Metallica is here to enhance your holidays with an unexpected gift. The legendary thrash metal band has dropped a spoken-word version of ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas, narrated by frontman James Hetfield.
According to Metal Hammer, the rendition premiered on Metallica’s own SiriusXM channel, Maximum Metallica. It has since been uploaded to YouTube. “Grab your cocoa and settle in by the fire before your long winter’s nap for a reading of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas by Papa Het,” reads a message on the clip.
As Metallica closes out 2025 with a holiday surprise for fans, there could be more exciting plans on the horizon. Maybe even a run of shows at The Las Vegas Sphere.
For several months, rumors have swirled that the band might be plotting a run of shows at the state-of-the-art venue. Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo even weighed in on the speculation. The musician said that, even if it happens, it would be something “no heavy rock band has done” yet.
“I’m already thinking like, imagine this, imagine that, imagine, you know, because Metallica’s music is so visual,” he said during an appearance on SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation. “I mean, imagine a song like [1986 song] ‘Orion’ and what you can do with that. The possibilities are endless.” He later added, “So for me, it’s again, like a dream come true. We’ll see what happens. I know we’re talking about it, and hopefully this is gonna happen.”
Metallica would be the first metal band to play The Las Vegas Sphere
“No heavy rock band has done this,” Trujillo went on to say. He also pointed out that, if they play The Sphere, they will be the first metal band to perform there. “There’s a lot of history with our music and a lot of, I think, there’s potential for a lot of visual stimulation on this,” he said. “And I can’t wait to be a part of it. So let’s see what happens.”
Notably, the idea of the band playing The Sphere was first addressed by Lars Ulrich, Metallica’s founding drummer. He told Howard Stern that the band has been considering a residency—according to Rolling Stone—but never confirmed concrete plans.
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