Happy Metallica release day! In celebration of the arrival of their new album 72 Seasons, the San Francisco metal heavyweights have been taking part in a four-night residency on Jimmy Kimmel Live this week, complete with huge performances of new and well-loved songs in addition to amusing skits.
On Wednesday's episode on April 12, the four piece were tasked with the challenge of learning to erm, master puppets, to eventually put on a puppet show for children. On the same night, the band ripped through a stellar performance of the 1986 classic (which obviously inspired the late night television skit), Master Of Puppets.
For the task, Metallica set off to the Bob Baker Marionette Theater in Los Angeles and discovered how to use marionettes, with each band member receiving their own to play with.
Their puppet show saw the band explore the history of Metallica, with drummer Lars Ulrich puppeteering a cactus, frontman James Hetfield wielding a cat, guitarist Kirk Hammett playing a donkey and bassist Robert Trujillo with an 'invisible' man.
At the end of the performance, the band destroy the set and make their puppets mosh. What fun.
"Metallica has had a huge surge of popularity among young people after their song Master Of Puppets was on Stranger Things," announce the Jimmy Kimmel producers. "So we thought it would be fun to take the band to the Bob Baker Marionette Theater, which is a popular children's puppet spot, to give the guys a chance to master some puppets."
Watch it below:
Yesterday, a fan in New Zealand became the first person in the world to buy 72 Seasons over the counter, as New Plymouth record store Vinyl Countdown opened at midnight NZ time to sell the album.
Metallica kick off their world tour on April 27 at the Johan Cruijff Arena in Amsterdam. Full dates below. Tickets are on sale now.
Metallica are on the covers of the latest issues of Metal Hammer and Classic Rock magazine.
Metallica: M72 World Tour 2023
Apr 27: Amsterdam Johan Cruijff Arena, Netherlands
Apr 29: Amsterdam Johan Cruijff Arena, Netherlands
May 17: Paris Stade de France, France
May 19: Paris Stade de France, France
May 26: Hamburg Volksparkstadion, Germany
May 28: Hamburg Volksparkstadion, Germany
Jun 08: Download Festival, UK
Jun 10: Download Festival, UK
Jun 16: Gothenburg Ullevi Stadium, Sweden
Jun 18: Gothenburg Ullevi Stadium, Sweden
Aug 04: East Rutherford MetLife Stadium, NJ, USA
Aug 06: East Rutherford MetLife Stadium, NJ, USA
Aug 11: Montreal Stade Olympique, Canada
Aug 13: Montreal Stade Olympique, Canada
Aug 18: Arlington AT&T Stadium, TX, USA
Aug 20: Arlington AT&T Stadium, TX, USA
Aug 25: Inglewood SoFi Stadium, CA, USA
Aug 27: Inglewood SoFi Stadium, CA, USA
Sep 01: Glendale State Farm Stadium, AZ, USA
Sep 03: Glendale State Farm Stadium, AZ, USA
Nov 03: St. Louis The Dome at America’s Center, MO, USA
Nov 05: St. Louis, The Dome at America’s Center, MO, USA
Nov 10: Detroit Ford Field, MI, USA
Nov 12: Detroit Ford Field, MI, USA
Metallica: M72 World Tour 2024
May 24: Munich Olympiastadion, Germany
May 26: Munich Olympiastadion, Germany
Jun 07: Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Finland
Jun 09: Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Finland
Jun 14: Copenhagen Parken Stadium, Denmark
Jun 16: Copenhagen Parken Stadium, Denmark
Jul 05: Warsaw PGE Narodowy, Poland
Jul 07: Warsaw PGE Narodowy, Poland
Jul 12: Madrid Estadio Cívitas Metropolitano, Spain
Jul 14: Madrid Estadio Cívitas Metropolitano, Spain
Aug 02: Foxborough Gillette Stadium, MA, USA
Aug 04: Foxborough Gillette Stadium, MA, USA
Aug 09: Chicago Soldier Field, IL, USA
Aug 11: Chicago Soldier Field, IL, USA
Aug 16: Minneapolis US Bank Stadium, MN, USA
Aug 18: Minneapolis US Bank Stadium, MN, USA
Aug 23: Edmonton Commonwealth Stadium, Canada
Aug 25: Edmonton Commonwealth Stadium, Canada
Aug 30: Seattle Lumen Field, WA, USA
Sep 01: Seattle Lumen Field, WA, USA
Sep 20: Mexico City Foro Sol, Mexico
Sep 22: Mexico City Foro Sol, Mexico
Sep 27: Mexico City Foro Sol, Mexico
Sep 29: Mexico City Foro Sol, Mexico
