{"id":251307,"date":"2025-10-30T16:59:15","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T16:59:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/251307\/"},"modified":"2025-10-30T16:59:15","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T16:59:15","slug":"metallica-legendary-rock-bands-lead-singer-james-hetfield-bound-for-rottnest-island-ahead-of-perth-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/251307\/","title":{"rendered":"Metallica: Legendary rock band\u2019s lead singer James Hetfield bound for Rottnest Island ahead of Perth show"},"content":{"rendered":"

Metallica frontman James Hetfield has been spotted boarding a ferry to Rottnest Island on Thursday, just days out from the legendary metal band\u2019s Optus Stadium show on Saturday night.<\/p>\n

An image of the iconic singer was shared to a Metallica tour fan page on social media, with the 62-year-old seen dressed in a Black Sabbath tribute show hoodie, Aviator sunglasses, and a cap.<\/p>\n

However, instead of leading his bandmates onto the Rottnest Express vessel, local passenger Gregory Kuerschner told PerthNow that Hetfield had boarded the ferry alongside his girlfriend, Adriana Gillett.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear if the pair had ventured to the island for a day trip, or an overnight stay.<\/p>\n

Earlier this week, the couple had been spotted in Sydney, with band members seen on Wednesday departing their hotel for the airport en route to Perth.<\/p>\n

\"MetallicaCamera IconMetallica frontman James Hetfield boards ferry to Rottnest Island. Credit: Gregory Kuerschner\/FB\"Metallica.\"Camera IconMetallica. Credit: Ross Halfin<\/p>\n

The thrash band \u2014 comprising founders Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, along with Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo \u2014 kick off the Australian leg of their M72 tour in WA.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ll be supported by nostalgic rockers Evanescence and Suicidal Tendencies.<\/p>\n

On Thursday afternoon, Optus Stadium chief executive Mike McKenna said fans should expect an epic show for the band\u2019s first performance in Australia since 2013.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think if you\u2019re a fan of heavy metal, this will be something that you\u2019ll experience and remember forever,\u201d he told PerthNow.<\/p>\n

Mr McKenna said he expected close to 60,000 people would gather for the metal pilgrimage, and that neighbouring suburbs would likely hear the noise.<\/p>\n

\"GeneralCamera IconGeneral view of Optus Stadium with the stage built for the Metallica concert on Saturday. Credit: Luke Williams\/7NEWS\/Luke Williams\/7NEWS<\/p>\n

While a \u2018Snake Pit\u2019 configuration has been confirmed \u2014 offering a 360-degree viewing area for a limited number of fans \u2014 the exact details of the stage set up were to be kept \u201ctop secret\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a really intimate 360 degree experience, so they\u2019ll have a great time,\u201d Mr McKenna added.<\/p>\n

An M72 pop-up shop will open in Perth\u2019s Murray Street Mall on Friday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Metallica frontman James Hetfield has been spotted boarding a ferry to Rottnest Island on Thursday, just days out…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":251308,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[134,43,136,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":{"0":"post-251307","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-headlines","10":"tag-music","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-top-news","13":"tag-top-stories","14":"tag-topnews","15":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251307","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=251307"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251307\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/251308"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=251307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=251307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=251307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}