Iranian fans head to Turkey for Metallica

A large number of foreign tourists came to Istanbul, Turkey on Sunday night (July 27th) to see Metallica perform at the city's Ali Sami Yen Stadium, according to Turkey's Sabah news outlet. Fans began lining up to get into the show at 5 a.m. and many of the concertgoers came from Iran, with one Iranian fan saying, "My country's regime would not allow such a concert to take place; that's why I came to see them in Istanbul. I cannot even dream of seeing this concert in my own country."

The band's 18-song set list included four numbers from its 1983 debut album, Kill 'Em All. The 25th anniversary of that record's release came on Friday (July 25th).

Although Turkey and Iran are both Muslim countries, Turkey's government is secular while Iran's leaders enforce a stricter religious code.

Metallica next plays on August 9th in Dallas at the one-day Ozzfest as co-headliners with Ozzy Osbourne.

Meanwhile, Blabbermouth.net has reported that two of Scandinavia's biggest online music retailers, Ginza.se and CDON.com, are listing September 30th as the release date for the new Metallica album, Death Magnetic. The band has yet to officially announce when the disc will arrive.

The band announced on Monday (July 28th) that it will perform at special "record release" parties for members of its fan club on September 12th in Berlin and September 15th in London.
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