Review by Phil Rozier for MPM
Approaching any Stadium always makes me think about the wonder of music. Just think, tonight, in a sold-out stadium in London, for a second time after Friday’s sell out show, are ‘just’ 4 guys from San Fransico. Mates, that in the early 80’s, decided to join forces to play a type of music that they enjoyed playing.
That’s about it, as simple as that. And then, 47 odd years later (albeit with a couple of line up changes), that same ethos of mates playing tunes they enjoy, are selling out stadiums, all over the world. Literally, millions and millions of people, all over the world, queue at the doors of these colossal man-made people containers, to see 4 fella’s whack the tubs and twang some strings.
Sounds like I’m belittling it, and maybe I am. As with Metallica, there is no ‘just’… nor is there is ‘4 guys’. Metallica are a precision machine. Like an F1 car, there is money, a huge team and a production like nothing else on the planet.
Seeing Metallica isn’t a gig, or a show, or an event. It’s something otherworldly, like no other band can achieve. Heard from over ten miles away, seen from space, and felt deep within your internal organs, going to a Metallica performance is a truly vast sensory experience.
More on that in a minute… as first, there is something else equally as immersive to focus on. That’ll lil ‘ol band from Texas, no, not ZZ Top, I’m talking about the founders of modern metal, Pantera. Again, with some obvious changes to the band for obvious reasons, tribute or otherwise, these performers are no stranger to the stadium environment.
Having first had a taste of Pantera back in the day, in the mid 90’s, I got a CD (that’s a compact disc for all you young’uns out there), on the cover of I think Kerrang, or possibly Metal Hammer. A promo CD designed to enhance magazine sales, these ‘mix tapes’ of the modern digital era usually had the tracks that band labels had decided to release for promo purposes. ‘Fucking Hostile’ by Pantera was listed as one of the 11 tracks.
‘ooooh’ I thought! Swearing!! Dad didn’t allow that. I must rebel and play this track loud!!! And I did. And, I must admit, being probably only 13 yrs old, I think Pantera actually scared me a little bit. Wanting to love them, because of their brute force, aggression, rebellious nature and raucous anti-social lyrics, I was left nervous in my room beside my CD player afraid that the sky was falling down.
But, persistent as I am, I persevered through the darkness, and out popped a teenage lover of the ML guitars, thundering guitar riffs and crowd surfing during Pantera’s late 90’s Ozzfest performance.
So, nigh on 30 years later, I get to see those riffs, that monstrous bass, and the anger of Mr Anselmo, all over again. Masterful performances from all 4 musicians let me hear ‘Mouth for War’, ‘A New Level’, ‘Walk’, ‘5 Minutes Alone’, ‘I’m Broken’ all over again. And that’s what a heavy metal show is. It’s musicians, giving the audience a sense of joy, pleasure, fun, escapism and an all-round general letting down of one’s hair. And, apart from some perhaps slightly off sound engineering, the gig went down without a fault. Let’s hope the noise masters can reunite for additional tour in 2027, perhaps taking the headline slot. As these 12 or so tracks have just confirmed why they still need to be very much present in the rock world.
So, we move on. And it’s early. The UK Sunday curfew, perhaps still influenced by Jesus himself, means the show is starting at 7:45pm. And let’s start at the beginning…
After the tape of AC DC gets the entire crowd singing, the ‘come to be as much a part of the show as the band themselves’ is the opening from ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’ – ‘The Ectasy of Gold’. And there we have it again, 90 odd thousand rock fans cheering and reaching the soaring highs of the instrumental. It’s at this point, that the father/son combo next me continues to confirm the importance of music in ours lives. With tears streaming down his face, poorly hidden by his Ray Bans, the teenager next me is obviously experiencing his first Metallica event. If ‘Whiplash’ is the first live performance he’s ever seen, then fuck me, he’s a lucky bugger.
The volume is insane. Not one for ear plugs at an event, despite the experts telling me I need to, I’m blown back into my seat from the PA soaring above the circular stage. Outside shows, or stadium events, never historically have needed the protection from the air waves, but, tonight, the volume, verging on white noise, is compressing my lungs as the goosebumps appear during ‘From Who the Bell Tolls’.
Seamlessly ‘Ride the Lighting’ pierces the crowd as everyone is bluely illuminated by the giant cylindrical elevated TVs above the stage. Tesla coils and white and blue lighting engulfs the arena whilst these 4 guys from over the pond destroy any form of calm for a 10 mile radius.
The 16 track set is relentless without much of a pause between songs. Long crowd engagements fuelled by Papa Het are on pause, I expect due to the early curfew. ‘The Memory Remains’, conducted by James, the noodling between Kirk and Rob, the mix of old and new (‘Call of Ktulu’, ‘The Day That Never Comes’ and ’72 Seasons’) span their back catalogue in a 15 minute window.
With popular homage to the great Thin Lizzy, ‘Whiskey in the Jar’ is always a crowd pleaser, and tonight is no different. With the haze of the pastel pale sky turning from blue to pink, the arena lights almost follow suit with the bright influences of orange, reds, fire, whites, and pyro. Speaking of pyro, it isn’t long before we’re nearing the end of the set. ‘One’ elevates the crowd before the finale, with the always getting more impressive pyro display and rattling of machine guns depicting the horrors of war.
The set ends before the sky is dark, with a rendition of ‘Enter Sandman’ that obscures any view of the outside world. The fireworks, lights, smoke, and crowd, accompanied by hundreds of massive bouncy beach balls, brings the experience to a close. Despite trying to give an overview of the event, words can’t really do it justice. You literally had to be there, as there is nothing on earth like a Metallica performance. Incredible production, huge amount of thought, precision and design and over 40 years of knowledge goes into a 2-hour set.
Approaching their late 60’s, James, Kirk, Rob and Lars won’t be on these stages for ever. Their world tours are so vast, that theyonly ever come round to the UK once or so in every 5 years.
I’d suggest that if you haven’t already, you make sure that seeing Metallica is on your bucket list of things to do before you die, before they die.
Morbid way to end a review? Course it is, it’s a thrash metal show after all.
