Metallica's big plans for New Zealand fans

Sounds like Metallica plans to return soon! Photo / Getty Images

Exciting news for Metallica fans: The legendary band is planning on coming down under and New Zealand is on their list of places to play.

Speaking to fan club website Met Club, Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich discussed the band's future touring plans for their latest album Hardwired...To Self-Destruct.

The band is already on its WorldWired tour, which has already hit the US, Latin America, Canada, Europe and Asia, and while Ulrich didn't specifically announce a New Zealand leg of the tour, he did say they were planning to come our way.

"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, so we just got to sit down and figure it out," he said.

"But to me the most important thing is...the maintenance thing. We've got to go to Japan, we got to go to Australia, we've got to go here, we've got to go there. That's fine. As long as it's done within the boundaries that exist."

"And so you know, I don't think whether it's '19 or '20 or whatever, to me we're in a mode where there's a balance to it now that's manageable."

Sounds promising, and if they do manage a visit, it will mark the first time they've been on New Zealand soil for more than eight years.

On their last trip here, they played two shows in Christchurch and two in Auckland in 2010.