Lars Ulrich has said Metallica’s upcoming Las Vegas Sphere residency feels “overwhelming and fucking intimidating”.
The heavy metal band announced their residency at the Las Vegas Sphere last February, which they have now extended into 2027. Ticketholders will hear Metallica perform with Sphere Immersive Sound, and enjoy “multi-sensory 4D technology” at the gigs. The shows are due to “present a wholly unique and entirely new Metallica experience for all who attend”.
Now, drummer Ulrich has spoken about the upcoming residency, which kicks off on October 1. Speaking on U2 guitarist The Edge’s radio show, he revealed the band had been working on The Sphere show for over a year. “This is something else,” he told The Edge. “This is another level. And so to be able to do that here is so exciting.”
Ulrich said he was well aware of how difficult the upcoming shows would be. “It’s going to be challenging, and obviously, I think like everybody else I’ve talked to about it’s overwhelming and fucking intimidating,” he professed to The Edge.
“But hopefully when we step out on stage that first night, we’ll have it somewhat together. That’s a place, maybe, we don’t end up in often enough because we have a tendency to put ourselves in environments that we completely control and know. And so I think it’s really good to be able to throw yourself for the loop like that.”
Watch Ulrich’s remarks below.
In the same interview, Ulrich revealed he was “awestruck” and “inspired” watching U2 perform at The Sphere.
“I was there opening night and was so just fucking awestruck, inspired, energized – all of it,” Ulrich said. “It was just, like, ‘Holy shit, this is somehow another frontier’.”
Alongside U2, Phish, Dead & Company, and the Eagles have hosted a residency at the high-tech venue.
Metallica had been teasing a potential run of dates at The Sphere since last spring, where Kirk Hammett spoke about the possibility of playing the arena. Hammett said it was a “great example of how venues are changing”. He continued: “That’s using modern technology to the fullest, to really up the levels of production and entertainment, connected to AI and making it a crazy experience.”
Ulrich later revealed that the group were considering the Sphere, explaining that he would “fucking love to do it”. Robert Trujillo, meanwhile, said the “possibilities are endless” at the venue. “No heavy rock band has done this,” he added.
Meanwhile, NME attended the first show of U2’s Sphere residency, giving the show a whopping five stars.
“Edge previously pointed out that U2 are taking the live concert experience “to the next level” and this opening night does a fine balancing act of doing just that while also ensuring their music remains very much at the forefront,” we wrote. “And this is just the start of a stunning residency which will only continue to blossom with each passing night in this city of blinding lights”.
Elsewhere, here’s what Metallica played as they ended the ‘M72’ tour with their second “no repeats” London gig.
