The M72 World Tour is a concert tour by the American heavy metal band Metallica in support of the band's eleventh studio album 72 Seasons, which was released on April 14, 2023. The tour was announced on November 28, 2022, following the release of the album's first single, "Lux Æterna". The tour began on April 27, 2023, in Amsterdam, and is set to conclude on June 19, 2027 in Salt Lake City. Along with an upgraded stage design which relocates the "Snake Pit" to the center stage, the majority of the tour saw the band performing two nights in each city, with each night featuring a different set list and opening acts.
The tour has grossed $668.4 million from 86 shows, with 5.32 million people in attendance, making it the 6th highest-grossing tour of the 2020s and 9th highest-grossing tour of all time.
Background
On the announcement of the tour the band stated that, over the past few years, they had been inspired by the fans who attended their shows in 2019 and 2021. In the same statement they stated that they "had a blast being a part of the 2021 Wimmer Festivals when they played two nights in one city". Starting in April 2023, Metallica is set to visit twenty-two cities around the world and playing two nights in each city, with each being part of a "No Repeat Weekend" show which will feature two set lists which include deep cuts from the band's catalog. Two day tickets for each show went on sale on December 2, 2022, with single tickets being later made available to the general public on January 20, 2023.
Five Finger Death Punch were originally slated to support Metallica in the select 2023 European shows along with Ice Nine Kills, but pulled out due to lead vocalist Ivan Moody having to fully recover from complications from a recent hernia surgery. As a result, Five Finger Death Punch was replaced by Nightwish vocalist Floor Jansen in Amsterdam, and Dutch symphonic metal band Epica in Paris, Hamburg, and Gothenburg. In Inglewood, California on August 27, 2023, Moody was absent due to falling ill with the flu, and his vocal duties in Five Finger Death Punch were taken over and shared by Phil Labonte (All That Remains), Howard Jones (ex-Killswitch Engage, Light the Torch), and AJ Channer (Fire from the Gods) for the show. The September 1, 2023 performance in Glendale, Arizona was cut short by two songs due to James Hetfield suffering from vocal issues, and the band's following performance on September 3 in Glendale was postponed to September 9, 2023 after Hetfield had tested positive for COVID-19. Suicidal Tendencies replaced Ice Nine Kills as an opening act for the rescheduled Glendale performance.
The shows in Arlington, Texas on August 18 and August 20, 2023 were recorded and released in cinemas worldwide for one night only for each show (international screenings were shown a day later on August 19 and August 21 to suit local time zones).
On November 15, 2023 Metallica announced two more European tour dates for 2024 in Milan and Oslo, with two additional tour dates to be announced later that month.
On the second night in Foxborough, Massachusetts on August 4, 2024, the show was delayed for 90 minutes due to a severe downpour and thunderstorms in the area. As a result, Ice Nine Kills' scheduled opening set was canceled, Five Finger Death Punch performed a shortened opening set, and Metallica ending up still performing a full show. On the fourth night in Mexico City on September 29, 2024, Five Finger Death Punch were unable to perform due to an injury Moody sustained at the Louder Than Life festival a few days prior when he accidentally fell onstage and suffered a fractured rib. As a result, Ice Nine Kills moved up to the special guest slot, and Mexican progressive metal band Agora joined the lineup for the show.
On September 19, 2024, Metallica announced a 2025 North American leg of stadium and festival dates with special guests Pantera, Limp Bizkit, Suicidal Tendencies, and Ice Nine Kills. An Oceania leg was shortly announced on October 23, 2024 for performances in November 2025 with Evanescence and Suicidal Tendencies as support acts.
Metallica performed a sold out show at Virginia Tech's Lane Stadium on May 7, 2025. Their song "Enter Sandman" has been used as the football team's entrance to the stadium for twenty-five years. Metallica is the first band to perform a revenue producing concert at the stadium, as well as offering student seating for their show. The band's performance of "Enter Sandman," combined with the large crowd jumping and cheering, generated enough ground movement and tremors to be registered as a small earthquake by the Virginia Tech Seismological Observatory.
On May 22, 2025, Metallica announced a summer 2026 European stadium leg with Gojira, Pantera, Knocked Loose, and Avatar. Numerous attendance records were broken on that leg of the tour. Another North American leg of the tour with Limp Bizkit and Avatar, consisting of 12 stadium dates across Canada and United States in 2027, was announced the following year on September 16. These concerts take place after their Life Burns Faster residency at the Sphere in 2026 and 2027.
Reception The tour was met with positive reviews from music and entertainment critics. While having given the opening night performance in Amsterdam on April 27, 2023, 4 out of 5 stars, Ali Shutler of NME stated that Metallica was still the greatest heavy metal band around, while Eleanor Goodman from Metal Hammer who gave the performance that same night 5 out of 5 stars, affirmed that the band had thrown the world's biggest heavy metal party.
The tour won Rock Tour of the Year award at the 2024 Pollstar Awards and was the 9th highest grossing tour overall that year with $179,373,637.40 grossed from 24 shows. The tour was named Rock Tour of the Year once more in 2026 by Pollstar, the band also won Road Warrior of the Year award.
