Metallica Opens 2026 European Tour in Athens With 16-Song Hit Set

The band's first Greek show since 2010 drew a reported 85,000 fans and featured a surprise Zorba tribute from Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo.

Metallica opened the 2026 leg of the M72 World Tour on Saturday, May 9, at the Olympic Stadium in Athens, Greece, delivering a sixteen-song set to a reported 85,000 fans. The sold-out show marked the band's first performance in Greece since 2010 and their first concert anywhere since appearing at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Dec. 5, 2025. Support came from Gojira and Knocked Loose.

A Concentrated Hit Set for a One-Night Stand

Because Metallica is playing only a single show in Athens rather than the two-night stands that characterize most M72 stops, fans received a more concentrated run of the band's signature material. Both ‘Master of Puppets' and ‘Enter Sandman' appeared in the set; on typical two-night runs, each song closes a separate evening.

The night opened with back-to-back tracks from 1984's Ride the Lightning: ‘Creeping Death' and ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls.' Over the course of the evening, Metallica drew from nine of their eleven studio albums, bypassing only 2003's St. Anger and 2008's Death Magnetic.

The Athens date was the band's fifth performance in Greece. Previous visits came in 1993, 1999, 2007, and 2010.

Hammett and Trujillo Honor the Host City

As has become a fixture of M72 shows, guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo took center stage for their ‘doodle' segment, performing stripped-down covers chosen to reflect the host city. In Athens, that meant ‘Zorba's Dance,' the iconic composition by celebrated Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis, internationally associated with the 1964 film Zorba the Greek. They followed it with ‘Den Horas Pouthena' (You Don't Fit Anywhere) by the legendary Greek rock band Tripes.

Trujillo explained the origins of the doodle tradition in a 2020 appearance on Drinks With Johnny, the internet TV show hosted by Avenged Sevenfold bassist Johnny Christ. He described how early attempts to play Metallica deep cuts in the duo slot fell flat because crowds kept expecting frontman James Hetfield to appear. The format shifted after Hammett spontaneously walked out one night playing the Chic funk classic ‘Le Freak,' catching Trujillo off guard and sparking the idea of covering songs well outside the band's metal wheelhouse.

Full Set List: Athens, May 9, 2026

The complete sixteen-song set from the Olympic Stadium:

• Creeping Death
• For Whom the Bell Tolls
• Moth Into Flame
• King Nothing
• Lux Aeterna
• The Unforgiven
• Fuel
• Zorba's Dance / De Horas Pouthena (Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo)
• Fade to Black
• Wherever I May Roam
• Nothing Else Matters
• Sad But True
• One
• Seek & Destroy
• Master of Puppets
• Enter Sandman

M72 Tour: Scale, Charity, and What's Ahead

Metallica launched the M72 World Tour in Amsterdam in April 2023 in support of their eleventh studio album, 72 Seasons, released that same year. Since then, the band has performed for an estimated four million fans worldwide, making it one of the most expansive touring campaigns in the band's history.

As with every M72 date, a portion of ticket sales is being donated to local charities through Metallica's All Within My Hands foundation. Established in 2017, the foundation has raised more than $20 million, directing funds toward vocational and technical education, food insecurity relief, and disaster response.

Following Athens, Metallica will spend May and June playing a mix of one and two-night stands across Europe and England. On October 1, the band returns to North America for 24 sold-out dates at the Sphere in Las Vegas.

What we know

• Metallica played a sixteen-song set at the Olympic Stadium in Athens, Greece on May 9, 2026, opening the 2026 leg of the M72 World Tour.
• The show was reportedly attended by 85,000 fans and was sold out.
• It was Metallica's first Greek show since 2010 and their fifth performance in the country overall, with previous visits in 1993, 1999, 2007, and 2010.
• Support at the Athens show came from Gojira and Knocked Loose.
• Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo performed ‘Zorba's Dance' by Mikis Theodorakis and ‘Den Horas Pouthena' by Greek rock band Tripes during their duo segment.
• Metallica's All Within My Hands foundation, established in 2017, has raised more than $20 million for vocational education, food insecurity relief, and disaster response.
• Metallica is scheduled to play 24 sold-out dates at the Sphere in Las Vegas beginning October 1.
• The band's previous concert was at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Dec. 5, 2025.

The take

The Athens show illustrates how the M72 tour has evolved into something more than a standard album cycle campaign. Three years in, with an estimated four million tickets sold, it ranks among the most sustained touring efforts any hard rock act has mounted in the streaming era, comparable in ambition to Iron Maiden's multi-year Legacy of the Beast runs. The single-night format in Athens, which forced a tighter, hits-heavy set, actually underscores one of the tour's structural strengths: the two-night stand model normally lets Metallica rotate material and avoid repeating songs, keeping the experience fresh for fans who attend both nights. Collapsing that into one show produces a greatest-hits density that casual fans rarely get on this tour. The Hammett-Trujillo doodle tradition has also matured into a genuine crowd moment. What began as an awkward attempt to fill a duo slot with deep cuts has become a culturally specific ritual at each stop, with the pair researching local music and delivering something genuinely unexpected. Choosing Mikis Theodorakis, whose work carries enormous emotional weight in Greece, shows real homework. For a band that has been touring this long, finding ways to make each city feel individually addressed is no small thing, and it helps explain why M72 has maintained momentum well into its third year.

Why it matters

For classic rock and metal fans, the Athens show is a reminder that Metallica remains one of the few legacy acts capable of filling a stadium with 85,000 people on a single night while still delivering a set that feels considered rather than rote. The upcoming Sphere residency adds another dimension: Las Vegas's immersive venue has already reset expectations for what a large-scale rock show can look and sound like, and Metallica's 24-date run there will be closely watched as a benchmark for how heritage acts can use new technology to extend their cultural relevance.

What's next

Metallica continues the M72 tour with one and two-night stands across Europe and England through May and June 2026. The North American leg resumes October 1 with the start of 24 sold-out shows at the Sphere in Las Vegas.

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