US heavy metal band Metallica can now say it has performed on every continent after giving a concert in Antarctica to about 100 spectators wearing headphones.

Sunday evening’s unusual concert, near a glacier and inside a transparent dome on Argentina’s Carlini base, took place in daylight because of the continent’s far-southern location, Argentine media said.

Sporting a fur hat and sunglasses, lead singer James Hetfield told the select crowd: “Are you ready to make history? So are we.”

The dome protected the band and the small crowd from ferocious icy winds sweeping Antarctica, with the audience – scientists and a few other guests – wearing headphones to protect the environment.

The concert was wired for sound with a generator and solar panels, but without amplifiers or speakers, and was streamed live and put on YouTube.

According to Rolling Stone, the concert was the second staged in Antarctica.

The first, in 2007, was by indie rock group Nunatak, consisting of climate change researchers, it reported on its website.