Metallica Cancels Two Concerts To Recover James Hetfield

James Hetfield (Twitter @metallica)

JAKARTA - Metallica canceled the two main performances of the festival which will take place later this year. This was done to support the recovery process of vocalist James Hetfield.

The frontman underwent rehabilitation in September 2019 to deal with his fight against addiction. Hetfield's problems with addiction and alcoholism were previously detailed in the documentary Some Kind of Monster released in 2004.

Metallica will no longer headline the Sonic Temple Columbus festival in May and Louisville's Louder Than Life in September. They will be replaced by the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Tool.

Other performers at the two shows including Epicenter, Welcome To Rockville, and Aftershock will keep going as planned.

In a letter to fans, Hetfield explained the reasons for Metallica's withdrawal from the festival. "As part of my continuing efforts to stay healthy, I have a schedule of crucial recovery on the weekend that cannot be moved," he wrote.

“I apologize to all of our fans who have purchased tickets for this festival. We work with festival promoters to provide refunds or exchanges. What I mean by this statement is 'I apologize' to all of you. "

"The reality is that I haven't prioritized my health in the past year of touring and I now know that my mental health comes first. It may sound like nothing is wrong for most of you, but I don't want to disappoint the Metallica team / family and, me. myself, completely compromised with myself. "

Hetfield added an update in his journey so far. He said his therapy is going well and he is optimistic about the blessings he has been given and what the future holds.

"Being a human in a career (like) this has big challenges and can be very difficult," he concluded. "Your understanding helps (my) healing process."

Last week (February 20), Hetfield gave his first public appearance since entering rehab. The musician appeared at a tribute ceremony for the late Eddie Money, who died in September last year.