The Damage, Inc. Tour was a concert tour by American heavy metal band

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

in support of the band's third studio album, ''

Master of Puppets ''Master of Puppets'' is the third studio album by the American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Metallica, released on March 3, 1986, by Elektra Records. Recorded in Copenhagen, Denmark, at Sweet Silence Studios with producer Flemming Rasmu ...

''. The name of the tour is taken from the last song on the album. It began on March 27, 1986, and ended on February 13, 1987. This was Metallica's last tour with bassist

Cliff Burton Clifford Lee Burton (February 10, 1962 – September 27, 1986) was an American musician who served as the bassist for the thrash metal band Metallica from 1982 until his death in 1986. He is renowned for his musicianship and influence. Burton ...

, who died in the middle of its European leg on September 27, 1986, and he would be replaced by

Jason Newsted Jason Curtis Newsted (born March 4, 1963) is an American musician, best known as the bassist of heavy metal band Metallica from 1986 to 2001. He performed with thrash metal band Flotsam and Jetsam for the first five years of his career before ...

for the remainder of the tour.

Background

Metallica supported

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and media personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead singer of the heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which per ...

from March to August, headlined a string of U.S. dates between May 23 and June 7 with

Armored Saint Armored Saint is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1982. Since 1990, the band has consisted of John Bush on lead vocals, Joey Vera on bass, Jeff Duncan on guitar and the Sandoval brothers (Gonzo and Phil) on ...

, and were the main act throughout the fall and winter with support from

Anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Bacillus anthracis'' or ''Bacillus cereus'' biovar ''anthracis''. Infection typically occurs by contact with the skin, inhalation, or intestinal absorption. Symptom onset occurs between one ...

and

Metal Church Metal Church is an American heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in 1980. Originally based in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, they relocated to Aberdeen, Washington the following year and briefly called themselves Shrapnel. Led ...

. Roadie

John Marshall John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American statesman, jurist, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth chief justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remai ...

, who later played guitar in Metal Church, filled in for

James Hetfield James Alan Hetfield (born August 3, 1963) is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, co-founder, and a primary songwriter of heavy metal band Metallica. He is mainly known for his raspy voice and intricate rhythm playi ...

on rhythm guitar between July 27 and September 25 following a mid-tour skateboarding accident resulting in a broken arm. Hetfield,

and

Kirk Hammett Kirk Lee Hammett (born November 18, 1962) is an American musician who has been the lead guitarist of heavy metal band Metallica since 1983. Prior to joining Metallica, he co-formed the thrash metal band Exodus in 1979. In 2023, Hammett, along ...

had discussed firing

Lars Ulrich Lars Ulrich (; ; born 26 December 1963) is a Danish musician who is the drummer and a founding member of American heavy metal band Metallica. Along with James Hetfield, Ulrich has songwriting credits on almost all of the band's songs, and the ...

upon completion of the tour, but plans were set aside upon the death of Burton on September 27, 1986, in a tour bus accident near

Ljungby Ljungby () is the Urban areas in Sweden, central locality of Ljungby Municipality, Kronoberg County, Sweden, with 15,785 inhabitants in 2015. Ljungby was instituted in 1829 as a ''köping'', or ''market town'', and did not become a municipality o ...

, Sweden, while en route from

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, Denmark. Performances that were scheduled for October were postponed and the band hired a new bassist,

, to complete the rest of the tour on October 28, 1986. Metallica also became the first band of the Big Four to cross the

Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. On the east side of the Iron Curtain were countries connected to the So ...

, with two concerts in

Katowice Katowice (, ) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Katowice urban area. As of 2021, Katowice has an official population of 286,960, and a resident population estimate of around 315,000. K ...

, Poland, on February 10 and 11, 1987.

Tour dates

Personnel

March – September 1986: *

– lead vocals, rhythm guitar *

– drums *

– bass, backing vocals *

– lead guitar, backing vocals *

– rhythm guitar (July 27 – September 25) October 1986 – February 1987: * James Hetfield – lead vocals, rhythm guitar * Lars Ulrich – drums * Kirk Hammett – lead guitar, backing vocals *

– bass, backing vocals

References

Sources * * {{Metallica 1986 concert tours 1987 concert tours Metallica concert tours