Metallica are suing their insurance company for allegedly refusing to cover the band for the loss of income they suffered when they were forced to postpone their 2020 South American tour because of travel restrictions imposed to curb the transmission of the Covid-19 virus.
The band filed a lawsuit in the Los Angeles Superior Court on June 7, alleging a breach of contract from the insurance company, and they are seeking compensation, plus ‘a declaration of the rights and obligations of the parties.’ Metallica say that their "cancellation, abandonment and non-appearance insurance" policy obtained via Lloyd's of London was denied, with Lloyd’s citing the policy's communicable disease exclusion. Metallica’s lawyers have criticised this stance as "an unreasonably restrictive interpretation of the policy.”
As Blabbermouth reports, this is not the first time Lloyd's Of London has been involved in a lawsuit related to the cancelation of tour dates. In 2016, Foo Fighters agreed to settle a lawsuit against their insurers on claims relating to shows pulled from their 2015 world tour schedule after Dave Grohl snapped his fibula following a fall from the stage of Gothenburg’s Ullevi Stadium. In that instance, the lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice, and Foo Fighters were barred from re-filing the case on the same claim. Terms were not disclosed.
Away from the courts, it appears that Metallica will be reissuing the ‘Black Album’ later this year for its 30th anniversary.
On May 21 the band posted a clip of a 1992 live performance of Wherever I May Roam from San Diego on Instagram, tagging the post with the hashtag ‘BlackAlbum2021?’
Given that the quartet have already released deluxe reissues of Kill Em All, Ride The Lightning, Master Of Puppets and …And Justice For All in recent years, an expanded reissue of Metallica, which will celebrate its thirtieth birthday on August 12, 2021, would be the next logical step in their reissue programme.
