JAMES HETFIELD Says METALLICA's Collaboration With FORTNITE 'Makes Sense': 'It Is A Really Cool Idea'

This weekend only, jump in to Fortnite to experience METALLICA's music like never before in "Metallica: Fuel. Fire. Fury." This immersive music experience journeys through five classic METALLICA tracks plus — because this is a METALLICA concert — the customary live intro of Ennio Morricone's "The Ecstasy Of Gold".

Watch the "Metallica: Fuel. Fire. Fury." concert teaser below.

"Metallica: Fuel. Fire. Fury." will have six different showtimes across two days. Mark your calendars, because these times will be your only chance to experience the concert live in Fortnite:

Saturday, June 22, 2024:

2 p.m. ET
5 p.m. ET
11 p.m. ET

Sunday, June 23, 2024:

10 a.m. ET
2 p.m. ET
5 p.m. ET

Want to hear more about METALLICA's journey across Fortnite? Listen to this week's "The Metallica Report" podcast where METALLICA frontman James Hetfield shares insight into how the band feels about taking over Fortnite.

During the episode, James shared about METALLICA's collaboration with Fortnite (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "What I kind of equate it to is we have a huge family out there. The METALLICA family is international and obviously every corner of the earth, there's a METALLICA family member. And Fortnite is kind of the same. They've reached many people all over the planet, so getting the two together makes sense. And they've got a lot to gain from our family and vice versa. So it is a really cool idea. And like it was explained to me, it's like it's a whole another continent. And we've played all seven, [so we] might as well play the eighth one. So let's get in on that and, yeah, explore and be adventurous and see what comes out of this. Why would we not?"

Addressing the similarities between the METALLICA and Fortnite communities, Hetfield said: "You're able to be welcomed in no matter who you are or what you are or how you wanna dress or however you wanna accessorize or whatever."

Asked if he thinks he could play the Fortnite game to his own song, Hetfield said: "I haven't tried it. I mean, I've tried 'Guitar Hero', and, um, it's not much to do with guitar playing, really. It's a game. You're jumping around on stuff and you're hitting things at a certain time. It's more about timing. It's more about being a drummer than it is a guitar player, really, in a way. It's about the timing. But, yeah, it is fun. But, yeah, here you're doing more than one note at a time. But [I'd] probably not [be] great. I'd be competitive and try to get better. Yes, of course… Especially if you're living in this world and you're doing it every day, you're gonna get good at it — as simple as that. And gosh, there's so much that I don't know about it that it's kind of interesting to be able to learn about it. And, yeah, it's like it's its own continent, it's its own language, it's probably got its own set of, I don't even wanna call them rules, but etiquette and shit like that, that is probably very different from the outside world, that I don't even know about. And so people are kind of creating their own whole own universe, which is pretty unbelievable and fantastic."

Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo of METALLICA are the icons of Fortnite Festival Season 4, where fans can shred along with METALLICA on classics, including "Enter Sandman", "Ride The Lightning" and "Master Of Puppets".

METALLICA's not just visiting Fortnite to perform — they're here to battle. This new season of Fortnite Festival introduces the Battle Stage, a new competitive way to play the rhythm music game, and will be available even after the METALLICA collaboration concludes.

Fortnite Festival's Battle Stage will see 16 players in a match, all will play from the same four-song setlist, and one will emerge victorious.

Season 4 ends August 16, 2024 at 12 a.m. ET. For more info on Season 4, the "player-vs-player" (PvP) Battle Stage, check out the Fortnite Festival blog.

METALLICA-themed gameplay is also coming to additional Fortnite games: Battle Royale, LEGO Fortnite and Rocket Racing.

How to jump into Fortnite:

* Download Fortnite for free on PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, Android, PC.
* Fortnite is also available on cloud-based streaming services.
* Once in the Fortnite Lobby, select the game you'd like to play. For starters:
- "Fortnite Battle Royale" for the classic, action-packed shooter
- "Fortnite Festival - Main Stage" for rhythm-based gameplay
- "Fortnite Festival - Battle Stage" for competitive, player-vs-player music gameplay
- "LEGO Fortnite" for a survival crafting LEGO adventure
- "Rocket Racing" to drift, fly and boost in a supersonic arcade racer

METALLICA is also introducing the official Fortnite x Metallica merch collaboration. Look the part while you immerse yourself in METALLICA's takeover of Fortnite. Four t-shirts are available now in The Met Store, the Probity UK shop and in "M72" tour venues and pop-up shops for the remainder of the summer.