Metallica frontman James Hetfield has blamed a dodgy oyster for his illness that forced the group to scrap a Swedish show over the weekend.

The rockers were due to perform in Stockholm on Sunday, but 16,000 waiting fans were left disappointed when drummer Lars Ulrich took to the stage to announce they would not be playing - citing a mystery illness suffered by Hetfield as the reason for the cancellation. Hetfield has now taken to the band's website to apologize to fans for cancelling the show - and revealed doctors had narrowed down the cause of his illness to a virus or a bad oyster.

He writes, "I want to say sorry for missing the second Stockholm gig on Sunday due to illness. The cause/diagnosis at the hospital was narrowed down to either a 24-hour virus or a bad oyster... yes, hate to admit, an oyster could have taken me down. I acknowledge and apologize for any inconvenience this has caused fans who had traveled near and far for the show. I had done everything possible to make it, and was at the point of falling if I stood up."

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(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)