Making the Most of Metallica’s Monitors

Los Angeles, CA (August 4, 2026)—Metallica’s ongoing M72 world tour has taken the metal mavens around the globe, and soon they’ll be playing inside a globe, too—Sphere in Las Vegas. Typically you’ll find the band playing stadiums, however, with staging that requires monitorworld to be located hundreds of feet from the group. Helping the audio team keep monitoring consistent and reactive to the band is a wireless infrastructure built around Wisycom RF over Fiber (RFoF).

Metallica’s monitor engineering team, led by Bob Cowan and Mike Bollella, use the RFoF technology daily. Cowan, an 18-year veteran of Metallica tours who currently mixes monitors for James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, explains, “We’re mixing monitors roughly 750 feet away, and it’s been flawless. Reliability is everything for us, not just the Wisycom IEM packs and transmitters, but the entire system architecture. The Wisycom RF over Fiber solution has eliminated the limitations we previously faced and has performed exactly the way we need it to.”

Prior to adopting RFoF, the team relied on long coaxial cable runs that introduced signal loss and inconsistent coverage across remote monitor positions. “We were previously using extremely long BNC cable runs and constantly battling signal loss,” adds Cowan. “When we integrated the Wisycom RFoF through Clair Global, that part of the system immediately stood out.”

• Discover more great stories—get a free Mix SmartBrief subscription!

The Wisycom RFoF system enables the Metallica production team to transport RF signals over fiber across multiple operating zones. At the core of the deployment is a Wisycom MFL unit equipped with a laser transmitter module positioned near the stage, which sends RF signals over fiber to a second MFL unit with an optical receiver, located in monitorworld. This architecture allows the team to send RF signals across the production footprint without signal loss. The system provides connectivity between stage and remote positions, while also supporting a dedicated backstage huddle location where the band members gather before performances.

Bollella, who serves as monitor engineer for Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo, adds, “For us, the Wisycom RF over Fiber has been an absolute game changer because we mix remotely. We needed full coverage, so every transmitter remained accessible no matter where we were working. The Wisycom system allows us to monitor exactly what the band is hearing with zero dropouts, and that has been a massive upgrade.”

• Will Yip Builds His Dream Studio – Part 1

Key to the system are 56 Wisycom MPR50 IEM bodypack receivers. “We currently deploy 56 MPR50s on-stage alone,” says Bollella. “That includes the band, backup packs, techs, guests, VIP and accessibility support. We also maintain additional inventory in our tuning room and rehearsal environment. The sound quality and tuning flexibility have been outstanding.”