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METALLICA frontman James Hetfield was allegedly robbed in a Moscow restaurant over the weekend.
Hetfield claims he and his bandmates had steaks and salads worth around 8,000 roubles ($270). The frontman paid by card, but later he saw that he had been billed over 19,000 roubles — that is twice the bill.
When he went back to the restaurant to complain, the management showed him a receipt for the disputed amount with his signature on it. Hetfield thinks his signature may have been forged.
According to RIA Novosti, METALLICA will play its two concerts in Moscow this weekend despite the ongoing chaos with air travel across Europe, the concert organizers said.
The eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland, which began on April 14, has paralyzed air traffic throughout central and northern Europe, stranding thousands of travelers and forcing more than 20 European countries to close their airspace.
However, METALLICA was already in Oslo on its World Magnetic Tour when the eruption began.
"Thank God, they managed to fly from America to our continent, and now they are moving either by car or by train, so that they get to Moscow," SAV Entertainment and Russian Show-Centre head Vladimir Zubitskiy said.
They play Vilnius on Tuesday and Wednesday and then Moscow's Olimpiisky Sports Complex on Saturday and Sunday, April 24 and 25, 2010.
METALLICA played the "Death Magnetic" track "The Unforgiven III" live for the first time ever earlier tonight (Wednesday, April 14) at Telenor Arena in Oslo, Norway.
Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be viewed below.
For More on Metallica be sure to check out:
Metallica Official site:
http://www.metallica.com
According to Billboard.com, METALLICA and GUNS N' ROSES have taken the top two positions of this week's Hot Tours ranking based on box office totals from Brazil and Argentina reported by concert promoter T4F. Continuing its "World Magnetic Tour", METALLICA is No. 1 with over $10 million in gross sales from three performances in Brazil. One concert at Parque Condor in Porto Alegre (Jan. 28) and two nights at São Paulo's 80,000-seat stadium, Estádio do Morumbi (Jan. 30-31) take the veteran rock band over the $100 million mark in ticket sales since the tour began in October 2008. Tickets are flying off the shelf and selling out left and right. As quick as the first day they go on sale! These are two hot bands that are not to be missed! If they're coming to your area, don't let the tickets slip through your hands; get them before it's to late!
GUNS N' ROSES ranks No. 2 for the week based on ticket sales from four concerts in Brazil and one in Argentina. Top-grosser was Estádio Palestra Italia in São Paulo (March 13, 2010) with $3 million earned at the box office and 34,872 in attendance. Another stadium date, Estadio Vélez Sársfield in Buenos Aires on March 22 drew over 35,000 fans. The five reported March dates on the band's "Chinese Democracy World Tour" grossed a combined total of $8.4 million.
Read more from Billboard.com.
A 1989 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 car that once belonged to Metallica
According to a posting on the auction page, "There is an interesting piece of METALLICA history involving this car. In 1991 shortly before the release of the eponymous METALLICA album (known as the 'black album') Kirk and tour manager Tony Smith were on a flight talking about the upcoming album release. Kirk mentioned that he was concerned that it might be a little to different for people to accept. Tony said not to be concerned and that it would probably sell ten million copies. Kirk responded by saying that if it did sell ten million copies that he would give Tony
his new prized possession Porsche. For a couple of years this became
the source of some good-natured fun and teasing between the band
members and Tony. A few years later, while the band was
touring, the 'black album' was certified as 10-times-platinum (10
million sold in the USA.) By this time the conversation about the
Porsche had been mostly forgotten. However, at the end of one leg of
the tour, Kirk gave Tony an envelope. Inside were the
ownership documents and the keys to his Porsche 911 Carrera 4. It was a
very special time for all those involved who new the meaning behind the
gesture. This is how this car can now be offered for sale to you by Tony Smith."
"I told our tour manager on the 'black album,' 'If it sells over 10 million copies, I will give you my Porsche,'" Hammett said. "He called me up when it sold 10 million and one."
Hammett added that the tour manager was forced to try and sell it in 2007. "He put it on eBay," Kirk
said. "He was having health problems. He called: 'Is it OK if I sell
it?' I said, 'Hey bro, I gave it to you. You can do whatever you want
with it.'
METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich appeared as a guest on MSNBC Monday night (April 27), where the liberal news commentator and Lars Ulrich discussed living in San Francisco, Guitar Hero: Metallica, and politics. With the debate over the military and CIA's use of torture front and center in the news lately, Maddow also asked Ulrich how he felt about METALLICA's music being used to psychologically torture prisoners of war. READ MORE
Activision has released a new set of commercials for "Guitar Hero: Metallica", including one featuring legendary NCAA coaches Mike Krzyzewski, Roy Williams, Rick Pitino and Bob Knight, along with members of METALLICA. Watch them below.
METALLICA's very own "Guitar Hero" game, "Guitar Hero: Metallica", arrived yesterday (March 29, 2009) for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and will arrive later in the spring for Wii and PlayStation 2, so keep your eyes peeled and some cash in your wallet! The game features 28 songs from METALLICA, as well as 21 additional cuts from artists such as ALICE IN CHAINS, FOO FIGHTERS, SLAYER, SYSTEM OF A DOWN and many other personal favorites of the group.
METALLICA are now free agents in the music industry, with the release last September of their latest album, "Death Magnetic", marking the end of the band's contract with Warner Bros. Records. Although the group has kept silent about how they plan to distribute their music in the future, drummer Lars Ulrich pointed to the "Guitar Hero" video game franchise as one possible avenue. "This is gonna be a whole 'nother platform that music is gonna reach, an audience, and especially a younger audience, over the years," he said. "I mean, we put out our last record, 'Death Magnetic', through 'Guitar Hero' and it's great. It works on all fronts. And so I think that over the years, it'll turn into an expected way of releasing records."
Great commercials! I think METALLICA will be just fine with out their record label, I honestly think Warner Bros. is crazy for not re-newing their contract. Right now METALLICA is one of the biggest names of Guitar Hero which caters to the new generation rockers and generates an even bigger fan base then they already have! With that being said, If they get out there on the road; they'll sell out venues left and right! Record label or not they're gonna be just fine.
Guitar Hero is bigger then ever and Guitar Hero: METALLICA will be a success, no doubt about it! Guitar Hero caters to the new generation and having their songs and their very own Guitar Hero: METALLICA is one of the smartest things the band has ever done. Even with the economy being in trouble, video games continue to sell. Guitar Hero already generated over 1 billion in sales! Guitar Hero has sold millions of games opening up the door and inviting the new generation to the world or METALLICA; making the band even more popular to the new generation! They're an all time amazing band with a huge following that reaches every age range you can possibly think of. If they start touring, they'll be selling out shows like crazy, who wouldn't take up the chance to get out there and see METALLICA live; they're an all time rock and roll legend and they're fucking amazing!
