Two Men Arrested After Stage Incident at Metallica’s Perth Show

Metallica’s James Hetfield

Two Metallica fans are in legal trouble after climbing the heavy metal band’s stage setup during their Perth show on Saturday, November 1st.

Two men were arrested and charged with trespassing following the incident at Optus Stadium.

The metal legends’ first Australian performance in over 12 years was disrupted when footage shared across social media showed two fans scaling the large central tower positioned near the centre of the stadium. The structure, equipped with massive speaker stacks and attached to a platform, became an impromptu climbing challenge for the concert-goers.

WA Police quickly responded to the situation, arresting a 20-year-old from Bunbury and a 23-year-old from Australind. Both men have been charged with trespassing and will face court at a later date, according to The West Australian.

The Perth show marked a significant return for Metallica, who last toured Australia over a decade ago. Their planned 2019 Australian and New Zealand tour was cancelled when frontman James Hetfield entered rehab, leaving fans waiting years for their return.

Drummer Lars Ulrich reflected on that challenging period during a 2023 appearance on the official Metallica podcast: “What James went through at the tail end of ’19 into ’20 was something where it really felt like I – and the rest of the guys in the band – had to give him the space that he needed, had to really take a step back, and just suspend everything that was on the table.”

He continued: “We needed to do that for our friend and for our bandmate and partner. Then, slowly, the pieces started coming back together in the spring of ’20, and then everything got side-swiped by the horrific events of Covid and the lockdown.”

Despite the aforementioned incident, Metallica kicked off their Australia tour in style, bringing decades of hits to Perth’s Optus Stadium.

Following their WA show, the local leg of their ‘M72 World Tour’ will take the heavy metal veterans to Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Sydney over the coming weeks, followed by a quick stop in New Zealand for an Auckland performance.