ESPN's popular X Games extreme sports event is about to get a case of "Whiplash." That's because the mighty Metallica are coming to rock Austin next month.

The band has signed on to be one of the performers at the X Games event that's coming to town the weekend of June 4-7. The event will also feature a wide array of acts, with Nicki Minaj, Talib Kweli, Pennywise, the Glitch Mob, Kid Ink, Deltron 3030 and Joywave also set to perform during the weekend.

The band spoke with skateboarding icon Tony Hawk to promote their appearance. Frontman James Hetfield told Hawk, "It only makes sense that people who grew up on Metallica are wanting to continue to skate and do the cool things that they do."

Speaking with Rolling Stone, who premiered the interview, Hetfield added, "We're pretty jazzed. We're excited to get there and X Games has been going on for a while. It's about time! The music does something to you. When athletes are already really good and the music takes them to another place, you can't explain that."

Bassist Robert Trujillo added, "It always seemed like the skaters and the surfers were really connected to the music of Metallica. The style and the way that I play, low center of gravity, has a lot to do with skating and surfing and even snowboarding. It's kind of a natural thing for me. Fans are great everywhere." Tickets for the X Games Austin event are currently available at Ticketmaster.

In other Metallica news, the band headlined the inaugural Rock in Rio USA festival in Las Vegas over the weekend. They performed an 18-song set that included hits from throughout their career, plus their popular covers of Bob Seger's "Turn the Page" and Thin Lizzy's "Whiskey in the Jar." Pro-shot footage of the performances have turned up online, and you can watch some of the clips from this weekend's live set below.

Watch Metallica Perform "Fuel" at Rock in Rio USA

Watch Metallica Perform "One" at Rock in Rio USA

Watch Metallica Perform "Seek and Destroy" at Rock in Rio USA

You Think You Know Metallica?

See the Yearbook Photos of James Hetfield + Other Rockers

More From Noisecreep