! We’ll be the first rock band to be featured in the Encore Drive-In Nights series, with a full set screening August 29th at hundreds of drive-in and outdoor theaters across the United States and Canada. We’ve been rehearsing at HQ for a show that will be shot specially for the drive-ins at a location nearby later this week and then we’ll pass it off to our award winning production team to then be edited and mixed at the highest standards possible to be beamed into your cars from the big screen.

The Fifth Member pre-sale starts August 12th 12:00pm local time at ticketmaster.com/encore-metallica. Fifth Members should check their e-mail or click here for more details.

The general on-sale will begin on August 14th, also at 12:00pm local time. Every ticket purchase – which admits one carload of up to six people – will include four mp3 digital downloads the upcoming release of S&M2.

Needless to say, this is an exciting first for us, as we continue to explore new ways to connect with you and keep playing live… this definitely qualifies as a unique and memorable experience for us. We hope you think so too!

Additional information about Encore Drive-In Nights can be found at ticketmaster.com/encoredriveinnights. The exclusive concert will adhere to guidelines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as well as all state and local public health mandates. Encore Drive-In Nights has partnered with leading health experts to establish procedures for staff and fans.

Find a theater near you HERE and watch the trailer and rehearsal footage below.

The aforementioned S&M2 (the concert album/film of the 20th anniversary show of their 1999 orchestral S&M concerts with the San Francisco Symphony) comes out October 9 and they recently released another video from that: “Moth Into Flame” (watch below).

Metallica’s ‘Metallica Monday’ series also continues tonight (8/10) with footage from their 6/13/2004 show in Munich, Germany from the “Madly in Anger with the World Tour” supporting 2003’s divisive St. Anger. In case you haven’t heard, Lars Ulrich recently said he “stands behind [the album’s snare sound] a hundred percent.” You can tune in to that concert below at 8 PM ET.

Other recent ‘Metallica Mondays’ videos that you can watch now include shows from 1983, 1989, 1991, 1994, the Master of Puppets 20th anniversary show, and more.

It’s also been confirmed that Metallica will guest on The Howard Stern Show on Wednesday (8/12) on SiriusXM Channel 100 and in the SiriusXM app.