In the spring of 1988, Universal Studios Hollywood played host to one of the most unforgettable press events in rock history, a meeting of musical monsters and movie monsters. Van Halen, Scorpions, and Metallica came together among the cobwebs and creatures of the famed studio backlot to announce what would become one of the biggest hard rock tours of the decade: Monsters of Rock 1988.
It was a surreal sight, Eddie Van Halen, Sammy Hagar, Alex Van Halen, Michael Anthony, Klaus Meine, Rudolf Schenker, James Hetfield, and Lars Ulrich rubbing shoulders with Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, and the Wolfman. Cameras flashed as the musicians laughed, posed, and joked with the Universal “monsters,” officially kicking off the colossal U.S. tour that would span 27 dates between May 27 and July 30, 1988.
“It was the perfect setting,” recalled one photographer. “You had Van Halen, Scorpions, and Metallica, all these heavy hitters of hard rock and metal, surrounded by classic horror icons. It was tongue-in-cheek, but it fit the name Monsters of Rock perfectly.”
The event also marked the beginning of Van Halen’s OU812 tour, in support of their chart-topping album released that same year. The “Monsters of Rock” lineup featured an all-star roster: Van Halen headlining, with Scorpions, Dokken, Metallica, and Kingdom Come rounding out the bill. Each act represented a different face of the hard rock spectrum, from the California flash of Van Halen to the rising thrash power of Metallica, who were touring behind …And Justice for All.
“That tour was huge for Metallica,” Lars Ulrich later reflected. “We were still the young band on the bill, but we had something to prove. Playing in stadiums with those guys, it was like stepping into the big leagues.”
The kickoff event at Universal wasn’t just a publicity stunt, it was a celebration of the new wave of stadium rock that dominated the late ’80s. Fans were promised a full day of high-voltage performances, pyro, and decibel-shattering guitar heroics.
As one journalist at the time described it:
“It wasn’t just a tour, it was a rock carnival. Van Halen brought the party, Scorpions brought the power, and Metallica brought the fire.”
The tour kicked off on May 27, 1988, at Alpine Valley in Wisconsin, and wrapped up on July 30, 1988, at the Mile High Stadium in Denver. Along the way, it packed stadiums across America, with audiences often exceeding 50,000 fans per show.
Though each band was at a different point in their career, “Monsters of Rock” served as a defining moment for all involved. For Van Halen, it was the peak of their arena-dominating Sammy Hagar era. For Scorpions, it solidified their global status as hard rock titans. And for Metallica, it was the moment they officially crossed from underground heroes to mainstream juggernauts.
Looking back, the sight of Eddie Van Halen and James Hetfield laughing alongside Frankenstein at Universal Studios feels almost mythic, a snapshot of an era when rock was larger than life and its stars truly were monsters in the best possible way.
“It was loud, it was wild, and it was pure fun,” Hagar later joked. “We had the monsters from Universal, and then we had the real ones, us.”
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