Download Germany Festival
Metallica are finally back in Germany
Metallica are finally back in Germany after 2019.
© Ben Houdijk/Shutterstock.com
Metallica haven’t performed in Germany for three years. They will return later this week for the Download Germany Festival.
Metallica are giving their only Germany concert 2022 this week: they will be headlining the Download Germany Festival on June 24th at the Hockenheimring – and matching the festival name, they can also be seen and heard in the free live stream. The metal band last came to Germany in 2019.
Almost three years ago, the musicians made a stop in this country on their WorldWired tour. In August 2019 they played the last show of their worldwide tour in Mannheim. The band canceled the concerts they planned to give in Australia and New Zealand in the fall of that year. The reason was frontman James Hetfield (58), who again had to seek treatment for his addiction problems. Most recently, the musician had been treated for his alcohol addiction in 2002. He had stayed sober for years, but in 2019 he relapsed.
How is James Hetfield?
A year later, drummer Lars Ulrich (58) spoke about his colleague’s state of health. As reported, among other things, by the “New Musical Express”., he told fan club magazine So What! that Hetfield had “some issues” in September 2019. Now, a year later, he and the band are doing “very well”.
And what about James Hetfield shortly before the Germany concert in 2022? In mid-May, at a show in Brazil, he said he felt “unsafe” before taking the stage. “I have to tell you that I wasn’t feeling very well before I came up here,” he admitted frankly, as seen in a fan video. “I felt a little insecure, like I was an old guy who couldn’t play anymore.” His bandmates would have helped him: “They hugged me and said: ‘Hey, if you have problems on stage, we’ll have your back.’ I’m telling you, it means the world to me.”
His Metallica colleagues give the 58-year-old a lot of support, as Lars Ulrich emphasized in 2020: “We have each other’s backs. We fight for each other.”
Download Germany Festival: These acts are also there
As of September 2021, Metallica are now with their current world tour on road. They are celebrating both their 40th anniversary and the 30th anniversary of the legendary album “Metallica”, known as the “black album”. In June and July they stop in several European countries, including Germany at the Download Germany Festival.
Not only Metallica will be rocking at the Hockenheimring on Friday, but also other metal acts such as Five Finger Death Punch, Sabaton, Enter Shikari and Behemoth. The big metal and hard rock festival will take place for the first time in 2022. 70,000 fans are expected at the event presented by Telekom. Those who cannot be there live have the opportunity to stream the spectacle thanks to the sponsor: the festival will be broadcast live on MagentaTV, a free live stream is available MagentaMusic to disposal.
The Download Germany Festival is an offshoot of the big British Download Festival. The music event has been held annually at Donington Park in England since 2003 and attracts between 90,000 and 120,000 fans each year.