Metallica's James Hetfield takes unexpected fall on stage, continues performance

[Miles Archer]

@ the 4:11 mark.

James Hetfield suffered what looked like a painful fall on stage when he took a badly-timed step during Metallica’s performance in The Netherlands last night (Sep. 4).

You can see the incident from two different angles above and below. It happened while the group were performing the sixth track of the night, “Now That We’re Dead,” at the Zigo Dome in Amsterdam, after four sections of the platform had been opened up to allow percussion tables to rise.

Apparently not realizing that the gap had appeared behind him, Hetfield walked across the in-the-round stage set and fell directly in, appearing to tumble face-first. Bandmates Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo continued to play but looked concerned as two crew rushed to his aid.

He reappeared a few second later, seemingly helped by roadies from below, and continued the performance. A close-up on his face suggests what could be a mix of surprise, pain and perhaps a little anger too. The song, complete with a section in which the band stopped playing their instruments and began using the raised percussion tables, finished six minutes later, and Hetfield didn’t refer to his fall once it had finished.

http://ultimateclassicrock.com/metallica-james-hetfield-fall/

[democratisphere]

1. And the show must go on!

And it did, beautifully. Tough guy.