Metallica causes seismograph spike at Virginia Tech football stadium concert

Enter Sandman and Virginia Tech go hand in hand, enough to make fans move the earth when the legendary band took the stage at Lane Stadium.

Alex Gould/Special for The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

Seismographs are usually used to measure when pieces of the earth slam into each other, but they’re pretty good at measuring whenever Metallica is on the stage.

The legendary rock group recently played Lane Stadium, home of Virginia Tech’s football team, and apparently they made quite the impression on the ground they were standing on.

As Metallica took the stage, there was a massive seismograph spike from the fans jumping up and down, enough to just subtly move the very earth beneath them.

And then again, when the band went into “Enter Sandman,” the Richter scale in Blacksburg picked up another mini-tremor.

Update: @Metallica made the ground shake twice last night in Blacksburg https://t.co/kFHBf2bDXV pic.twitter.com/8jGWmOQA34

— Chris Michaels (@WRAL_Michaels) May 8, 2025

The first Metallica-induced “earthquake” at Lane Stadium registered at a 1.5 magnitude, the day before a slight 3.0 magnitude quake hit elsewhere in Virginia.

Of course, Metallica and Lane Stadium have something of a history together going over many years, as the Hokies football team always comes onto the field before games while the group’s hit “Enter Sandman” blasts over the speakers, one of college football’s most recognizable traditions.

That tradition dates back to the start of the century, to Aug. 27, 2000, when Virginia Tech installed its first video board inside Lane Stadium.

“It all starts with ‘Enter Sandman,’” Virginia Tech head football coach Brent Pry said last season. “There’s no better entrance in college football.”

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