Photos of METALLICA guitarist/vocalist James Hetfield leaving Stockholm's Karolinksa hospital late last night (Sunday, March 8) can be found at the web sites of the Swedish newspapers Aftonbladet and Expressen.

Hetfield was taken to the hospital yesterday with a suspected case of food poisoning, forcing METALLICA to cancel last night's concert at Stockholm's Globen.

"As you can clearly see, one of the members of METALLICA isn't with us up here on stage 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 8 p.m. (see video footage below).

"We obviously hope that he'll be better really soon. Unfortunately, METALLICA won't be able to play tonight."

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, according to The Local.

"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 the hospital late 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 honored on the new date.

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

"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," METALLICA fan Gustav Borne told Expressen.







(Thanks: www.metpage.org)