East London is ablaze with glorious sunshine and awash with black t-shirts as metallers aged 8 to 80 and beyond descend on Stratford. Their destination: The London Stadium to take in the first night of the Metallica M72 World Tour London double header.
It is a Friday, and a relatively early start time, which means there is a sparse-ish but rapidly growing crowd in the door by the time Knocked Loose kick preceedings off at 5:30. Not exactly your typical Metallica support, in years gone by perhaps a band like Knocked Loose (6) would have at best received indifference from a Metallica crowd. But times have changed and metalheads are (by and large) more open minded these days. As Bryan Garris and the rest of the band tear through their thirty five minute set, there’s polite applause from those up in the stands. Down on the floor, it doesn’t take long for the moshpit to get revved up. By the time we reach the likes of Hive Mind and especially Suffocate, the circle is rapidly expanding and there is a whirl of humanity in front of the Bobby Moore Stand where team Rock Sins have gathered. They may not have been for everyone in attendance, but the huge audience participation in the departing chants of “Knocked Loose (Motherf***er)” shows they came in with fans, and definitely gained some more in the process.
An ominous sounding intro video signals the arrival of the mighty Gojira (8), a band that the overwhelmingly majority in attendance are not only familiar with, but hugely in favour of. And my god does their sound fill every inch of the London Stadium. Early parts of the setlist including opening salvo Born For One Thing and “Back f***ing Bone” sound absolutely monstrous. It must be said in years gone by that Metallica support bands from Kvelertak to Machine Head and many others have at times suffered from slightly muddy sound. Absolutely none of that here. Gojira sound crisp. They may not have Metallica’s production, but they look every bit at home playing in a stadium as the headliners do.
Things ramp up even further with the intro to the obligatory Flying Whales and soon the only things flying are bodies in the circle pit (a slightly disappointing lack of inflatable whales you often see at Gojira gigs – do better next time London). Arguably that song has never sounded better, and the same could be set for the equally huge Silvera. Marina Viotti makes a special appearance for Mea Culpa – their Paris Olympics Anthem, and reappears shortly after to add an extra layer of vocal impressiveness to The Chant. Finishing with The Gift Of Guilt, it cannot be overstated how good this performance was in the context and setting it is in. Supporting Metallica is one of the hardest things to do in live music. Gojira filled the role spectacularly.
And then, the main event. The obligatory It’s A Long Way To The Top by AC/DC. Enrico Morricone’s The Ecstasy Of Gold. Hairs stand on the back of the neck of the 70,000(?) sold out crowd. It finishes, the crowd roars, and Metallica (9) sprint out onto stage and rip into the intro to Creeping Death. Like Gojira before them, the sound quality is fantastic, and as James hits the opening lines, signs are good for a wonderful couple of hours to follow. Audience participation is immediate, and ferocious, yet Hetfield tells us “I need more from you London” and we duly oblige. An immediate transition into Harvester of Sorrow is thunderously received, Rob Trujillo gleefully stomping his way around the enormous in the round stage. A speedy double dose of two of the quickest numbers from The Black Album, Holier Than Thou and particularly Of Wolf and Man, ramps the atmosphere further.
Metallica hit the 72 Seasons part of the set with a rip through Lux Aeterna, and the brooding If Darkness Had A Son. Two timely reminders that when that album is good, it is very good (see also Shadows Follow, Too Far Gone). They resume weaving all over the catalogue: a poignant Fade To Black sounds as equally emotional and hard hitting as ever, Lars drumming the end section for all he’s worth. Death Magnetic makes a welcome appearance in the form of Cyanide, followed by the always incredible Orion. As the band continuously move around the gigantic circular stage, James Hetfield ends up directly in front of us to belt out Sad But True. Smile on his face and fire in his eyes, this was one of the highlights of the night.
A particularly lovely moment comes when James shouts out A Make A Wish kid the band met earlier in the day, wondering aloud where he may be before quipping “I bet he’s up in a suite, that’s where I’d be”. He wished the kid well and improved health to huge applause, before then going on to spread this goodwill to everyone in attendance for any struggles they may be facing. Papa Het is not a performative speaker. If he says something, he means it, and this was great stuff.
The home stretch is Metallica at their finest. An unexpected pummelling rendition of Hardwired is received as well as anything written in the 80’s. The pyro explosion for Fuel is overwhelming in visuals and heat, one can only imagine how hot the band were on stage at that point. Gigantic M72 beach balls are deployed alongside the anthemic singalong for Seek And Destroy. They fly throughout the London Stadium while two crew members sit either side of Lars drum kit, on guard for any wayward yellow and black projectiles not to affect everyone’s favourite Danish tubthumper. With it being the double header no repeats special, night one is brought to a conclusion by the legendary Master of Puppets, sounding every bit as vital and fresh as it did on its release forty years prior.
At this point, forty five years into the most stunning of careers, for Metallica to still be this good feels equally implausible and a cause for utter celebration. Compare to some of their peers and contemporaries, who, in certain cases health issues excepted, cannot perform to anywhere remotely close to this, it shows just how much The Metallica Family should treasure their heroes. Long may they stay able to be as good as this. Rock Sins will see you at night two!
