Metallica Sphere residency confirmed: Metallica to play eight October shows in Las Vegas
Metallica announced an eight-show residency at the Las Vegas Sphere this October, billed as the band’s "Life Burns Faster" run. The metallica sphere dates, presale windows and unique production details make this residency one of the most anticipated rock events of the year.
Residency dates, scale and ticketing timeline
The band will perform eight shows in October 2026: October 1, 3, 15, 17, 22, 24, 29 and 31. SiriusXM listeners can access a special presale on Thursday, March 5 starting at 10am PT and running through Thursday, March 5 at 10pm PT using the code SIRIUSXM. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday, March 6 at 10am PT. The announcement encouraged fans to register for tickets on Metallica’s website.
Tallica Talk, call-in premiere and hosts
Alongside the ticket details, a new monthly live call-in show called "Tallica Talk" was announced on SiriusXM’s Maximum Metallica. The program is hosted by Spider Dan and Steffan Chirazi, and fans can call 844-TALLICA to share stories and reactions. The premiere episode will focus on the Sphere announcement and airs Wednesday, February 25, from 4–5pm PT / 7–8pm ET.
No Repeat Weekend continues a thread from the M72 World Tour
The Life Burns Faster residency will continue Metallica’s "No Repeat Weekend" tradition that began with the 2023 kick-off of the band’s M72 World Tour: no songs will be repeated on each Thursday and Saturday throughout the run. The announcement followed months of speculation about the band possibly extending the M72 tour with a stint at the Sphere, and the residency is presented as a continuation of that creative arc.
Sphere technologies and the band’s live presentation
Promoters said the eight-show run will mix live staples and surprises from Metallica’s catalog while leveraging Sphere’s immersive technologies to create a new experiential dimension for fans and the band — specifically naming James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo. The venue’s features cited in the announcement include the world’s highest resolution LED display that wraps up, over and around the audience; Sphere Immersive Sound, designed to deliver audio with clarity and precision to every guest; and multi-sensory 4D technology intended to augment the live performance.
Guitar-rig constraints at the Sphere and why Metallica may avoid them
The Sphere’s physical design has posed rig challenges for touring guitarists: loud stages with tube amps have proven incompatible with the venue. Examples named in the announcement include Bob Weir ditching tube amps for an amp modeler, John Mayer finding a workaround to run his regular amp setup, The Edge using Universal Audio UAFX pedals, and Trey Anastasio burying his amps off-stage during Phish’s residency — Anastasio saying it was impossible to play with onstage amps at the Sphere. Because Metallica has already moved to an all-digital live setup — switching to Axe-Fx around 2013 — the band is expected to be able to insert that existing digital rig into the Sphere’s quieter stage environment without the problems that challenged other guitar players.
Production partners, sponsors and additional ticket offerings
The Metallica "Life Burns Faster" at Sphere residency is produced by Live Nation and presented by inKind. The announcement described inKind as a service that rewards diners with special offers and credit back when they use the app to pay at thousands of top-rated restaurants nationwide, and noted that inKind provides innovative financing to participating restaurants to enable new levels of sustainability and success. The communication said Metallica fans can learn more on inKind’s website.
The announcement also highlighted other presale opportunities listed alongside the residency, including presales for Kenny Chesney at Sphere; Megyn Kelly’s first-ever nationwide live tour "Megyn Kelly LIVE"; Def Leppard at Caesars Palace Las Vegas residency; and 2026 dates for "An Intimate Evening with Santana: Greatest Hits Live in Las Vegas: Presented by SiriusXM. "
Band reaction and the residency’s origin
Drummer Lars Ulrich described the band’s reaction to experiencing the Sphere’s potential during the venue’s opening-night presentation with U2 in 2023, saying, "About 12 seconds into the opening night of Sphere with U2 back in ’23, I thought, ‘We have to do this, it’s completely uncharted territory!'">
Ulrich added that the residency "gives us another chance to reinvent how we interact with our fans in a live setting, " and said, "We are beyond excited to share this with the world in six months’ time, and way fuckin’ psyched to go next level!"
