Metallica fans can expect a broad range of the band’s music — spanning more than 20 years of its career — at Saturday’s Coca-Cola Colab Music Festival at Supersport Park in Centurion.
”It’s just us doing our thing,” said drummer Lars Ulrich in Johannesburg on Friday.
”We always play stuff from all our different records. We’re playing our full headlining show … covering all different sides of Metallica,” he said.
The headlining act and several of the biggest local and international rock and dance artists are in Gauteng ahead of the music festival
Each of the bands addressed the media in a graffiti-decorated, basement-like room at the Hilton Hotel in Sandton.
Journalists gave Metallica a warm welcome. The band has recorded 10 albums, the latest of which was St Anger.
Finnish band, The Rasmus, famous for the song In the Shadows, planned to use its time in South Africa to go on a safari and cage-diving with sharks in Cape Town.
”It is beautiful to be here. We are very excited,” said frontman Lauri Ylonen.
After being together for 12 years the band only struck it big with their fifth album.
According to Ylönen the band had started off playing covers of Metallica.
Canadian rock group Simple Plan, about to make its third record, said playing with Metallica was ”a dream for every band”.
The band’s Chuck Comeau said that from what they had seen, South Africa was an ”underground, undercover modelling agency” as ”everyone is so good-looking”.
Collective Soul, who has been in South Africa before, would also be gracing the rock stage along with the cream of South Africa’s rock and dance offering’s such as The Parlotones, The Finkelsteins, Prime Circle, Arno Carstens, Seether and Flash Republic.
Superstar DJ Fatboy Slim, who has played to massive crowds all over the world, said fans could expect him ”wearing a loud shirt, drunk and waving my hands in the air”.
”It’s simple, but it works.”
The festival kicks off on Saturday before moving to Absa Stadium in Durban on March 21, and Greenpoint Stadium in Cape Town on March 25.
The 12-hour event will be the biggest international music festival South Africa has to date. – Sapa