The band performed in 2008 in Canada, Mexico and Brazil while continuing to record their upcoming fourth album.
They performed at the 2008 Coachella Festival, and at the 2008 Ottawa Bluesfest in addition to playing at the inaugural Pemberton Music Festival in Pemberton, British Columbia in July and All Points West Music & Arts Festival in New Jersey in August.

During December 13–23, 2008, Metric toured across Canada with Tokyo Police Club, The Dears, and Sebastien Grainger and The Mountains, to raise money for various charities under the name "Jingle Bell Rock" tour. "
Help, I'm Alive" was released as the lead single from the upcoming album on iTunes on December 23, 2008 in Canada and January 1, 2009 around the rest of the world.

Their fourth record, Fantasies, was self-released on April 7, 2009 through Last Gang Records in Canada, and their own label, Metric Music International.
The album was produced by Gavin Brown and by Shaw; it was recorded at the band's Giant Studios in Toronto, and Electric Lady Studios, New York.
Fantasies was issued in a standard edition (featuring 10 tracks), a deluxe edition (including 4 more tracks), a deluxe edition UK edition (including 10 more tracks), and later, an Expanded Edition (a second disc with 10 tracks).

A fusion of new wave and loud rock, Fantasies was generally well received by critics and fans.
By 2012 it had sold 500,000 copies, the band's best selling album so far.
Haines and Shaw had performed all ten tracks acoustically the previous September at Union Pool in Brooklyn.

The music video for "Gimme Sympathy" was released on Myspace on March 16, 2009.
Haines and Shaw completed a mini tour of acoustic shows across Canada, with stops in Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, and Victoria in late April with cooperation from local radio stations.
 The band finished a Europe tour in May 2009 and toured the US (with Sebastien Grainger and The Mountains and Smile Smile), UK, and Canada at music festivals during the summer.
They then headed to Australia for their first Australian tour in early October, and performed a show in Tokyo.

In August that year Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park fame began streaming a remix of the track "Gold Guns Girls"  through his website.
The track was the theme for his art exhibition Glorious Excess (Dies), and later became part of a compilation album set up by Linkin Park's Music for Relief for victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

In October 2009, Metric released a five-track EP called Plug in Plug Out containing acoustic versions of songs from Fantasies, which was available on Amazon for 30 days.
In December that year the band produced a charity T-shirt for the Yellow Bird Project to raise funding to promote musical education across Canada.
The T-shirt bears the slogan 'Keep the dream tight' - a lyric from their song, "Hustle Rose".

Haines and Shaw performed an acoustic version of "Help I'm Alive" on January 22, 2010 for the Canada for Haiti telethon.
During the 2010 Winter Olympics, Metric, along with several other Canadian music acts, came together in Vancouver to re-record K'Naan's song "Wavin' Flag" to benefit Haiti in a movement called Young Artists for Haiti.
Haines and Shaw also performed at a Neil Young tribute event alongside their friends in Broken Social Scene.
It was at this event that Haines met Lou Reed, leading to later collaborations between the two of them.

The track "Black Sheep" was released on August 10, 2010, and became available on the band's Myspace page.
The song is on the soundtrack for the film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.
In the movie, the song is sung by Brie Larson, who portrayed Envy Adams in the film.
Scott Pilgrim author Bryan Lee O'Malley said he was inspired by concert photos of Haines while originally drawing Envy's singing poses.

The band toured in Western USA, before playing shows in the Canadian Maritimes and Eastern Ontario for most of March 2010.
Metric also toured with Sarah McLachlan for part of her 2010 Lilith Fair.

Metric won two awards ("Group of the Year" and "Alternative Album of the Year" for Fantasies) at the 2
The band performed in 2008 in Canada, Mexico and Brazil while continuing to record their upcoming fourth album. They performed at the 2008 Coachella Festival, and at the 2008 Ottawa Bluesfest in addition to playing at the inaugural Pemberton Music Festival in Pemberton, British Columbia in July and All Points West Music & Arts Festival in New Jersey in August.
During December 13–23, 2008, Metric toured across Canada with Tokyo Police Club, The Dears, and Sebastien Grainger and The Mountains, to raise money for various charities under the name "Jingle Bell Rock" tour. "Help, I'm Alive" was released as the lead single from the upcoming album on iTunes on December 23, 2008 in Canada and January 1, 2009 around the rest of the world.
Their fourth record, Fantasies, was self-released on April 7, 2009 through Last Gang Records in Canada, and their own label, Metric Music International. The album was produced by Gavin Brown and by Shaw; it was recorded at the band's Giant Studios in Toronto, and Electric Lady Studios, New York. Fantasies was issued in a standard edition (featuring 10 tracks), a deluxe edition (including 4 more tracks), a deluxe edition UK edition (including 10 more tracks), and later, an Expanded Edition (a second disc with 10 tracks).
A fusion of new wave and loud rock, Fantasies was generally well received by critics and fans. By 2012 it had sold 500,000 copies, the band's best selling album so far. Haines and Shaw had performed all ten tracks acoustically the previous September at Union Pool in Brooklyn.
The music video for "Gimme Sympathy" was released on Myspace on March 16, 2009. Haines and Shaw completed a mini tour of acoustic shows across Canada, with stops in Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, and Victoria in late April with cooperation from local radio stations.  The band finished a Europe tour in May 2009 and toured the US (with Sebastien Grainger and The Mountains and Smile Smile), UK, and Canada at music festivals during the summer. They then headed to Australia for their first Australian tour in early October, and performed a show in Tokyo.
In August that year Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park fame began streaming a remix of the track "Gold Guns Girls"  through his website. The track was the theme for his art exhibition Glorious Excess (Dies), and later became part of a compilation album set up by Linkin Park's Music for Relief for victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
In October 2009, Metric released a five-track EP called Plug in Plug Out containing acoustic versions of songs from Fantasies, which was available on Amazon for 30 days. In December that year the band produced a charity T-shirt for the Yellow Bird Project to raise funding to promote musical education across Canada. The T-shirt bears the slogan 'Keep the dream tight' - a lyric from their song, "Hustle Rose".
Haines and Shaw performed an acoustic version of "Help I'm Alive" on January 22, 2010 for the Canada for Haiti telethon. During the 2010 Winter Olympics, Metric, along with several other Canadian music acts, came together in Vancouver to re-record K'Naan's song "Wavin' Flag" to benefit Haiti in a movement called Young Artists for Haiti. Haines and Shaw also performed at a Neil Young tribute event alongside their friends in Broken Social Scene. It was at this event that Haines met Lou Reed, leading to later collaborations between the two of them.
The track "Black Sheep" was released on August 10, 2010, and became available on the band's Myspace page. The song is on the soundtrack for the film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. In the movie, the song is sung by Brie Larson, who portrayed Envy Adams in the film. Scott Pilgrim author Bryan Lee O'Malley said he was inspired by concert photos of Haines while originally drawing Envy's singing poses.
The band toured in Western USA, before playing shows in the Canadian Maritimes and Eastern Ontario for most of March 2010. Metric also toured with Sarah McLachlan for part of her 2010 Lilith Fair.
Metric won two awards ("Group of the Year" and "Alternative Album of the Year" for Fantasies) at the 2
Metric (band)