From 'take my hand' to shake the land: Metallica's Virginia Tech concert causes seismic activity

METALLICA ABC/Randy Holmes (Randy Holmes/ABC)

By Josh Johnson

May 09, 2025 at 9:00 am EDT

Metallica's concert in Blacksburg, Virginia, on Wednesday rocked in more ways than one.

According to ABC affiliate WSET, activity from the performance registered on the seismograph at the Virginia Tech Seismological Observatory. The show took place at Virginia Tech's Lane Stadium, where the school's college football team plays.

The shaking occurred during two moments: during the very beginning of the concert, and during the night's closing song, "Enter Sandman."

"What you're seeing there is probably four to five times bigger than what we see typically for a football game," says Virginia Tech professor Dr. Martin Chapman.

While "Enter Sandman" is already one of Metallica's biggest songs, it has a special connection Virginia Tech and Lane Stadium, which plays it during every home game as the football team's entrance song.

Metallica's ongoing U.S. tour continues Friday at Ohio's Sonic Temple festival.