Metallica Announce Hiatus of Vinyl Club

In 2020, Metallica announced their first-ever Vinyl Club, a subscription service for fans who wanted to collect exclusive vinyl releases from the band. It is currently nearing the end of its second year and unfortunately, Metallica have announced that the club will be taking a break for the foreseeable future.

In an email to Vinyl Club subscribers sent on Dec. 8, the band wrote:

Since you’re all collectors, you know that current vinyl demand is exceeding production capabilities. Across the music world, all artists are dealing with delays. So that we can focus on bringing you 72 Seasons in April, we’re not going to offer a renewal for the next Vinyl Club subscription at this time. We do not yet have a target date for the next subscription year.

The first year of the Metallica Vinyl Club featured four 7-inch releases: Live at Donington '87, two live tracks from Metallica's performance at the Monsters of Rock Festival at Castle Donington in England on Aug. 22, 1987; Motherload, two lives tracks recorded at the Kroeg Bar in the Netherlands on Sept. 10, 1996; Disappear (Leaked and Live), the Napster version of the leaked "I Disappear" track backed with a live performance of the song at the House of Blues in West Hollywood, Calif., on July 18, 2000; and Tribute to Chris Cornell, their two live covers of Soundgarden tunes at the "I Am the Highway" tribute concert in Los Angeles in honor of Chris Cornell on Jan. 16, 2019.

Watch Metallica Cover Soundgarden's "Head Injury" Live in Los Angeles

The second year was bigger, literally, and so Metallica dubbed it the Vinyl Club 2.0. Instead of offering subscribers a quarterly 7-inch, they expanded to 12-inch records, which meant more music could be pressed on the wax.

The first release was released on March 21, 2022, and is called Blackened 2020. It features the only official physical release of the band's acoustic take on "Blackened," as well as a live performance of the song from the 2020 All Within My Hands concert, as well as their cover of Alice In Chains' "Would?".

The second release is St. Anger Live Rarities, which came out on June 13, 2022. The four tracks on the record are all live performances of St. Anger songs, each of which is a concert rarity; most notably, the record opens with the only live performance of "Sweet Amber," recorded in Lubbock, Texas, on Sept. 4, 2004.

The third and most recent release in the Metallica Vinyl Club 2.0 is Live at Bridge School Benefit 1997, released on Oct. 21, 2022. Like St. Anger Live Rarities, it features four live tracks, this time recorded at the 1997 edition of the Bridge School Benefit in Mountain View, California.

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Subscribers have one more installment in this round of records, but along with the announcement of the Club's impending hiatus, the band also announced that the final release will be delayed.

"You’ve been patiently waiting and unfortunately the wait has been extended," the band admitted. "We've been informed that the fourth release will not ship until sometime in February. We’re with you in this disappointment."

For subscribers who have any questions or concerns related to the Vinyl Club, you can submit a support ticket to The Metallica Store.

Watch Metallica Perform "Sweet Amber" Live in Texas