LARS ULRICH On METALLICA's Enduring Popularity: 'It's Crazy That This Is Still Happening'

Before METALLICA's "M72" tour played the first of its two scheduled concerts at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona this weekend, FOX 10's Danielle Miller sat down with METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich for an exclusive interview. Miller also got a a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes for crews to set up the concert. Check out both reports below.

Speaking about what it's like to still perform in front of tens of thousands of people every night more than four decades into METALLICA's career, Lars said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "You still feel like the same 18-year-olds, 20-year-olds or 30-year-olds, as we've done in the past, when you're walking out, and obviously, 42 years into a career, to be able to still do this, to be able to still bring fans together and share a musical experience at the level that it's still happening is otherworldly. We could never have dreamed of this. I think the main difference now is that we slow down long enough to take it in and appreciate it and show gratitude and be grateful, where when you are younger, you're always in such a hurry to just get to the next thing. But nowadays it's crazy that this is still happening."

As previously reported, METALLICA has postponed the second night of its "No Repeat Weekend" at State Farm Stadium after frontman James Hetfield tested positive for COVID-19. The concert originally scheduled for Sunday, September 3 will now take place on Saturday, September 9. All tickets for September 3 will be honored at the September 9 show.

METALLICA released a statement saying, "METALLICA is very sorry to report that [Sunday's] scheduled 'M72' date at State Farm Stadium in Glendale AZ has been postponed to Saturday, September 9, 2023, as unfortunately Covid has caught up with James Hetfield."

The bandmembers, the statement added, "are extremely disappointed and regret any inconvenience this has caused; they look forward to returning to complete the 'M72' No Repeat Weekend in Glendale next Saturday."

METALLICA played an abbreviated set on Friday in Glendale, apparently due to Hetfield's "vocal issues".

According to Ed Masley of the Arizona Republic, METALLICA's 14-song set at State Farm Stadium was two tracks shorter than every other opening night since the "M72" tour hit the States, with all previous shows featuring a set-closing "Master Of Puppets" after "Seek & Destroy". METALLICA also appeared to roll tape on the intro to "The Day That Never Comes" before switching to "Hardwired" as the twelfth song of the set.

Masley wrote in his review of the concert: "Hetfield did appear to relinquish his lead-singing duties to the audience more often as the night wore on, but I thought it was just to make the crowd feel more like part of the performance."

According to Setlist.fm, METALLICA cut "The Day That Never Comes" and "Master Of Puppets" from the set due to James's vocal problems.