5725 days later…Metallica Returns to Tampa
In 2016 when I purchased tickets for the Metallica show christening the opening of the new Minnesota Vikings stadium in Minneapolis it had been almost seven years since I had seen Metallica play in Tampa. Metallica last played Tampa on October 3, 2009 and with no tour dates in sight, I figured the only way to see Metallica again I would have to travel. Fast forward nine years to 2025 and Metallica still has yet to play in Tampa. Thankfully, that drought is about to come to a crashing halt with the arrival of two Tampa stops on the M72 World Tour.
I will be in attendance for both Tampa shows and not to sound bittersweet before the first show even happens, I already have the thoughts that this may be the last time Metallica plays the area. While the band has indicated they will start working on their next album after the M72 World Tour concludes, the current tour has already been extended once with an additional leg (including these two Tampa shows) (and was further extended into the Summer of 2026 after I wrote this), which likely means any new release would be no earlier than 2026. To me the bigger factor is the fifteen year gap in between Tampa shows. While I hope I am wrong here, if and when their next tour gets announced I think it is a big stretch to think Tampa would be included again so soon. My next hope would be for what I anticipate would be the band’s 50th anniversary tour in 2031.
As a goof like ten years ago I had built a counter into an Excel spreadsheet counting how long it had been since that Metallica show here in 2009. Throughout the count upwards when the number hit ceremonial amounts I would tag the band in social media reminders as to how long it had been since they played Tampa.
The day the Tampa shows were announced the local rock station that is promoting the concerts used my counter when the show was announced:
From the spreadsheet:
With the last two Metallica releases, ‘Hardwired… to Self-Destruct’ in 2016 and ‘72 Seasons’ in 2023, my faith as a fan of theirs has been renewed as these last two releases to me sound like the band went back to their roots and got angry and aggressive again. I admit that I was among those that thought the band sold out for radio airplay with The Black Album (‘Metallica’) and really did not give their material ‘a chance’ again until I liked a couple of songs off of ‘Death Magnetic’ in 2008. In 2016, sitting in a hotel room in Minneapolis a day away from that show and the build up and anticipation of the new CD the band releases the first single “Hardwired” from their tenth studio album, Hardwired… to Self-Destruct (2016) and I literally thought it could have been a bonus track from their first album ‘Kill Em All’! After returning from this show, I went back and gave those three albums a Iisten in their entirety, ‘Load’, ‘Reload’ and ‘St. Anger’.
I am not suggesting that the new material has a chance yet of cracking into my top three favorite Metallica albums anytime soon, but I can say for sure that the band is on the top of their game live, and I have really enjoyed listening to the new material. The production value of the tour and the people watching alone are worth the cost of a nosebleed seat. The lower and closer to the in-the-round stage at midfield you are, the more immersed you are in the show itself and the crowd around you. Obviously, I have been awaiting this Tampa show and to get two of them in the No Repeat format meant there was no question for me of going to both shows.
I am extremely thankful and beyond fortunate to have traveled to see Metallica ten times across eight cities in seven states since they have last played Tampa, including four stops already on the M72 tour. Since Metallica last played Tampa, I have attended:
08/20/16 Metallica with Avenged Sevenfold & Volbeat at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis
06/18/17 Metallica at Soldier Field in Chicago
07/05/17 Metallica with Avenged Sevenfold & Volbeat at Camping World Stadium in Orlando
01/28/19 Metallica with Jim Breuer at PNC Arena in Raleigh
11/04/21 Metallica with Trivium at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood (FL)
02/25/22 Metallica with Gretta Van Fleet & Ice Nine Kills at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas
08/04/23 Metallica with Pantera, Mammoth WVH at Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford
08/06/23 Metallica with 5 Finger Death Punch at Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford
08/02/24 Metallica with Pantera, Mammoth WVH at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough
08/11/24 Metallica with Five Finger Death Punch, Ice Nine Kills at Soldier Field in Chicago
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