Metallica is breaking its pandemic-induced hiatus to play a live concert for fans worldwide to enjoy at drive-in move theaters on Saturday, August 29.

Over the weekend, the band shared clips to social media of the four members, James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo, rehearsing together at their headquarters in San Rafael, California.

Instagram clips of the band performing "Battery" and "Creeping Death" show Ulrich, Hammett and Trujillo rehearsing in face-masks while a mask-less Hetfield delivers vocals.

In an announcement Monday morning, Ulrich revealed that Metallica was indeed back together rehearsing "from a distance, of course, because we're playing a show very, very soon."

He went on to explain that the four members have not played together in the same room since their San Francisco Symphony-backed S&M2 concerts early last September. (The band had several more dates on the books after S&M2, but canceled them after Hetfield returned to rehab.)

"In a day or two, we'll hit the stage at a top secret location and we'll record a brand new show," Ulrich continued. "We will miss all of you, of course. We'll be rocking out to a few of the crew people. But what you will hear and see on the screen will be edited and mixed together by our top notch production team for a kickass final product."

Members of Metallica's Fifth Member Fan Club get early-access to tickets Wednesday, August 12. Tickets for the general public go on sale Friday, August 14.

"Every ticket comes with four ... downloads of the upcoming S&M2 album release," he added.

More details will soon be available at Metallica.com.

S&M2 is set to arrive August 28.

It's unclear if Metallica is workshopping any new material during its recent get-togethers. Ulrich confirmed this spring that the band members had begun exchanging new song ideas remotely since all of their 2020 concerts had been cancelled.

Photo: Getty Images

Lisa St. Regis

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