Metallica and the technological charm of the Sphere

According to what the British newspaper The Sun reports, i Metallica 90% would have closed the negotiations for a residency there Sphere in Las Vegasscheduled for 2027, after they complete their world tour ‘M72’ in July this year with a concert also scheduled in Italy, next June 3rd at the Dall’Ara Stadium in Bologna.

One of the ‘usual well-informed’ revealed to the tabloid that “on the Las Vegas Strip there’s nothing but talk of Metallica doing a residency at the Sphere. They met with the managers and the entire technical team to, in principle, discuss and plan a show”.

The chatter about a possible residency of the Californian heavy band in the futuristic location located in the gaming city of Nevada has been rampant in recent months. Last August, to the drummer of Metallica Lars Ulrich on ‘The Howard Stern Show’ they were asked if there was any truth to the rumors that the band was in negotiations for a residency at the Sphere in Las Vegas. On that occasion Ulrich responded, leaving more than one door open to a possible commitment of the group in that sense: “I won’t confirm anything, because there is nothing to confirm. But I don’t deny it, we are all big fans of this venue. All our managers and our producers have been there and looked at it. It’s something we are considering, but there is nothing definitive or approved yet. It’s something we will consider when the 2026 tour is finished.”

The 62-year-old Danish-born drummer continued: “I was there to see U2 the first night, when they came on that stage, I wanted to see for myself before I saw it on YouTube or read about it. I was there, and like everyone else who was there that night I was completely blown away and felt that this was the start of another chapter in live performance. I’m not telling you bullshit, I would absolutely love to do it, without a doubt. It’s not signed, sealed and delivered, but talking with me and asking my opinion, I would love to do that.”

The next day, the bassist of Metallica Robert Trujillo he was contacted by SiriusXM’s ‘Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk’ program to find out if he had ever been to the Sphere and to know his thoughts on the matter. This is the response of the former bassist of Ozzy Osbourne: “I actually haven’t been there yet and I haven’t seen it yet. I love it. It’s a mystery to me. Because everyone I know has done it, and they’re just like, ‘Oh my God. This is amazing.’ The possibilities are endless. So, for me, it’s like a dream come true. We’ll see what happens. I know we’re talking about it, and I hope it happens that Lars talked about it yesterday is a great thing.

Trujillo completed his speech: “We’ve been through a lot lately. So many things have happened that sometimes you find yourself having a meeting for it, and then suddenly something else happens, and then you find yourself in that mode or this mode. But it’s definitely something we want to do and we’re excited about, we just have to wait and see how, when and if we can do it… No heavy rock band has played at the Sphere yet, there’s a lot of history in our music and I think there’s the potential for a lot of stimulation visuals. I’m looking forward to it. Let’s see what happens.”

Even earlier, in April 2025, another member of the Sphere spoke about it
Metallica
the guitarist
Kirk Hammett
who told the Hollywood Reporter: “It’s a great example of how venues are changing. Modern technology is being used to the max, to really increase the levels of production and entertainment, thanks to artificial intelligence and making it a crazy experience.”

The
Las Vegas Sphere
is a 17,600 seat venue that opened in September 2023 and has so far hosted A-list rockers like
U2, Phish, Dead & Company
And
Eagles
. The Sphere was inaugurated by
U2
who performed in 40 sold-out concerts from September 2023 to March 2024, offering, in addition to their successes, the entire 1991 album
“Achtung Baby”
.

If i Metallica they could be protagonists in Las Vegas in 2027. Not all rockers are convinced (at least in words) of the merit of performing in that place with a high technological connotation. Last October the guitarist of Guns N’ Roses Slash expressed some doubt about whether it was suitable for rock, stating: “I think in almost all cases for a band it becomes a visual spectacle rather than a rock and roll concert… it’s one of those things that seems really cool and conceptually there’s probably a lot of interesting things that could be done, but I don’t think it would be the right environment for a real rock and roll concert.”

Speaking of Metallica Slash he said he can see them performing at the Sphere: “I see it because I can imagine them… because you have to prepare your mind not only to put on a band performance, but 50% of what you’re doing is going to be the projection, or whatever you want to call it, the outer wall… of what you’re putting on as content.”

If Slash lets some doubts shine through in his words, the frontman of Iron Maiden Bruce Dickinson is totally negative: “No. It’s not for Maiden. Maiden is for the relationship between band and audience, and the show, while being a show, is an enrichment of what we do. The Sphere, as far as I know… I mean, it’s all-encompassing, it’s this and that, it’s the other thing, but I think the band would be very uncomfortable with the idea. Let me explain, we do a lot of things: we run around, we hang out, and at the Sphere, what’s the point? In fact, what’s the point of even being there if you’re a band?”.