Metallica's Hetfield tells Sphere crowd band won't push an agenda

James Hetfield told fans at Metallica's Sphere show in Las Vegas on 10 October that the band will not use its concerts to push its views. He said Metallica is there to play heavy music, not to influence the crowd.

Speaking during a break between songs on Saturday night, Hetfield thanked fans for travelling to see the band, according to Billboard. He said the group wants the audience to forget about outside worries for a few hours. Its agenda, he said, is love, energy and heavy music.

In fan footage from the show, Hetfield said some other entertainers try "to influence you with their bullshit", as reported by Stereogum. He did not name any specific performers when he made the remark. The address to the crowd came between songs, as reported by AXS TV.

The show was part of the band's Life Burns Faster residency at Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada. The run has made Metallica the first heavy metal act to headline the venue. A residency, in this business, means a run of shows staged at one venue rather than a tour that moves from city to city.

The Sphere dates use the band's No Repeat Weekends format. The band lists a concert at Sphere on 1 October among its dates, according to its own concert listing. Further performances in the run are scheduled through March 2027.

What makes this stand out is how directly Hetfield put it. The message was simple. Come in, leave the outside world at the door, and hear loud guitars.

Separately, Metallica's expanded reissue of ReLoad has reached No. 1 on Billboard's Top Hard Rock Albums chart. A reissue is an older album put back on sale, often with extra tracks or new packaging. The chart is Billboard's weekly ranking for hard rock albums, and the No. 1 is the band's sixth leader on that chart.