Metallica recently had to cancel their headline performances at Sonic Temple Art + Music Festival in Columbus, OH (May 15 & 17) and Louder Than Life in Louisville, KY (September 18 & 20) to allow singer James Hetfield to continue his road to recovery. The band had been booked to play two headlining shows each.

The reason given by publicists at Danny Wimmer Presents (DWP) and from Metallica’s representatives was that frontman James Hetfield’s ongoing commitments to sobriety required that he attend functions on the festival dates.

Ultimate Guitar reached out to DWP’s Executive VP, Gary Spivack, and an excerpt from the chat follows:

Ultimate Guitar: So, take us from that initial phone call where you found out that Metallica had to drop out, to the announcement of Tool and Red Hot Chili Peppers as the new headliners, what happened in that timeframe?

Gary Spivack: "Well, we got the call from Metallica’s management team, Q Prime, who are, the best managers in the business, hands down, and said that James has Sobriety Weekends that are requirement weekend that are throughout the calendar year, and unfortunately, a couple of those weekends fell on our festivals. Although Metallica will still be at Welcome To Rockville, Epicenter, and Aftershock in 2020 with us, we did lose them for Sonic Temple and Louder Than Life. So, then it was, how do you even contemplate filling the shoes of the biggest band in our world? Well, you do it by finding two of the biggest bands in our world. So, we got Red Hot Chili Peppers, with John Frusciante, which will be one of only four shows they’ll be doing in 2020, and of course, Grammy award-winning artist, Tool."

Read more at Ultimate Guitar.

Upon the cancellation, Hetfield issued the following:

"Dear Metallica Family,

"It pains me to write this, but I have to let all of you know that I cannot make it to Sonic Temple in Columbus and Louder Than Life in Louisville this year. As part of my continuing effort to get and stay healthy, I have critical recovery events on those weekends that cannot be moved. I apologize to all of our fans who have bought tickets for these festivals. We are working with the festival promoters to provide for refunds or exchanges. My intent with this statement is saying “I apologize” to each one of you. The reality is that I have not prioritized my health in the past year of touring and I now know that my mental health comes first. That might sound like a no-brainer for most of you but I didn’t want to let the Metallica team/family down and, I alone, completely compromised myself.

"Looking on the brighter side, my therapy is going well. It was absolutely necessary for me to look after my mental, physical, and spiritual health.

"I want to stress that the band will play all other announced 2020 shows.

"I am looking forward to getting back to playing and seeing all our great South American fans in April. And, of course, playing Epicenter in Charlotte, Welcome to Rockville in Daytona and Aftershock in Sacramento. We will still play two unique sets at each of these festivals.

"Beyond 2020, I am optimistic about the blessings I have been given and what the future brings. I appreciate all the great prayers and support from everyone since I went into rehab last September. Like the moth into the flame, being human in this career has its huge challenges and can be difficult. Your understanding helps the healing." - James Hetfield

Metallica reassures its fans that Metallica will appear at Danny Wimmer Presents festivals Epicenter (May 1 & 3), Welcome to Rockville (May 8 & 10) and Aftershock (October 9 & 11) as scheduled.

Says the band: "Thanks to Tool and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who have graciously offered to step in for us at Sonic Temple; Louder Than Life headliners will be announced at a later date. Sonic Temple and Louder Than Life pass holders who would like to exchange their passes to see Metallica at another Danny Wimmer Presents festival, or would like to receive a refund, will be able to do so starting this Friday, February 28th. An email will be sent out to purchasers from Front Gate Ticketing on Friday at 10:00 AM EST with complete exchange and refund details. For more information, visit SonicTempleFestival.com and LouderThanLifeFestival.com."

Multiplatinum and Grammy winning bands Red Hot Chili Peppers (recently reunited with guitarist John Frusciante) and Tool have been announced as new headliners for Sonic Temple, joining Saturday’s multiplatinum, Grammy winning headliner, Slipknot for the May 15 - 17 festival at MAPFRE Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. Red Hot Chili Peppers will headline Friday, May 15 while Tool will headline Sunday, May 17.

Danny Wimmer Presents founder and festival creator Danny Wimmer says, “First and foremost, I want to say how much I respect and support James for taking care of himself, and for his commitment to getting healthy. At the same time, I am also deeply devoted to providing our festivalgoers with the biggest and best festival experience in the world. As disappointed as we all are to lose Metallica, I am thrilled that Red Hot Chili Peppers and Tool, dear friends of both DWP and Metallica, are stepping up on short notice to join Slipknot, keeping Sonic Temple on track to be the greatest rock festival in America.”

Sonic Temple and Louder Than Life pass holders who would like to exchange their passes to see Metallica at another Danny Wimmer Presents festival, or would like to receive a refund, will be able to do so starting this Friday, February 28. An email will be sent out to purchasers from Front Gate Ticketing on Friday at 10 AM, EST with complete exchange and refund details.

Sonic Temple Art + Music Festival and Louder Than Life are produced by Los Angeles and Louisville-based Danny Wimmer Presents, one of the largest independent producers of destination festivals in America. Additional DWP events include Aftershock, Bourbon & Beyond, Epicenter, Hometown Rising Country Music & Bourbon Festival, and Welcome To Rockville. They're also the co-creators of Rock On The Range, America's largest and most acclaimed rock festival, which celebrated its 12th and final year in 2018 with 140,000 in attendance.