Here’s What to Wear to Metallica’s 2025 Tour

The thing about Metallica is that from a fashion standpoint, their intention is not to overdo things.

“Visually, describe your style,” an MTV interviewer once asked the band back in 1986. They laughed and Lars Ulrich replied: “Comfortable.”

Unlike many other rock bands, none of the members of Metallica wear particularly recognizable outfits — you could dress like Alice Cooper for Halloween, for example, but it would be much harder to dress like Kirk Hammett and be correctly identified.

Sammy Hagar put it another way in a 1988 Monsters of Rock documentary.

“When you see Metallica in the hotel, on the day off, they’re dressed exactly like when you see them on stage,” he said. “They’re not putting on a show.”

Still, there are a handful of wardrobe details that are unique to the band. If you’re going to one of Metallica’s 2025 concerts, here are some ideas, with links included, that can easily be incorporated into your own outfit.

Performing in a rock band is not for the faint of heart — it’s damn near a full body workout, or perhaps a professional sport. This is presumably why James Hetfield wears bands on his wrists so that sweat doesn’t drip down onto his guitar (gross). Hetfield wears black ones, but thankfully Amazon carries multiple colors so you can personalize your look.

A black baseball cap has sort of become Ulrich’s signature look, both on stage and off. And it actually all started because of some unfortunate teasing the drummer experienced as a teenager.

“I still have mental scars from [high school kids] making fun of my round face. They would make fun of my round face,” he told 98 Rock Baltimore in 2017 (via ultimate-guitar.com). “That’s an in-built thing I still carry — when I look at myself in the mirror, all is see is this round face and triple chins. Why do you think I wear a ball cap all the time?! [Laughs]”

If you’re into headwear, a plain black ball cap, like this one, would be perfect. Bonus points if you wear it backwards in the style of Ulrich himself.

The only thing more rock ‘n’ roll than a leather jacket is a leather vest, which Hetfield can often be spotted wearing. Typically, he wears something underneath it — a black T-shirt, either long or short sleeved — but he has occasionally worn only the leather vest on top. If you’re feeling confident, or maybe you have a Metallica tattoo on your arm to show off, go for it. We also recommend adding patches in order to create that famous “battle vest” look — here’s some that are rock ‘n’ roll themed.

Or if you’re looking to maybe allude to Metallica’s long history, you could opt for a distressed denim vest instead, a style Hetfield wore in the earlier days of the band.

Speaking of alluding to Metallica’s past, here’s a way you could nod to their late bassist Cliff Burton, who played with the band from 1982 until his death in 1986. Burton was known to wear at least one skull ring, sometimes more. His were designed specifically for him by a jewelry maker, but this Amazon one would do the job for a concert, plus it comes in different colors if silver isn’t your thing.

It’s possible that with his guitar slung around him, you may not have noticed that Hetfield will sometimes wear what can only be described as a bullet belt — as in, a belt made of fake bullets. Pretty metal stuff.

Amazon does sell similar ones, in both gold and silver variety, but fair warning: this accessory may get you questioned by security at the concert venue. Wear at your own risk.

Remember when we said that performing rock ‘n’ roll is sort of like playing a sport? Here’s your proof. Bassist Robert Trujillo very often wears a sleeveless, basketball style jersey at shows. His is usually black, but again, Amazon has just about every color of the rainbow for you to choose from. More bonus points if your hair is long enough to braid like Trujillo’s.

And if you want to really commit to the look, Metallica sells two of their very own branded basketball jerseys on their website.