Metallica Cancel US Festival Dates As James Hetfield Continues Recovery

Metallica frontman James Hetfield has issued a statement to fans after the metal icons cancelled some upcoming festival dates in the US. 

The band have pulled out of the Sonic Temple festival in Columbus and Louder Than Life in Louisville this year, as Hetfield continues to recover after re-entering a treatment facility for addiction issues late last year.

"As part of my continuing effort to get and stay healthy, I have critical recovery events on those weekends that cannot be moved," the statement reads.

"I apologise to all of our fans who have bought tickets for these festivals. We are working with the festival promoters to provide for refunds or exchanges. My intent with this statement is saying 'I apologise' to each one of you.

"The reality is that I have not prioritised my health in the past year of touring and I now know that my mental health comes first. That might sound like a no-brainer for most of you but I didn’t want to let the Metallica team/family down and, I alone, completely compromised myself."

The 56-year-old songwriter added that Metallica will commit to playing all other scheduled shows in 2020, including Welcome to Rockville in Daytona and Aftershock in Sacramento.

Read the full statement here.

Metallica were forced to cancel a stadium tour of Australia last September so Hetfield could enter a treatment facility, with drummer Lars Ulrich saying weeks later that they hoped to return to the country in 2020. 

"[Hetfield's] doing what he needs to; he's in the process of healing himself," Ulrich said at the time.

"I feel bad for everybody down in Australia and New Zealand, but we're excited to get back to full force and come back stronger and healthier than ever. Along the way, there's obviously an occasional bump in the road.

"But it's been an incredible ride, and we're looking forward to getting back down there, hopefully next year."