The talented drummer tragically passed in March of this year aged 50; a cause of death is yet to be announced. His band mates were left “devastated” by his passing and all upcoming Foo Fighters shows were cancelled. Three months later, the band, along with the Hawkins Family, announced two tribute concerts to celebrate his life and work. The first of which will take place at Wembley Stadium in London on 3rd September, followed by a show in Los Angeles at the Kia Forum on 27th September.

The show will support two charities selected by the Hawkins Family. The first, Music Support, helps those who work in music and live events affected by mental ill-health and/or addiction. The concert will also provide funding to MusiCares, which provides a “safety net of critical assistance for music people in times of need”

The band also announced that they will be streaming the events live to those in the UK and US. The London show will be streamed on Saturday 3rd September at 4.30pm on MTV YouTube Channels (Globally) and Pluto TV (Internationally) along with Paramount +. Bob Bakish, president and CEO at Paramount said, “Music is a powerful connector, and we are honoured to commemorate Taylor Hawkins’ enduring legacy”. Paramount are set to present the entire concert live. The presentation has bn directed by Joel Gallen and Produced by Emer Patten at EP-PIC Films & Creative. The Wembley Stadium show will be available to stream live and on demand across Paramount’s streaming and digital platforms, including some special editions. CBS Television Network will broadcast an hour-long version of the on Saturday 3rd September  and MTV will offer air a one-hour special across its channels around the world, followed by an extended two-hour special that will air globally in September.

Taylor’s success behind the kit leaves a lasting legacy. He recorded nine studio albums with Foo Fighters and was the touring drummer for Sass Jordan and Alanis Morissette. He was voted Best Rock Drummer by drumming magazine Rhythm twice and was inducted, alongside his bandmates, into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His final performance with the Foo Fighters Lollapalooza Argentina festival was on March 20th. The following month, Foo Fighters won three Grammy awards. 

He and Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl had a special bond, which Dave wrote about in his 2021 memoir, The Storyteller, he wrote: “Upon first meeting, our bond was immediate, and we grew closer with every day, every song, every note that we ever played together,” “I am not afraid to say that our chance meeting was a kind of love at first sight, igniting a musical ‘twin flame’ that still burns to this day. Together, we have become an unstoppable duo, onstage and off, in pursuit of any and all adventure we can find.”

It had been a month of controversy as fans of the famous festival were split between accepting Metallica to headline on the main night. However, last night the heavy metal band from Los Angeles rocked the Pyramid Tent in front of a frenzy of black t-shirt clad fans of all ages.

Arctic Monkeys and Scottish rockers Mogwai were notoriously vocal about their thoughts on the metal band playing at Glastonbury with much criticism being aimed their drummer Lars Ulrich. Mogawi had told NME back on June 6th that the band were ‘unbelievably bad’, simply ‘shite’.Metallica had the last laugh however having issued t-shirts covered in comments the other bands had stated to the press such as ‘SHITE!’ and ‘Metallica At Glastonbury – Whoopee Fucking Doo’ alongside their own ‘Peace, Love and Metal’ t-shirts

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Metallica paused for 15 minutes with a dramatic tribute to actor Eli Wallach who sadly passed away on June 24th, including scenes from some of his Spaghetti Western movies. The tribute then turned into a retro video of a British Fox hunt in reference to another controversy surrounding lead singer James Hetfield’s relation to bear hunting. The screen screamed the words ‘Are You Ready for Glastallica?’ and the band exploded on with ‘Creeaping Death.’ Hetflied addressed the crowed saying he was proud to represent the heavier side of music, which has been notably underrepresented in the festivals history.

Metallica then warned ‘it’s going to get louder!’ as they blared ‘The Memory Remains’ throwing black beachballs out to the flag flying battalions at the Pyramid Stage

Lars Ulrich then addressed the crowd: “I came down here last night and I’ve walked every corner of this festival, and let me tell you, there is no place like this on this fucking earth. Thank you Michael, thank you Emily, thank you Nick. Metallica loves you and we hope to see you another fucking time!”

Newspapers have described Metallica as having ‘Rocked Glastonbury and Glastonbury rocked them right back.’ It seems, after all the controversy and slating that Metallica had endured, they thoroughly impressed the festival goers and the media. The musical prejudice which loomed around the night was forgotten as the beloved metal stars rocked out, becomming the main event of the festival and perhaps a the musical event of the year alongside the Libertines reunion and Kat Bush playing at the Apollo in London this august.

The film, which will see IMAX release on September 27th, is a blend of live concert footage with a surreal narrative, following the experience of a Trip (Dane DeHaan) a young Metallica roadie sent on an apocalyptic mission. The accompanying soundtrack will consist of 16 songs, including Metallica staples, ‘Master of Puppets’, ‘One’, ‘For Whom The Bell Tolls’, and ‘Nothing Else Matters’.

In a press release, drummer Lars Ulrich enthused,

“Let’s hear it for the old-school soundtrack! Not only are we beyond psyched about our movie coming your way shortly, but the fact that we get to share the music directly in all these formats is way fuckin’ cool.”

Ulrich recently confirmed that the band would soon be heading back into the studio to record their tenth studio album, joking that by then, they will have run out of excuses.

The track listing for ‘Metallica: Through the Never (Music from the Motion Picture)’ is as follows:

Disc one

1. “The Ecstasy of Gold”
2. “Creeping Death”
3. “For Whom the Bell Tolls”
4. “Fuel”
5. “Ride the Lightning”
6. “One”
7. “The Memory Remains”
8. “Wherever I May Roam”
9. “Cyanide”
10. “…And Justice for All”

Disc two

1. “Master of Puppets”
2. “Battery”
3. “Nothing Else Matters”
4. “Enter Sandman”
5. “Hit the Lights”
6. “Orion”

Check out the trailer for ‘Metallica: Through the Never’, below.