METALLICA will return to South Africa for the first time in more than seven years for a two-city tour next spring. They will perform at Cape Town Stadium on Wednesday, April 24 and Soccer City Complex, FNB Stadium, Johannesburg on April 27.

"It's been seven fun-filled crazy years since we were lucky enough to travel to South Africa for what was our first-ever visit there," the band stated in a post on its web site. "Needless to say, it's been way too long since then and we are more than thrilled to be heading back for two shows in April of 2013.

"Tickets go on sale for the Johannesburg show on Wednesday, November 21 at 9:00 a.m. local time and for the Cape Town show on Thursday, November 22, also at 9:00 a.m. local time. Both shows will be on sale at web, outlets and call centers. Tickets will be available online from www.bigconcerts.co.za, or Computicket."

METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich recently said that fans should not "realistically" expect the group's 10th studio album until early 2014. Ulrich told Rolling Stone in July that the group would start working on new material in September, but when asked by Vancouver radio station The Fox if a new record was "close," Ulrich replied, "I wouldn't use the word 'close.' I mean, obviously, in the context of, say, the age of planet Earth, we're pretty close. But in the context of, say, other things, there may be one or two football seasons, or one or two baseball seasons, or one or two hockey seasons . . . I would say late '13 or early '14. It's difficult to imagine — I think even late '13 may be a bit optimistic. I would say hopefully we can realistically get a record out probably about a year and half from now, so maybe early '14."

Part of the delay will be due to the band's 3D feature film, for which it filmed concert footage in AUgust at three shows in Vancouver.

The filming took place on a giant 140-foot-by-50-foot stage that showcased "colossal components and striking visual elements spanning METALLICA's entire 30-year career."

The plot-related sequences of the film, which was woven in and out of the concert footage, began shooting in mid-September.

Ulrich revealed, "The rest of the stuff that goes on outside of the concert is not going to feature members of METALLICA in any way, shape or form. It's a split narrative that kind of runs parallel to the concert."