Marian Sandberg of LiveDesignOnline.com reports: Designer John Broderick has been working with METALLICA since 1988, except for a few years when Butch Allen handled some tours while Broderick attended to other duties. The band's latest world tour, in support of album "Death Magnetic", represents Broderick's return to designing for the heavy metal band that formed in 1981.

The design for the tour includes an in-the-round setup, complete with two-ton hanging coffins that double as lighting rigs positioned above the stage. "We were heading for an in-the-round design the whole time; we had done it several times before," says Broderick. Originally planning to include video, band management nixed all the video just three weeks prior to production rehearsals, after fans and critics loved the lighting-only version during some early previews in Europe. "Some reviews actually said the show was refreshing without video," adds Broderick.

Read the entire story from LiveDesignOnline.com reports: Designer John Broderick.