Metallica Return to Lollapalooza

It’s almost comical to think about now, but when Metallica were announced as the headliners for Lollapalooza in 1996, Metallica and Lollapalooza fans lost their shit so bad you’d think the sky was falling. In those days, Lollapalooza was a big traveling summer tour known for spotlighting alternative bands like The Smashing Pumpkins, Primus, and Sonic Youth, and Metallica’s stint on the tour came right after the release of Load and all the drama about their haircuts. So Metallica fans were crying “Sell outs!” and “They’re not Metallica, they’re Alternica!”, while, somewhat ironically, alternative fans were crying “They’re not alternative, fuck this band!” It may very well have marked the beginning of Metallica’s now-decades-long adventure in PR blunders. (Also, I have no idea how that tour went, but I’m guessing not very well: it was the penultimate edition of Lollapalooza until 2003, and it was the year Lollapalooza’s organizers declined to have Ozzy on the bill, leading to the creation of Ozzfest.)

But that was then and this is now, and Metallica have done so many allegedly-not-metal things and pissed so many fans off that I’m betting no one is gonna bat an eye at this news: that the band will co-headline Lollapalooza 2015 with Sir Paul McCartney, above a bill that also includes Florence + The Machine, Sam Smith, and Bassnectar. There is not a single other like-minded band on the bill. Not so much as a Mastodon or a Ghost. You will find more metal in consumer protein shakes.

The line-up is below. Lollapalooza will take place from July 31 – August 2 at Grant Park in Chicago, IL. Celebrate/bitch about diversity in music in the comments section.

[via Lambgoat]