In sad news to report, Metallica’s legendary frontman James Hetfield has had to re-enter rehab for addiction. The band has immediately postponed their planned tour of Australia and New Zealand with Slipknot that was to begin next month. The Australian leg of the “WorldWired” tour was announced in March, with the first show of the trek scheduled for October 17 at Perth’s Optus stadium. It was to be the first of eight stadium dates across Australia and New Zealand, including a night at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium and two dates at Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium. The tour would have been Metallica’s first to Australia since 2013 and first visit to New Zealand since 2010. Hetfield’s issues with addiction and alcoholism were detailed in the 2004 documentary Some Kind Of Monster. We wish James the best in this trying time for himself, his family, and friends. The band posted this message to their social media pages:

“As most of you probably know, our brother James has been struggling with addiction on and off for many years. He has now, unfortunately, had to re-enter a treatment program to work on his recovery again.

“We fully intend to make our way to your part of the world as soon as health and schedule permit. We’ll let you know as soon as we can. Once again, we are devastated that we have inconvenienced so many of you, especially our most loyal fans who travel great distances to experience our shows. We appreciate your understanding and support for James and, as always, thank you for being a part of our METALLICA family.

“All tickets purchased to the shows in Australia and New Zealand, including Enhanced Experiences and Black Tickets, will be fully refunded.”