Metallica officially kicks off world tour

By Alex Young on October 22nd, 2008

Believe it or not, Death Magnetic has been in our hands for more than six weeks now. But since releasing its ninth full-length endeavor, Metallica has been lying fairly low. All that changed last night however, when Lars Ulrich and company officially kicked off their ten month world tour in Glendale, Arizona at the Jobing Arena.

Combine yesterday’s reviews with the band’s 18-song rehearsal set (and videos) at San Francisco’s Cow Palace this past Friday, and it certainly appears Metallica has come out swinging. Add in the fact the band has a spiffy new stage set up, and well, those $100 tixs are easier to stomach.

“I’m not gonna give it all away but I can tell you, as should be no secret, that once again we are playing in the round, in the middle,” he said. “We have a different stage — this is our fourth time playing indoors in the round, and once again it’s different. It’s a completely different thing than we’ve done before and there is a big-ass lighting rig above us, and there is some pretty cool stuff up there. It’s pretty cool. I’m pretty psyched.”

- Lars Ulrich via The Pulse of Radio

The complete list of dates for Metallica’s “World Magnetic” tour, which include the band’s first stops in the U.K. in over 12 years, can be found below. Tickets for North American shows can be found via ticketmaster.com.

Now only if we could get our hands on the apparently forthcoming all-Metallica edition of Guitar Hero, and then we’d be rolling…

Metallica 2008/2009 Tour Dates:
10/21 - Glendale, AZ @ Jobing Arena *^
10/23 - Albquerque, NM @ Tingley Coliseum *^
10/25 - Kansas City, MO @ Sprint Center *^
10/26 - Des Moines, IA @ Wells Fargo Arena *^
11/01 - Portland, OR @ Rose Quarter *^
11/03 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Energy Solutions Arena *^
11/04 - Denver, CO @ Pepsi Center *^
11/06 - Omaha, NE @ Qwest Center *^
11/08 - Moline, IL @ iWireless Center *^
11/09 - Columbus, OH @ Schottenstein Center *^
11/17 - St. Louis, MO @ Scottrade Center *^
11/18 - Tulsa, OK @ BOK Center *^
11/20 - Houston, TX @ Toyota Center *^
11/22 - Little Rock, AR @ Alltel Arena *^
11/23 - New Orleans, LA @ New Orleans Arena *^
12/01 - Seattle, WA @ Key Arena *&
12/02 - Vancouver, BC @ GM Place *&
12/04 - Calgary, AB @ Pengrowth Saddledome *&
12/07 - Edmonton, AB @ Rexall Place *&
12/12 - Ontario, CA @ Citizens Bank Arena *&
12/13 - Fresno, CA @ Save Mart Center *&
12/15 - San Diego, CA @ Cox Arena *&
12/17 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Forum *&
12/18 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Forum *&
12/20 - Oakland, CA @ Oracle Arena *&
01/12 - Milwaukee, WI @ Bradley Center *%
01/13 - Detroit, MI @ Joe Louis Arena *%
01/15 - Washington, DC @ Verizon Center *%
01/17 - Philadelphia, PA @ Wachovia Center *%
01/18 - Boston, MA TD @ Banknorth Center *%
01/26 - Chicago, IL @ Allstate Arena *%
01/27 - Chicago, IL @ Allstate Arena *%
01/29 - Uniondale, NY @ Nassau Coliseum *%
01/31 - Newark, NJ @ Prudential Center *%
02/01 - Newark, NJ @ Prudential Center *%
02/25 - Nottingham, UK @ Trent FM Arena *%
02/26 - Manchester, UK @ Evening News Arena *%
02/28 - Sheffield, UK @ Sheffield Arena *%
03/02 - London, UK @ O2 Arena *%
03/03 - Newcastle, UK @ Metro Radio Arena *%
03/05 - Antwerp, BE @ Sportpaleis *%
03/07 - Stockholm, SE @ Globen *%
03/08 - Stockholm, SE @ Globen *%
03/25 - Birmingham, UK @ LG Arena *%
03/26 - Glasgow, UK @ SECC *%
03/28 - London, UK @ O2 Arena *%
03/30 - Rotterdam, NL @ Ahoy *%
04/01 - Paris, FR @ Palais Omnisport de Bercy *%
04/02 - Paris, FR @ Palais Omnisport de Bercy *%
05/06 - Munich, DE @ Olympiahalle *%
05/07 - Leipzig, DE @ Leipzig Arena *%
05/09 - Stuttgart, DE @ Schleyerhalle *%
05/11 - Frankfurt, DE @ Festhalle *%
05/12 - Hamburg, DE @ Colorline Arena *%
05/14 - Vienna, AT @ Stadthalle *%
05/16 - Oberhausen, DE @ Kopi-Arena *%
05/17 - Cologne, DE @ Lanxess Arena *%
06/14 - Helsinki, FI @ Hartwell Arena &$
06/15 - Helsinki, FI @ Hartwell Arena &$
06/17 - Oslo, NO @ Spektrum &$
06/22 - Milan, IT @ Datch Forum &$
06/24 - Rome, IT @ Palaottomatica &$
07/13 - Madrid, ES @ Palacio de Deportes &$
07/16 - Zurich, CH @ Hallenstadion &$
07/20 - Copenhagen, DK @ Copenhagen Forum &$
07/22 - Copenhagen, DK @ Copenhagen Forum &$
07/23 - Copenhagen, DK @ Copenhagen Forum &$
07/27 - Copenhagen, DK @ Copenhagen Forum &$