Metallica Is Planning A Second Symphonic Show Only For Fan Club Members


Following the recent announcement of Metallica’s reunion with the San Francisco Symphony for the 20th anniversary of S&M, and the subsequent debacle that saw scores of fans shut out of tickets by bots and scalpers, the band have announced they are planning a second show. Members of the bands fanclub, specifically legacy members promised early, unfettered access to ticket buying options were particularly bitter and outspoken on social media during and following three separate pre-sales and the public on-sale. Meanwhile, the band was patted on the back for selling out the all-new Chase Center so quickly, much the chagrin of fans. In the letter to fan club members below, Metallica extends an olive branch to try and fix this slight. The date of Sunday, September 8th has been announced for the show, but no one sale date yet. Maybe they ought to keep that part private, and just for the fans.  We are tracking this story at Ghost Cult for you, the real fans. Continue reading


Metallica Fans Outraged as Scalpers Claim Most Tickets For Symphonic Concert


Yesterday should have been a great day for Metallica fans. The band announced their 20th-anniversary concert to celebrate the release of the S & M (Elektra) album with the San Francisco Symphony. By partnering with the new venue the Chase Center, Metallica sacrificed their usual anti-scalping practices and ended up succumbing to Tickets today and Ticketmaster. Of course, the minute the fan pre-sale went live, some fans got tickets. But many more still were shut out by bots, clearly having infiltrated the fan club ticket event. Quickly the queue filled up with over 2000 places ahead of most trying to get through to make a purchase. Fans trying for the second pre-sale at 3 PM local time a few hours later were also, mostly shut out. Metal Insider reported on the outrage felt by fans and also the resale prices escalated grossly with tickets that were priced at face values of 50, 100, 250 and 500 going for up to $10000 USD. For many years Metallica’s fanclub was a paid membership, but the band made the Fifth Member Club free when they relaunched it last year. One of the main perks was to be unencumbered access to tickets. This isn’t strictly Metallica’s fault, but a brutal burn on fans. We have reported in the past that companies like Ticketmaster are colluding with scalpers, allowing Bots and artificially inflating the resale market at a profit, at the expense of fans. Continue reading


Metallica Books Show With The San Francisco Symphony In September


According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Metallica and the San Francisco Symphony have been booked to open the brand new Chase Center, the home of the Golden State Warriors on September 6th, in Mission Bay, CA. They will perform together at the show, reprising Metallica and a symphony for “one night only”. Warriors officials announced Monday, March 18 at a sweltering press conference attended by Metallica’s Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield, San Francisco Symphony Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas, Warriors Owner, and CEO Joe Lacob, Warriors President, and Chief Operating Officer Rick Welts and San Francisco Mayor London Breed. Metallica is no stranger to symphony collaborations, as they did an entire concert album with 1999’s S & M (Elektra Records), with 2019 marking the 20th anniversary of the album. Watch the press conference video below. Continue reading