Metallica will are scheduled to play their first-ever concert in Saudi Arabia next month. The band will lead the opening night of the three-day Soundstorm festival in Riyadh on December 14. Other artists scheduled to perform include Pharrell Williams, Chris Brown, H.E.R., Black Eyed Peas, J Balvin and Anne-Marie, as well as Tiesto and David Guetta.

More than 600,000 people reportedly attended last year’s Soundstorm. Soundstorm, organized by Saudi music giants MDLBeast, has been captivating some of the biggest acts in the region and the globe to Riyadh since its launch in 2019. The festival site covers more than five and a half million square meters with park life areas for food outlets and street performers keeping festival goers entertained between sets at what’s been dubbed “the loudest week in Riyadh.”

Speaking on the event, Metallica stated, “We’re not done with 2023 just yet, as an amazing opportunity has just come our way to perform at a major festival that we have never played in a part of the world we rarely get to visit. We’re excited to announce that on Thursday, December 14 we’ll be the first hard rock band to ever play at @MDLBeast’s Soundstorm Festival in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Festival and single-day tickets are available now at mdlbeast.com.”

In 2011, Metallica played at Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Park and continued to perform at the same venue two years later. Before Metallica performed in Abu Dhabi in 2013, drummer Lars Ulrich told The National: “When we were here a year and a half ago, it was really magical…a great energy and shared experience. When we started playing, there were so many parts of the world where the type of music that we were doing was not really accepted…But it’s opening up. It’s changing and the world is shrinking. It’s great to be in the front lines.”