Opening for Metallica buzz

Ice Nine Kills singer Spencer Charnas said opening for Metallica was “incredible” and the biggest stage experience of his career. (wrif.com) WRIF published Charnas’s comments on April 22 after an interview with the Detroit station’s host Meltdown. In that interview, Charnas said Metallica was the biggest act he had ever shared a bill with. (wrif.com) Ice Nine Kills spent multiple years on parts of Metallica’s M72 run, including 2023, 2024 and 2025 dates, according to coverage of Charnas’s 2025 podcast interview. Charnas said those stadium shows changed the band’s trajectory and gave them a close look at how a major touring operation works. (blabbermouth.net) Metallica’s own tour rollout shows why that slot carries weight. The band extended the M72 World Tour into 2025 with 21 North American shows and listed Ice Nine Kills among the rotating support acts alongside Pantera, Limp Bizkit and Suicidal Tendencies. (metallica.com) The M72 format also gives opening acts unusually large exposure. Metallica’s announcement said most cities would get two no-repeat set lists and two different opening bills, putting support bands in front of stadium crowds on separate nights. (metallica.com) That tour is still running in 2026. Metallica’s current schedule lists European stadium dates from May through July 2026 and then a Las Vegas residency at Sphere in October and November 2026. (metallica.com) Ice Nine Kills entered the M72 orbit as a rising modern metal act with a theatrical live show and horror-film branding, while Metallica brought one of the genre’s biggest live draws. The pairing put a newer band in front of tens of thousands of fans who might not have seen it otherwise. (metallica.com) Charnas’s reaction fits a pattern around Metallica’s support slots: even established heavy bands still describe them as career markers. For Ice Nine Kills, the opening assignment became both a résumé line and, in Charnas’s words, an experience that was hard to sum up in only a few words. (wrif.com)