Freeze 'Em All was a one-off concert 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 ...

played in

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

on December 8, 2013. It took place in a dome near the heliport of the Carlini Base in

Argentine Antarctica Argentine Antarctica ( or ) is an area on Antarctica claimed by Argentina as part of its national territory. It consists of the Antarctic Peninsula and a triangular section extending to the South Pole, delimited by the 25th meridian west, 25 ...

, and was attended by 120 people, ranging from members of the base's research team and winners of a

sweepstake In the United States, a sweepstake is a type of contest where a prize or prizes may be awarded to a winner or winners. Sweepstakes began as a form of lottery that were tied to products sold. In response, the FCC and FTC refined U.S. broadcast ...

offered by

the Coca-Cola Company The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational corporation founded in 1892. It manufactures, sells and markets soft drinks including Coca-Cola, other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, and alcoholic beverages. Its stock is lis ...

. The concert featured ten songs played over the span of an hour. To prevent

noise pollution Noise pollution, or sound pollution, is the propagation of noise or sound with potential harmful effects on humans and animals. The source of outdoor noise worldwide is mainly caused by machines, transport and propagation systems.Senate Publi ...

, the show was played without any traditional amplification and was instead transmitted to the audience through headphones. The concert made Metallica the first band to perform on all seven continents. The concert was later released as a

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th centur ...

, and a documentary centered around the production of the concert and the band's time in Antarctica was released in 2015.

Background and production

Freeze 'Em All was first hinted at by

's drummer

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 ...

in September 2013, when he stated that "there asa very interesting thing coming our way" in December of that year, and that there was "another frontier coming." The concert was officially announced on October 25, 2013, with the band stating that they had "been unbelievably fortunate to visit just about every corner of the Earth... except for one." The concert was done in collaboration with

, which offered a

in five Latin American countries–specifically Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica and Mexico–where ten winners would receive an eight-day cruise from

Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South America, South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main is ...

to Antarctica to watch the concert. The name Freeze 'Em All was a play on the name of the band's debut album, ''

Kill 'Em All ''Kill 'Em All'' is the debut studio album by the American heavy metal band Metallica, released on July 25, 1983, through the independent label Megaforce Records. After forming in 1981, Metallica began by playing shows in local clubs in Los A ...

'' (1983). Freeze 'Em All took place at the Carlini Base, an Argentine-operated base in Antarctica on December 8, 2013. The concert was about one hour long, with the band performing ten songs inside of a small dome near the base's heliport. Examples of songs performed included "

Enter Sandman "Enter Sandman" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica. It is the opening track and lead single from their self-titled fifth album, released in 1991. The music was written by Kirk Hammett, James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich. Vocalist ...

" and "

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 ...

". In a 2014

Reddit AMA r/IAmA is a Reddit#Subreddits, subreddit for question-and-answer interactive interviews termed "AMA" (short for "Ask Me Anything"). AMA interviewees have ranged from various celebrities to everyday people in several lines of work. Founded in Ma ...

, Ulrich stated that the band also planned to play "Trapped Under Ice" during the show, but forgot due to all of the "momentary excitement". It marked the first time a band had performed in Antarctica, excluding the short-lived

Nunatak A nunatak (from Inuit language, Inuit ) is the summit or ridge of a mountain that protrudes from an ice field or glacier that otherwise covers most of the mountain or ridge. They often form natural pyramidal peaks. Isolated nunataks are also cal ...

, an

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

band created by researchers in 2007. In accordance with the

Madrid Protocol The Madrid System, also known as the Madrid Protocol, is the primary international system for facilitating the registration of trademarks in multiple jurisdictions around the world. It was established pursuant to the multilateral treaties ''Mad ...

, the show was played without any traditional amplification, and was instead transmitted to the audience through headphones. This was done to try and preserve the local environment from noise pollution, as it was believed the loud noise would cause chunks of ice to break away and melt. An estimated 120 people attended the concert, consisting only of researchers and contest winners. On December 20, 2013, Metallica released the recordings from the concert as a

on their website, with two additional tracks titled "Bass Solo" and "

Kirk Kirk is a Scottish and former Northern English word meaning 'church'. The term ''the Kirk'' is often used informally to refer specifically to the Church of Scotland, the Scottish national church that developed from the 16th-century Reformation ...

Solo". It was later accompanied by the release of the concert's video footage onto the band's YouTube channel. In 2015, a documentary about the production of the concert and the band's experience of being in Antarctica was released, with it initially being made available for free to all members of the band's official fan club. Metallica considered the show to be a success, stating that it was the "most unique show" they had ever done "words

ould Ould is an English surname as well as an element of many Arabic names. In Arabic contexts it is a transliteration of the word wikt:ولد, ولد, meaning "son". Notable people with this surname include: English surname * Edward Ould (1852–190 ...

not describe how happy everyone was". With Freeze 'Em All, Metallica set a ''Guinness World Record'' as the first band to perform on all seven continents, as well as the first one to perform on all continents within the span of only a year.

Set list

The following lists the songs performed during Freeze 'Em All. # "

Creeping Death "Creeping Death" is a song by American thrash metal band Metallica. It was released on November 23, 1984, as the lead and only commercial single from their album ''Ride the Lightning'' (" Fade to Black" and "For Whom the Bell Tolls", from the sam ...

" # "

For Whom The Bell Tolls ''For Whom the Bell Tolls'' is a novel by Ernest Hemingway published in 1940. It tells the story of Robert Jordan, a young American volunteer attached to a Republican guerrilla unit during the Spanish Civil War. As a dynamiter, he is assigned ...

" # "

Sad but True "Sad but True" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released in February 1993 as the fifth and final single from their 1991 self-titled album. The music video for the single was released in October 1992. Music "Sad but ...

" # "

Welcome Home (Sanitarium) ''Master of Puppets'' is the third studio album by the American heavy metal band Metallica, released on March 3, 1986, by Elektra Records. Recorded in Copenhagen, Denmark, at Sweet Silence Studios with producer Flemming Rasmussen, it is the b ...

" # "

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 ...

" # "

One 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

" # " Blackened" # "

Nothing Else Matters "Nothing Else Matters" is a power ballad by American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released in 1992 as the third single from their self-titled fifth studio album, ''Metallica''. The song peaked at number 11 on the ''Billboard'' Album Ro ...

" # "

Seek & Destroy "Seek & Destroy" is a song by the American heavy metal band Metallica and the ninth track from their debut studio album, '' Kill 'Em All'' (1983). It was also featured on the demo '' No Life 'Til Leather''. It was the first song the band recor ...

References

External links

Recording of concert on YouTube
{{Metallica Metallica live albums 2013 in Antarctica Argentine Antarctica 2013 concerts December 2013

Background and production

Set list

See also

References

External links