“ONE WRONG STEP — AND 40,000 FANS GASPED.” 😱🎸🔥 — METALLICA’S KIRK HAMMETT TOOK AN UNEXPECTED TUMBLE IN THE MIDDLE OF A CLASSIC SONG What began as another electrifying night on Metallica’s massive M72 World Tour suddenly turned into a heart-stopping moment when guitarist Kirk Hammett appeared to lose his footing near the edge of the stage during the band’s performance in Dublin.

METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett fell from the stage during the band’s concert in Dublin, Ireland.

The 63-year-old musician took a tumble while performing at the Aviva Stadium Friday night (June 19) in front of an estimated 40,000 fans.

Fan-filmed video of the incident shared online (see below) shows Hammett losing his footing near the edge of the stage while performing the 1983 classic “Seek & Destroy” before falling into the crowd below.

The mishap apparently happened when Hammett placed his foot on a stage cover that unexpectedly gave way beneath him, causing the fall.

Kirk briefly missed a riff or two as fans standing below could be seen reaching out while the musician dropped toward the crowd.

Hammett quickly recovered and carried on with the song, which closed the first of METALLICA‘s two massive Dublin shows this weekend as part of the band’s “M72” world tour.

Hammett later shared video of the moment to his Instagram story, jokingly captioning it “Slip & Destroy”.

METALLICA will play at the Aviva again this Sunday, June 21, with GOJIRA and KNOCKED LOOSE supporting.

The support acts for Friday’s concert were PANTERA and AVATAR.

METALLICA‘s concerts at Aviva Stadium this weekend mark the band’s first Dublin shows since 2009, and their first time headlining in Ireland since Slane Castle in 2019.

The Dublin show forms part of METALLICA‘s “No Repeat Weekend” format, meaning both nights feature completely different setlists and support acts.

Dublin is one of only three cities on the European leg of the “M72” tour to get two full shows, Friday and Sunday.