Legendary US metalheads Metallica are expected to be announced as the headline act for a major gig next summer at Slane Castle.

According to The Irish Sun, the hugely popular act plan to include a summer date in along the banks of the Boyne in Meath as part of their sprawling WorldWired Tour.

James Hetfield, Robert Trujillo, Lars Ulrich and Kirk Hammett had already told their millions of fans that they’ll be staging a European stadium tour from May to August 2019.

On the back of that announcement, a music industry insider told the newspaper: "Heavy rock has always been the biggest draw for Slane.

"Metallica are the perfect choice for 2019 as they go right back to the heavy rock of Thin Lizzy who headlined the very first Slane in 1981."

Owner Lord Henry Mountcharles previously revealed Slane would be back next year, and US rockers Guns N’ Roses sold out 80,000 tickets in a day when they were announced as headliners at the last Slane in 2017.

Interviewed last year, Metallica drummer Lars revealed how they had considered playing Ireland in 2018 but had to pull out because "the (Dublin) arena would not work due to the stage layout and the amounts of pyro we had planned".

As an open air venue, Slane would hold no obstacles for a similar stage show.