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METALLICA TICKET PRICES CAUSE FAN BACKLASH

Metallica have broken plenty of new ground musically during their long and illustrious history but now they’ve gone and broken new ground regarding ticket pricing.

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The European leg of the Worldwired Tour was announced yesterday with five dates penned in for the UK in October including two at London’s O2 Arena with standing tickets priced at a staggering ÂŁ96.25 (ÂŁ85.00 Ticket + ÂŁ11.25 Fees), excluding a per transaction delivery fee, which will be added to the total amount due.

Both Kiss and Iron Maiden play the same venue this summer with standing tickets for the former priced at ÂŁ63.50 plus unspecified delivery charge and Maiden at an almost identical price.

Here’s some select comments from the hundreds of outbursts on social media regarding Metallica ticket prices:

Richard Collins: “At these prices are METALLICA having a laugh? Cause I’m not.”

Steve Rose: “Your ticket prices can suck my dick!… fuck you, ‘tallica.”

Hella Rock Festival

Neil Blackbird Sims: “Metallica have come a long way since their garage days… judging by their ticket prices… a little bit too far… some dad’s have sons they would like to take but nearly 200 smackers just for the gig without drinks, a programme and a t-shirt? your ‘avin a larf incha????”

Graham Edgar: “Bullshit huge seat prices – fuck you Metallica.”

Matt Dew: “Good thing Metallica sued Napster, their live ticket prices are so low they’d be broke as fuck now if they hadn’t…”

Chris Diamond Parker: “ÂŁ96 for standing at Metallica. I like them but you can see three decent bands for the price of one ticket…..fuck that.”

In February, Metallica announced that they will play at the 42,000-capacity Ramat Gan Stadium, near Tel Aviv, Israel on May 22nd and when fans saw that most tickets cost more than $150 each, they decided to take action.

Tomer Mussman, a student at the College of Management and Academic Studies in Rishon Le Zion, started a Facebook group called ‘Boycott Metallica’s Israel Show’ and membership grew to more than 6,000 followers in four days, Mussman was subsequently contacted by Metallica’s promoter in Israel, Gad Oron, to set up a meeting.

Oron, one of Israel’s best-known promoters, spoke with Mussman for four and eventually a deal was struck and ticket prices were slashed by 30% to 40% for the two weeks leading up to March 20th. He said of the petitioners:

“We realized that they are young people who are idealistic. They thought that everybody should be able to be as close to the stage as possible [even if they can’t afford tickets for floor seats]. Me and the band made a mutual decision to try this idea for two weeks.”

After his victory with Oron, Mussman posted a message on Facebook, saying:

“We are officially asking each and every one of you to stop the boycott, and come and enjoy Metallica’s concert with us on May 22nd.”

He added that his success “shows customers and consumers that they do have the power”.

Norway’s Kvelertak will be support for the European tour run which is listed in full below. No additional shows will be added.

UK tickets are available right here and every ticket purchased through official outlets includes your choice of a standard digital or standard physical copy of ‘Hardwired… To Self-Destruct’.

Redemption information will be included in your ticket purchase confirmation email. Full details of how you can gift the album, should you have already purchased, will be given on the redemption page. Please note that shipping and handling fees apply to the physical version of the album.

Metallica has partnered with CID Entertainment to offer three options of special enhanced experiences on this tour, including premium tickets and amenities, early access to the venue, a visit to the ‘Memory Remains’ exhibit of memorabilia, and meet and greets.

‘Hardwired… To Self-Destruct’ was released on November 18th 2016 on Metallica’s own Blackened Recordings record label and sold over 800,000 copies worldwide in its first week. The album was produced by Greg Fidelman with James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, and is available in various configurations.

European tour dates are:

September 4th: Amsterdam, Netherlands – Ziggo Dome
September 6th: Amsterdam, Netherlands – Ziggo Dome
September 8th: Paris, France – AccorHotels Arena
September 10th: Paris, France – AccorHotels Arena
September 12th: Lyon, France – Halle Tony Garnier
September 14th: Cologne, Germany – Lanxess Arena
September 16th: Cologne, Germany – Lanxess Arena
October 22th: London, England, UK – The O2 Arena
October 24th: London, England, UK – The O2 Arena
October 26th: Glasgow, Scotland, UK – The SSE Hydro
October 28th: Manchester, England, UK – Manchester Arena
October 30th: Birmingham, England, UK – Genting Arena
November 1st: Antwerp, Belgium – Sportpaleis
November 3rd: Antwerp, Belgium – Sportpaleis
February 1st 2018: Lisbon, Portugal – MEO Arena
February 3rd 2018: Madrid, Spain – Wizink Center
February 5th 2018: Madrid, Spain – Wizink Center
February 7th 2018: Barcelona, Spain – Palau Sant Jordi
February 10th 2018: Turin, Italy – Pala Alpitour
February 12th 2018: Bologna, Italy – Unipol Arena
February 14th 2018: Bologna, Italy – Unipol Arena
February 16th 2018: Mannheim, Germany – SAP Arena
March 27th 2018: Herning, Denmark – Jyske Bank Boxen
March 29th 2018: Hamburg, Germany – Barclaycard Arena
March 31st 2018: Vienna, Austria – Wiener Stadthalle
April 2nd 2018: Prague, Czech Republic – O2 Arena
April 5th 2018: Budapest, Hungary – Sports Arena
April 7th 2018: Stuttgart, Germany – Schleyerhalle
April 9th 2018: Stuttgart, Germany – Schleyerhalle
April 11th 2018: Geneva, Switzerland – Palexpo
April 26th 2018: Munich, Germany – Olympiahalle
April 28th 2018: Krakow, Poland – Tauron Arena
April 30th 2018: Leipzig, Germany – Leipzig Arena
May 2nd 2018: Oslo, Norway – Telenor Arena
May 5th 2018: Stockholm, Sweden – Ericsson Globe
May 7th 2018: Stockholm, Sweden – Ericsson Globe
May 9th 2018: Helsinki, Finland – Hartwall Arena
May 11th 2018: Helsinki, Finland – Hartwall Arena

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