Metallica frontman James Hetfield took a minute out of the band’s show at Las Vegas’ Sphere on Saturday to let the audience know that the band wasn’t there to preach any “bullshit” agendas, but rather offer an evening of escapism.
The legendary metal band is four shows into a 24-date residency at the immersive venue, playing gigs on Thursdays and Saturdays on select weeks through March 2027.
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“Unless you live in Vegas, you’ve come a long way to spend some time with Metallica,” Hetfield told the crowd at Saturday’s concert. “We’re grateful for that — your travels, the money you spend, the time it took, thanks for coming to celebrate with us.”
He continued, “And I just gotta say, Metallica is not here, like some other entertainers, to influence you with their bullshit, OK? We are here…no bullshit…we’re here to forget about all the outside shit, OK? Metallica’s agenda is love, energy and heavy music, baby!”
While Hetfield didn’t name any names, in recent weeks rapper Macklemore made headlines for his pro-Palestine onstage speech that led him to be removed as a support act on Ed Sheeran’s tour. And a week before Hetfield’s onstage speech, Tom Morello staged the politically charged Power to the People festival.
Back in 2017, Hetfield was asked by Chilean newspaper La Tercera about his thoughts on President Trump, and responded, “Everyone has one, but I’ll keep mine to myself. I’m an artist, a singer who plays the guitar in a band. I hate politics, I don’t want to talk about politics. That separates people and I want to connect them with music.”
Watch James Hetfield address the audience in the clip below. Tickets to Metallica’s Sphere shows are available here.