Over a Decade Erupts Into Madness: Fans Scale Tower Mid-Metallica Concert, Triggering Police Chaos in Perth
In the roaring cauldron of Perth’s Optus Stadium, where 60,000 metalheads had gathered to bow at the altar of thrash’s gods, two audacious fans turned a routine encore into a heart-stopping spectacle, scaling a towering speaker stack like human spiders on steroids.
Two concertgoers were arrested for trespassing on November 1, 2025, after climbing the central lighting tower during Metallica’s performance at Optus Stadium in Perth, Australia, transforming the band’s M72 World Tour stop into a viral frenzy of danger and defiance. As the thrash titans ripped through “…And Justice for All” classic “One,” a 20-year-old from Carey Park and a 23-year-old from Australind—both shirtless and fueled by adrenaline—began their ascent, gripping the 30-meter structure like it was a mosh pit ladder. The crowd’s roar shifted from song to shock, phones whipping out as security scrambled below.
The climb was pure pandemonium: starting at the base during the song’s infamous machine-gun riff, the duo hauled themselves up hand over hand, pausing only to pump fists at the sea of screaming fans. Venue footage shows them reaching the midway platform—about 15 meters up—where pyro effects blasted perilously close, flames licking the air like demonic high-fives. “It was like watching a live-action Jackass,” tweeted eyewitness @PerthMetalhead, whose video captured the pair dangling precariously as James Hetfield’s growl thundered below: “Landmine has taken my sight!” Police arrived within 90 seconds, megaphones blaring “Come down now!” amid the band’s relentless double-kick assault.
Security and cops formed a human net at the base, while the climbers—described as “grinning like idiots” by onlookers—waved to the crowd, who chanted “Met-al-li-ca!” in rhythmic encouragement. The band powered through uninterrupted, Lars Ulrich’s fills masking the sirens wailing in the distance. By the song’s end, the duo descended—slowly, sheepishly—only to be cuffed and led away amid cheers and jeers. Western Australia Police confirmed the arrests for “serious safety breach,” with charges pending in Joondalup Magistrates Court. No injuries occurred, but officials called it “reckless endangerment” that could have ended in tragedy.
Social media detonated: the climb video exploded to 45 million views in 24 hours, #TowerTwins trending with 8.2 million posts. Fans hailed it as “peak Metallica energy,” while critics decried the “Darwin Award nominees.” Ulrich later joked on X: “Our shows bring out the best—and the highest—in people.” Hetfield, ever stoic, posted a photo of the tower: “Climb at your own risk. 🤘”
As November 12, 2025, dawns with the Perth incident fueling memes from Jackass recreations to AI-generated “One” lyrics about scaling amps, the tower climb reaffirms Metallica’s chaotic allure: where fans don’t just attend—they ascend. The duo’s stunt, while foolish, captured the band’s spirit: reckless, rebellious, unforgettable. And in Optus Stadium’s rafters, where echoes of “One” still linger, two everyday heroes reminded 60,000 why metal isn’t watched—it’s lived, one dangerous height at a time.
