Metallica has canceled their previously announced South American tour, scheduled to run from October 25th to November 1st, due to "mental and physical exhaustion." A Japanese tour slated to begin on November 6th has also reportedly been scrapped. There is no word yet on whether the shows will be rescheduled.

Meanwhile, the band shot a new video in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday, October 15th, for "The Unnamed Feeling," the third single from their latest album, St. Anger. The clip was shot at a restaurant called Little Joe's, and employed dozens of extras to simulate feelings of anxiety, one of the "unnamed feelings" touched upon in the song. The video was shot by the Malloy Brothers, who also directed the clip for the album's title track, and features performance footage of the band as well as cameos by world-famous surfer Rob Machado and Terminator 2 star Edward Furlong.

A documentary about the making of Metallica's latest album, St. Anger, is likely to get theatrical screenings sometime next year. The film, titled Some Kind Of Monster, may show in cities a week or two before the band plays there on their upcoming North American tour, which is planned to kick off in March.

Bluegrass band Iron Horse released a tribute album to Metallica last Tuesday, October 14th, titled Fade To Bluegrass.

Metallica is nominated for an American Music Award in the category of Favorite Alternative Artist. The band will perform at the 31st annual awards show, which will be broadcast live on ABC-TV from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on November 16th.