Two of Metallica‘s roadies may or may not have intentionally suffered burns during the band’s concert in Mexico City last night.
Blabbermouth report that near the end of the band’s first show at the Palacio De Los Deportes (Sports Palace) a flare launcher failed while the band was performing their mega hit Enter Sandman.
Two men came on stage to check what was happening when a huge flame suddenly appeared, engulfing them. Check out footage of the incident at the bottom of the page.
Frontman James Hetfield yelled “Stop, Stop!” mid-song, much to the confusion of the 22,000 fans who attended the gig. Metallica crew members then ran on stage with fire extinguishers to help the two men, who were taken off stage on stretchers. The band then continued their performance after a short break.
Promoter Ocesa said the incident was supposedly “all part of the show”, which marked the debut of the band’s 140-foot-by-50-foot stage that features “colossal components and striking visual elements spanning Metallica’s entire 30-year career”.
Following those comments, Blabbermouth reckons the incident was a recreation of the “accident” that was staged for Metallica’s 1998 concert video Cunning Stunts.
In that video, during the performance of Enter Sandman, the entire stage set collapsed and exploded, with pyrotechnics going off and a technician (referred to in the credits as the “Burning Dude”) running across the stage on fire.
Metallica are scheduled to play seven more shows at the venue in the coming days.
