Earlier today, December 16th, Metallica drummer and co-founder Lars Ulrich and bassist Robert Trujillo, appeared with San Francisco Mayor London Breed and Another Planet Entertainment President Gregg Perloff, at the Chase Center in California for an official proclamation commemorating the first 40 years of the highly influential heavy metal band, reports CBS affiliate KPIX 5.

Mayor Breed praised the band for its importance to San Francisco and the Bay Area, pointing out that even though they can sell out large venues like the Chase Center where they will be playing their two 40th anniversary shows this Friday and Sunday, the band also maintains its ties to the community by playing much smaller venues like the Independent on Divisadero Street as they did for a surprise concert last September.

“When you talk about San Francisco, you talk about cable cars and then you talk about Metallica,” said Breed. “And on behalf of the City and County of San Francisco, I want to officially declare today Metallica Day.”

Learn more at this location, and see the complete ceremony in the video below.

"We’ve got great news for those of you who can’t make it to San Francisco next weekend," begins an update from Metallica. "We’re incredibly excited to announce that our friends at Amazon will be streaming both shows live, as they happen, worldwide and for free!

Kicking off our partnership with The Coda Collection, the exclusive free, global live streams on December 17 and 19 will start at 9 PM PST / 12 AM EST / 6 AM CET / 2 PM JST. No matter where you are those nights - or depending on your timezone, the following day - you’ll be able to watch live from home or on mobile via Amazon Music, Amazon Music’s Twitch channel, and Prime Video (with or without Prime on-demand viewing Membership).

Whether you can’t make it to San Francisco, or you’re only attending one show, be sure to tune in live so you don’t miss a thing! The shows will then be made available exclusively at The Coda Collection/Prime Video Channel for subsequent viewing in 2022."

More information here.

Metallica are getting ready to take over the city of San Francisco in celebration of their 40th anniversary. A recent update from the band follows:

"Whether you’re visiting for a weekend or are a life-long resident, you can always find something new and cool to do in San Francisco with the city’s infinite number of unique restaurants, bars, shops, galleries, and locales! Join us for free events in distinctive neighbourhoods to support local businesses and artists… you may also take the chance to do some good in the community with several volunteer activations set up in conjunction with All Within My Hands just for ’Tallica fans.

Please note that San Francisco proof of vaccination and mask requirements apply to all events. For more information, visit SF.gov."

The full updated schedule for Metallica's San Francisco takeover can be found here.