Metallica Releases Video Footage and Concert Downloads For Los Angeles And Oakland Shows

photo by Marv Watson

Metallica has ended their 2016 tour in support of new album, Hardwired…to Self-Destruct which was the band’s first new studio LP in eight years. The final stop for the tour was in Oakland, CA where the band paid tribute to the victims of the Ghost Ship fire, which claimed 36 lives on Dec. 2. This final show isn’t the last gift they have to give in 2016 as they’ve now provided official video footage and given fans the opportunity to download concert performances from their recent club shows at Los Angeles’ Fonda Theatre and Oakland’s Fox Theatre.

“34 years ago, just down in the 714, that’s where Metallica started,” drummer Lars Ulrich reminded fans at the Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles on Thursday, Dec. 15. Metallica played Los Angeles’ Fonda Theatre back on Dec. 15, mixing a blend of new tracks like “Hardwired,” “Atlas, Rise!” and “Moth Into Flame” alongside such classics as “Enter Sandman,” “Master of Puppets” and “Fade to Black.” During their performance, they also rocked out the classic “Metal Militia,” which is available in the official video footage. Fans got access to $25 tickets via an email lottery for Metallica fan club members with the remainder of the tickets being on sale to the public for $100 each. All proceeds from the show’s ticket sales were donated to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank.

Not only having roots in Southern California, Metallica took over Oakland’s Fox Theater on December 17th for a hometown gig. In the vein of their Los Angeles show the concert in Oakland had previously been booked as a benefit for the Alameda County Community Food Bank, but Hetfield suggested audience members should also think about the Oakland warehouse tragedy. Video footage from the Oakland show include both “Creeping Death” and “Blackened,”

Though these SoCal shows mark the end of touring for Metallica in 2016, but the band will return to the road in the New Year, with scheduled dates in Asia, Europe and Mexico. Their first date comes Jan. 11 in Seoul, South Korea and Metallica is also planning a full-scale U.S. tour in 2017.