METALLICA Officially Confirmed For ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME's 25th Anniversary

METALLICA is among music's biggest stars who will come together on October 29 and October 30 at Madison Square Garden for two unique concerts celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The shows, presented by American Express, will be packed with guest stars and unique collaborations designed to tell the story of rock and roll.

Each night will feature entirely different lineups, with artists performing their own songs and the music that inspired them — tracing the history of genres ranging from soul to hard rock. All proceeds raised will go towards creating a permanent endowment for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation and Museum.

"Twenty-five years ago a group led by legendary Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun created this foundation to recognize and celebrate the music and careers of artists whose music helped shape and define our generation," said Jann Wenner, Founder and Chairman of Rolling Stone and Chairman of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation. "These once-in-a-lifetime concerts are designed to celebrate the artists and their music."

A creative team of Tom Hanks and his producing partner Gary Goetzman, Wenner, singer-songwriter Robbie Robertson, Academy Award-winning screenwriter, director Cameron Crowe and several others will work with the artists to curate the show through the live performances and filmed segments. Joel Gallen, the producer/director behind the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies and the MTV Movie Awards (1995-2006),will direct the show and oversee the 25th anniversary celebration along with the creative consultants.

The Rock and Roll of Fame Foundation and Museum's anniversary celebration will also extend beyond the concerts, with both a book and a deluxe DVD set to be released this fall. "The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: The First 25 Years", chronicling 25 years of induction ceremonies, will be published by Collins Design (an imprint of HarperCollins) in September. In August, Time Life will issue a nine-DVD boxed set of highlights of the past induction ceremonies, featuring speeches and all-star performances, many that have never before seen by the public.

Performing on October 29 will be:

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND
SIMON & GARFUNKEL
CROSBY, STILLS, NASH & FRIENDS
PAUL SIMON
STEVIE WONDER

Performing on October 30 will be:

ERIC CLAPTON
ARETHA FRANKLIN
METALLICA
U2

METALLICA played "Master Of Puppets" and "Enter Sandman" at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony on April 4, 2009, with the band's former bassist Jason Newsted and his replacement, Robert Trujillo, both taking part in the performance (the group played as a five-piece). They also led a "surprise jam" at the end of the night consisting of "Train Kept A Rollin'", with RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS' Flea, LED ZEPPELIN's Jimmy Page, AEROSMITH's Joe Perry and Jeff Beck.

METALLICA was inducted by RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS bassist Flea. With his hair dyed blue and wearing a vintage METALLICA T-shirt under a green blazer, Flea recalled the first time he heard METALLICA, in 1984 while on tour with the PEPPERS. It was 3 in the morning, they were tired, crammed into a van and sick of being on the road, and "this music comes on the radio, and I couldn't believe that it fucking existed," Flea said, according to MTV.com, as guitarist/vocalist James Hetfield jokingly covered his daughter's ears. "It was like I had been living in this normal world, where I knew what everything was that came on the radio, and all of a sudden my mind was being blown by this beautiful, violent thing that was unlike anything I had ever heard before in my life."

Flea profanely described staring at the radio in awe at this music that was explosive, precise, aggressive and intense, with wild and bizarre rhythm changes that he couldn't describe. "I didn't know what it was; the only thing I knew for sure was that it was a mighty thing," he said of "Fight Fire with Fire", likening METALLICA's unique sound to a rarified "cosmic chemistry" and paying moving homage to the special gift of late bassist Cliff Burton, who died in 1986 in a bus accident while on tour with the group.

"When a person gets rocking to their music, everything else disappears, and that person is just one with the rock," Flea said. "It is an inexplicable, awesome thing, and I bow down to it."

Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich hugged onstage after giving speeches, and both thanked fans who have followed the band through its ups-and-downs that included the death of Cliff Burton.

"I think rock and roll is about possibilities and about dreams," Ulrich said. "The fact that the six of us can be up on the stage tonight, snot-nosed kids, outcasts, loners who grew up in very different parts of the world, in very different situations and make it here tonight, to this wonderful night in front of all these people down here ... Rock and roll truly is about possibilities. Look at us. METALLICA's in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame! Can you fucking believe that?"

Hetfield started his thanks with a list of bands he'd like to see enter next, which included KISS, RUSH, THIN LIZZY, TED NUGENT, IRON MAIDEN and MOTÖRHEAD. He also dedicated the award to the young musicians trying to make it. "Dream big and dare to fail," he said. "I dare you to do that. Because this is living proof that it is possible to make a dream come true."