Metallica lead singer hospitalized in Stockholm

The lead singer of Metallica was taken to hospital in Stockholm on Sunday with a suspected case of food poisoning, forcing the popular heavy metal to cancel the evening’s concert.

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Palpable excitement turned into bitter disappointment when the roughly 16,000 Metallica fans who filled Stockhlom’s Globe Arena learned that James Hetfield, the band’s lead singer, had taken ill.

“As you can clearly see, one of the members of Metallica isn’t with us up here on state tonight. Unfortunately, I have to let you know that James has had a really, really, bad day and he’s on his way to the hospital right now,” Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich told the crowd shortly after 8pm, according to the Expressen newspaper.

“We obviously hope that he’ll be better really soon. Unfortunately, Metallica won’t be able to play tonight.

Fans, many of whom traveled great distances across Sweden to catch a glimpse of the band, were devastated by the news.

“I’ve been crying a lot. It’s not just that my weekend was wrecked, but it’s wrecked a full six months. I’ve been waiting so long getting psyched for this concert and now there isn’t one,” said Metallica fan Gustav Borne to the newspaper.

The food poisoning reportedly took place on Saturday night after the band had a craving for Indian food and called for takeout from a Stockholm restaurant, with each band member placing an individual order.

“James ordered samosas, chicken tikka masala, and lamb in tomato and yoghurt sauce,” a restaurant worker who took the call told Expressen.

After several hours under observation, Hetfield was released from Karolinksa Hospital late on Sunday night.

“I feel fine now,” he told the newspaper.

The band plans to reschedule the show for sometime in May and tickets issued for Sunday’s cancelled show will be honoured on the new date.