Thirty years is a long time for a career in music, and Metallica wanted to celebrate its milestone year in a big way. The band will mark its 1981 formation by holding a series of exclusive fan-club-only shows at the end of this year.

The four-date concert series is booked for December 5, 7, 9 and 10 at the Fillmore in San Francisco, CA. The historic venue has an intimate capacity of about 1,200 (all general admission) — substantially less than the stadiums and arenas Metallica usually inhabits.

Ticket reservations for these exclusive events will be limited to members of the official Web site.

According to the announcement, fan club members can log into their accounts for details on reserving tickets, and Metallica's ticket reservation system will be open through August 8.

The offer is most notable, though, for the prices of the various tickets and packages. Fan club members can reserve a pass to all four shows for just $19.81 or reserve individual show tickets for just $6, not including applicable fees.

"As you can see we're going back to early '80s ticket pricing (but not the hair!)," the band quipped in their post.

Earlier this year, Metallica teamed with the other "Big 4" bands of metal (Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax) for the one-off Big 4 Festival on April 23 in Indio, CA. That show was closely followed by news of an East Coast performance of the Big 4 at Yankee Stadium on September 14.