Metallica cancel Australian tour after lead singer James Hetfield returns to rehab

IN a statement released on the band website, fellow band members announced that Metallica have postponed their upcoming tour of Australia and New Zealand.

“As most of you probably know, our brother James has been struggling with addiction on and off for many years. He has now, unfortunately, had to re-enter a treatment program to work on his recovery again,” Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo said in a statement on Friday.

The band have pledged to refund ticket holders for the Australasian leg of the WorldWired tour due to kick off in October 17 in Perth, Australia and conclude November 2 in Auckland, New Zealand.

James Hetfield has had a long history of addiction and alcoholism and admitted himself into a rehab facility in 2004 after a band intervention during the filming of documentary “Some Kind of Monster”.

In an interview with Joe Rogan on his podcast in 2017, Hetfield announced that he was 15 years sober since leaving rehab in a decision born out of fear of losing his family.

“Fear was a big motivator in that for me,” Hetfield said at the time of his recovery.

“Losing my family was the thing that scared me so much, that was the bottom I hit, that my family is going to go away because of my behaviours that I brought home from the road.”