Attendance records + Indicates a former attendance record
+List of attendance recordsYearDatesVenueRegionDescription2023 August 27 SoFi StadiumUnited StatesHighest attendance (78,000) November 3-5 The Dome at America's CenterHighest two-show attendance (100,000) 2024 June 7-9 Helsinki Olympic Stadium FinlandHighest two-show attendance after reopening (105,000) 2025 April 19 JMA Wireless DomeUnited StatesHighest attendance (47,500) June 14 NRG StadiumHighest attendance (75,000) June 27-29 Empower Field at Mile HighHighest two-show attendance (152,000) 2026 May 9 Olympic Stadium GreeceHighest attendance (90,000) May 13 Arena Națională RomaniaHighest attendance (65,000) May 19 Silesian Stadium PolandHighest attendance (90,000) May 22-24 Deutsche Bank Park GermanyHighest attendance (62,000) May 30 OlympiastadionHighest attendance (95,000) June 3 Stadio Renato Dall'Ara ItalyHighest attendance (47,000) June 11-13 Puskás Aréna HungaryHighest attendance (75,000) Highest two-show attendance (150,000) June 25 Hampden Park ScotlandHighest attendance (58,000) June 28 Principality Stadium WalesHighest attendance (76,000)
Set lists
No-Repeat Weekend sample set list The following set lists were performed at the Johan Cruyff Arena on April 27 and 29, 2023 in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and are not intended to represent a majority of the shows throughout the tour.
Night One "Orion" "For Whom the Bell Tolls" "Holier Than Thou" "King Nothing" "Lux Æterna" "Screaming Suicide" "Fade to Black" "Sleepwalk My Life Away" "Nothing Else Matters" "Sad but True" "The Day That Never Comes" "Ride the Lightning" "Battery" "Fuel" "Seek & Destroy" "Master of Puppets"
Night Two "The Call of Ktulu" "Creeping Death" "Leper Messiah" "Until It Sleeps" "72 Seasons" "If Darkness Had a Son" "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" "You Must Burn!" "The Unforgiven" "Wherever I May Roam" "Harvester of Sorrow" "Moth into Flame" "Fight Fire with Fire" "Whiskey in the Jar" "One" "Enter Sandman"
One-night sample set list The following set list was performed at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Virginia on May 7, 2025. It is not intended to represent a majority of the shows throughout the tour.
"Creeping Death" "For Whom The Bell Tolls" "Ride the Lightning" "King Nothing" "Lux Æterna" "Screaming Suicide" "The Day That Never Comes" "Fuel" "Orion" "Nothing Else Matters" "Sad but True" "One" "Seek & Destroy" "Master of Puppets" "Enter Sandman"
Tour dates + List of 2023 concerts, showing date, city, country, venue, opening act, tickets sold, number of available tickets and amount of gross revenue Date (2023) City Country Venue Opening act Attendance Revenue April 27 Amsterdam Netherlands Johan Cruyff Arena ArchitectsMammoth WVH 117,671 / 129,451 $10,691,363 April 29 Floor JansenIce Nine Kills May 17 Saint-Denis France Stade de France EpicaIce Nine Kills 96,376 / 115,310 $11,318,434 May 19 ArchitectsMammoth WVH May 26 Hamburg Germany Volksparkstadion 116,939 / 122,938 $11,520,569 May 28 EpicaIce Nine Kills June 8 Castle Donington England Donington Park rowspan="2" rowspan="2" rowspan="2" June 10 June 16 Gothenburg Sweden Ullevi VolbeatMammoth WVH 110,429 / 128,436 $8,720,761 June 18 EpicaIce Nine Kills August 4 East Rutherford United States MetLife Stadium PanteraMammoth WVH 163,028 / 163,028 $20,848,071 August 6 Five Finger Death PunchIce Nine Kills August 11 Montreal Canada Olympic Stadium PanteraMammoth WVH 141,600 / 141,600 $12,661,757 August 13 Five Finger Death PunchIce Nine Kills August 18 Arlington United States AT&T Stadium PanteraMammoth WVH 139,630 / 139,630 $18,524,712 August 20 Five Finger Death PunchIce Nine Kills August 25 Inglewood SoFi Stadium PanteraMammoth WVH 142,738 / 142,738 $17,508,000 August 27 Five Finger Death PunchIce Nine Kills September 1 Glendale State Farm Stadium PanteraMammoth WVH 133,060 / 133,060 $14,013,497 September 9 Five Finger Death PunchSuicidal Tendencies October 8 Indio Empire Polo Club November 3 St. Louis The Dome at America's Center PanteraMammoth WVH 112,286 / 112,286 $12,176,033 November 5 Five Finger Death PunchIce Nine Kills November 10 Detroit Ford Field PanteraMammoth WVH 128,779 / 128,779 $13,866,856 November 12 Five Finger Death PunchIce Nine Kills December 14 Riyadh Saudi Arabia Banban