Metallica sells out in minutes

Tickets to metal band Metallica's two Christchurch shows sold out in 30 minutes today.

Tickets for the heavy metal band's two Christchurch concerts went on sale to the general public at 9.00am today.

The Wednesday September 22 show sold out shortly after going on sale.

Fans braved the cold and camped overnight to secure tickets.

There are still limited tickets available for the Tuesday September 21 show.

Metallica last performed in New Zealand at the Big Day Out in 2004.

The American heavy metal band will play at the CBS Canterbury Arena on September 21 and 22 and Vector Arena in Auckland on October 13 and 14.

Putting it all on the line

Lance Bradford was so determined to get Metallica tickets that he quit his job before camping overnight at a Ticketek outlet.

His employer would not give him the afternoon off to set up camp outside Canterbury University's student union, so the driller quit.

Bradford, 23, said he was "ripped and angry" when Metallica said they were coming to New Zealand, but not to Christchurch.

This month, his favourite band announced a surprise Christchurch date, with tickets going on sale at 9am today.

"When I found out they were coming, I thought if they are willing to come down here, then I'm willing to quit my job and come down here to line up," Bradford said.

He and a friend, Christie Porter, arrived at the university before 5pm thinking there would be a queue, but they were the only ones waiting last night.

"If you don't line up, you have to rely on computers and the internet, and everybody's going to be going at it tomorrow morning," Bradford said.

With a second Christchurch show now scheduled, the American heavy metal band will play at the CBS Canterbury Arena on September 21 and 22.