Metallica to play New Zealand

Metallica are returning to New Zealand

Heavy metal legends Metallica have announced that they will be bringing their WorldWired tour to New Zealand.

They will play at Mt. Smart Stadium in Auckland on October 31 with support from Slipknot.

Metal fans have been long hoping that the band would make their way to New Zealand as part of the massive worldwide tour that kicked off in Puerto Rico in 2016 in support of their latest album Hardwired... to Self-Destruct. They have since travelled through Europe and North America.

Last year drummer Lars Ulrich all but confirmed the band were on their way, telling a Metallica fan club website that the band had "got to go" to New Zealand, but stopped short of announcing any dates or potential timeframe for any shows.

"We've got to just sit and look. There's Japan, there's Australia, there's New Zealand. There's a couple other pockets that obviously Metallica has a long and very cool relationship with," he said. "So, we just got to sit down and figure it out."

That was enough to spur 12-year-old William Bush into action. The Havelock North super fan set up an online petition to encourage the band to play here. His efforts attracted almost 7000 signatures.

Bush said today's announcement made it all worth it.

"Hawke's Bay was always a bit ambitious. I started the petition just to get them to New Zealand and it paid off."

Mother, Anna Bush said their household was full of excitement.

"Hardwork has paid off for a little boy who has written a lot of letters."

Her husband and 15-year-old son, Ben were also fans of the band.

The band's last visit here was way back in 2010, so a return is long overdue. Just as long as the famously volatile band doesn't self-destruct before they get here.