A Sick Hetfield Cancels Metallica’s Sweden Show

Metallica canceled its second concert at the Stockholm Globe Arena in Sweden March 8 minutes before the show was supposed to start because singer James Hetfield had been taken to the hospital earlier that day.

Hetfield caught a stomach bug Sunday and suffered dehydration, according to spokeswoman Carolina Satterwall. He was released from the hospital that evening.

Photo: Greg Allen / gregallenphotos.com

Prudential Center, Newark, N.J.

The 16,000 fans at the Stockholm venue heard the bad news from the other members of the band, who came on stage to tell the crowd they’d be going home rather than rocking out.

Drummer Lars Ulrich said they were “truly, truly, truly sorry.”

“Trust me, none of you guys wanna hear me, Rob or Kirk sing,” he added, referring to bassist Robert Trujillo and lead guitarist Kirk Hammett.

The show will be rescheduled sometime this spring, according to an announcement on the band’s Web site, which recommends checking back on the site for more details.

“We apologize to all our fans who have travelled [sic] from near and far and we look forward to coming back soon,” Metallica said, according to the post.

Metallica played the Stockholm Globe Arena the night before, March 7.

The band is currently on tour with dates through August.

To check out the band’s Web site, click here.