Metallica and Guns N’ Roses Announce Epic Final Joint Tour – Dates and Cities Revealed… More Details
In a thunderous announcement that’s reverberating across the rock world like a double bass drum solo, Metallica and Guns N’ Roses have confirmed their long-rumored “Kings of Chaos: The Final Ride” tour – a monumental co-headlining spectacle billed as the last time these titans of metal and hard rock will blaze across stadiums together on this scale. Dropped via a joint livestream on October 13, 2025, the reveal has already crashed ticket sites and ignited social media with fan frenzy, hashtags like #FinalRide and #MetallicaGNR trending globally within hours.<grok:render card_id=”c55915″ card_type=”citation_card” type=”render_inline_citation”>
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</grok:render> As James Hetfield put it in the stream, “We’ve shared stages, stories, and a few wild nights before – but this is the curtain call. We’re going out with the fury that defined us, giving fans one last chance to scream along to the anthems that changed everything.”
This isn’t just any reunion; it’s a defiant middle finger to time itself. Metallica, the Bay Area thrash architects who’ve sold over 125 million albums worldwide with genre-defining works like *Master of Puppets* and *Metallica* (The Black Album), have been on a tear with their innovative M72 World Tour, complete with “No Repeat Weekends” where fans get two unique setlists over consecutive nights. Guns N’ Roses, the Sunset Strip bad boys whose 1987 debut *Appetite for Destruction* remains one of the best-selling records ever at 30 million copies, have been resurrecting their classic lineup since 2016, blending Axl Rose’s soaring wails with Slash’s iconic top hat and Gibson Les Paul wizardry. Together, they’ve moved mountains – or at least sold out arenas – but their shared history is laced with legend and lore.
Flashback to 1992: The original Guns N’ Roses/Metallica Stadium Tour was a powder keg of glory and chaos. Kicking off in Kansas City’s Kemper Arena, it drew massive crowds eager for thrash-metal meets glam-rock mayhem. Highlights included Hetfield’s infamous pyrotechnic burns during “Fade to Black” in Montreal, which forced Metallica offstage and spiraled into a riot when Axl abruptly ended GNR’s set over sound issues. The tour grossed millions but left scars – lawsuits, bad blood, and a documentary (*Use Your Illusion Tour*) that immortalized the bedlam. “We were young, reckless, and full of fire,” Lars Ulrich reflected in a recent Rolling Stone interview. “Back then, it was survival of the fittest. Now? It’s celebration of the survivors.”<grok:render card_id=”403bb9″ card_type=”citation_card” type=”render_inline_citation”>
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Fast-forward 33 years, and the bad blood has boiled down to brotherhood. Insiders say reconciliation brewed during backstage chats at festivals like Download and Hellfest, where the bands traded nods and guitar licks. “Axl and James buried the hatchet over whiskey and war stories,” a source close to the production told Kerrang! this week. The result is “Kings of Chaos,” a tour promising pyrotechnics evolved (no more flaming eyebrows), immersive LED screens rivaling Pink Floyd’s spectacles, and – rumor has it – surprise encores where the full supergroup merges repertoires. Imagine “Nothing Else Matters” bleeding into “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” or Slash shredding over “Enter Sandman.” Production designer for U2’s Sphere residency is helming the visuals, with drone light shows and haptic seating for that chest-thumping bass you feel in your bones.
Dubbed the “final” joint outing, both camps emphasize it’s not a full retirement – Metallica’s teased new music post-*72 Seasons*, and GNR’s Duff McKagan has hinted at studio sessions. But Ulrich was blunt: “Large-scale tours like this? This is it. We’ve given everything; now it’s time to pass the torch.”<grok:render card_id=”3ddf00″ card_type=”citation_card” type=”render_inline_citation”>
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</grok:render> Axl Rose, ever the poet, added in the announcement video: “Rock ‘n’ roll isn’t about endings – it’s about roaring into the void one more time. This tour is our love letter to the fans who kept the flame alive.” Emotional? Absolutely. But expect zero ballads in the setlists; sources leak a high-octane rotation heavy on classics, with deep cuts like Metallica’s “Battery” and GNR’s “Paradise City” for the die-hards.
The itinerary spans four months across North America, Europe, and select Asia stops, hitting 25 stadiums with capacities pushing 80,000. It launches September 1, 2026, at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium – poetic homecoming for both Cali-bred acts – and climaxes December 20 at London’s Wembley Stadium, where the roar will echo for generations. Here’s the full slate, subject to minor tweaks for weather or world domination:
**North America Leg:**
– September 1, 2026: SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles, CA
– September 5, 2026: Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, CA
– September 12, 2026: Empower Field at Mile High, Denver, CO
– September 18, 2026: U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, MN
– September 25, 2026: Soldier Field, Chicago, IL
– October 2, 2026: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ
– October 9, 2026: Rogers Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada
– October 16, 2026: Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, MA
– October 23, 2026: Darrell K Royal-Texas-Memorial Stadium, Austin, TX
– October 30, 2026: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami, FL
– November 6, 2026: Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, LA
– November 13, 2026: Lumen Field, Seattle, WA
– November 20, 2026: BC Place, Vancouver, BC, Canada
**Europe Leg:**
– November 27, 2026: Stade de France, Paris, France
– December 4, 2026: Olympiastadion, Munich, Germany
– December 8, 2026: Johan Cruijff Arena, Amsterdam, Netherlands
– December 12, 2026: Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy
– December 16, 2026: Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, Madrid, Spain
– December 20, 2026: Wembley Stadium, London, UK
**Asia Finale:**
– December 14, 2026: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan (Bonus show, bridging Europe and close)
Support acts rotate nightly, with confirmed openers including Mastodon for thrash synergy, Ghost for theatrical flair, Alice in Chains for grunge grit, and Halestorm for female-fronted fire.<grok:render card_id=”d9691c” card_type=”citation_card” type=”render_inline_citation”>
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</grok:render> Each venue gets a “No Repeat Weekend” twist where possible, ensuring fresh thrills.
Tickets drop into chaos on November 1, 2025, via Ticketmaster and band sites, with presales for Metallica Blacklist and GNR Nightrain members starting October 28. Prices start at $150 for general admission, scaling to $1,500 for VIP pits with meet-and-greets, signed posters, and pre-show jam sessions. Travel packages bundle flights and hotels, but beware: resale markets are already buzzing with scalpers. Demand mirrors Taylor Swift levels – expect sellouts in minutes.
Fan reactions? Pure pandemonium. “I’m mortgaging my soul for Wembley,” tweeted @RockGod87, a sentiment echoed by millions. Spotify streams for both bands spiked 300% overnight, introducing Gen Z to the glory days via TikTok edits of ’92 riots set to “Welcome to the Jungle.”<grok:render card_id=”4969a7″ card_type=”citation_card” type=”render_inline_citation”>
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</grok:render> Critics hail it as “rock’s Avengers moment,” a bridge between eras where boomers relive youth and zoomers discover gods.
As the dust settles on this bombshell, one thing’s clear: “Kings of Chaos” isn’t just a tour – it’s a seismic event, a powder keg reignited for one blazing summer. Metallica and Guns N’ Roses aren’t fading quietly; they’re detonating gloriously. Secure your spot, crank the volume, and prepare to lose your voice. The final ride awaits – and it’s going to be legendary.
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