Metallica to Perform in Saudi Arabia for Soundstorm Festival

This news has been read 1300 times!

DUBAI: In a historic move, the renowned US metal band Metallica is gearing up for its inaugural performance in Saudi Arabia this December at the highly-anticipated Soundstorm festival by MDLBeast. The band is slated to take the stage in Riyadh on December 14, marking the commencement of the festival’s three-day extravaganza. Soundstorm, which debuted in 2019, is one of the region’s premier music events and boasts an impressive lineup including international stars like Chris Brown, Pharrell Williams, Her, Tiesto, David Guetta, Black Eyed Peas, J Balvin, and Anne-Marie. Metallica’s Saudi show is a significant highlight of their M72 World Tour.

The group, consisting of James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, and Robert Trujillo, is set to headline the opening night of the Soundstorm festival, making history as the first-ever hard rock band to grace the stage in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Metallica’s official Facebook post conveyed their excitement about the opportunity, stating, “ We’re not done with 2023 yet, as an amazing opportunity has just come our way to perform at a major Festival, which we’ve never played, in a part of the world we rarely visit. We are excited to announce that on Thursday December 14th we will be the first ever hard rock band to play MDLBeast’s Soundstorm Festival in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.”

Notably, appearances by heavy metal musicians in Saudi Arabia are infrequent. In 2022, the melodic death metal band Immortal Pain from Saudi Arabia made history as the first heavy metal act to perform at a major public event during Comic Con Arabia.

While Metallica previously debuted in the Middle East at Etihad Park in Abu Dhabi in 2011, their upcoming performance in Riyadh marks their first-ever concert appearance in Saudi Arabia. The Soundstorm Festival will also feature other prominent artists such as Pharrell Williams, Chris Brown, H.E.R., and Black Eyed Peas.

Reports indicate that the 2022 Soundstorm drew an impressive attendance of 600,000 people.

This news has been read 1300 times!