Metallica to become first ever major metal band to play Saudi Arabia

nme.com:

Metallica have announced their final show of 2023 which will take place at a festival in Saudi Arabia next month.The band will be headlining the opening night of the three-day Soundstorm festival in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on December 14.

Metallica took to their official Facebook page to share the announcement of their final 2023 gig.“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,” they wrote. “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.”We’re not done with 2023 just yet, as an amazing opportunity has just come our way to perform at a major festival that…Posted by Metallica on Monday, November 27, 2023Other artists set to perform at the festival include Pharrell Williams, Chris Brown, H.E.R., and Black Eyed Peas.The show in Saudi Arabia will mark the first time James Hetfield and Co.

play the West Asian country. It also makes them the first major metal act to perform at a public event in the country. Per Consequence of Sound, Metallica first played a middle eastern country back in 2011 at Etihad Park in Abu Dhabi.Metallica’s next shows as part of their ‘M72’ world tour will be the European leg which is set to kick off in May 2024.

Later on in the year, the band will make their way to the US to play a string of headlining dates. Visit here for tickets.Though the band are making history, performing in Saudi Arabia has been controversial.Recently, Rod Stewart revealed that he turned down a big offer to perform in Saudi Arabia because of the country’s human rights issues.The.