LIVE REVIEW: METALLICA O2 ARENA 24/10

The return of heavy metal behemoths Metallica to the UK is always cause for celebration here at No Static Towers, and their two sold out dates at the O2 Arena earlier this week were always going to be a monumental highlight of this year's gigular activity and a strong contender for live music event of the year. Indeed, after breaking the venue's capacity record at Sunday night's concert, the anticipation for Tuesday's gig was sky-high as I boarded the tube to North Greenwich. Riding high on the huge critical and commercial acclaim afforded to last years Hardwired....To Self-Destruct opus, Metallica are back on their A-Game and reviews from the first tranche of dates from the huge, universe-straddling WorldWired Tour have been uniformly positive. They may not quite be as spectacularly tremendous as they were in their late 80's and early 90's pomp, but it's fair to say that the embarrassing nadir of the almost unlistenable farrago of 2001's St. Anger is but a distant memory.
Realising that not only am I not getting any younger but that also the band themselves have all seen better days, I decided to push the boat out this time round - just in case this turns out to be their last visit to Europe - and treated myself and my much better half to the full-on Metallica VIP Experience. Arriving a few hours early, we were treated to an exclusive stroll around the Sanitarium Museum, chock full of Metallica exhibits such as gold and platinum discs, Grammy awards, posters, flyers, lyric books, photos, stage outfits and all kinds of other splendid artefacts. There was also a whole area devoted to instruments from the band's stash - featuring a full size drum kit and guitars aplenty which the braver souls in the room were able to pick up and play. Along with free food, drink and merchandise, this was the perfect way to start proceedings. After a couple of hours of pure, unadulterated Metallica indulgence, we were led past the queuing throngs outside the venue - normal wristbands for these proles - and allowed to pick and choose our spot down by the stage, which for this tour is a parallelogram-shaped affair in the centre of the arena, allowing for a perfect view wherever you may be situated. Then it was just a matter of waiting, and after a slightly ropey support slot from trying-ever-so-hard Norwegian prog-metallers Kvelertak, the lights darkened at around 8:45 and - like the beginning of every Metallica gig before this one - the epic sound of Ennio Morricone's Ecstasy Of Gold, otherwise known as the theme from The Good, The Bad And The Ugly, filled the arena. Within minutes, the boys were on stage and ready to rock.

The Bay Area thrash kings have been through a lot during their 36 years together, and their journey from pimple covered Diamond Head wannabes to the biggest metal band in the world has not been without trials, tribulations and traumas. The tragic death of original bassist Cliff Burton in 1986 in a coach crash whilst the band were touring Europe was undoubtedly the lowest point in their lives. There was also the acrimonious departure of Burton's replacement Jason Newsted in 2001, the less than stellar attempt to fit in with the post-grunge metal scene in the mid-90's with the Load/Reload albums, the failed attempt to battle music sharing site Napster, as well as the difficult to watch Some Kind Of Monster documentary that showed the band in a complete state of disrepair as they struggled with various demons. Throw in the aforementioned St. Anger situation, and the recent turnaround in the band's stock has been nothing short of astonishing. As if to prove the point, the reaction from tonight's crowd as James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammet and relative new boy Rob Trujillo take to the stage is as raucous as anything I've ever heard. The band look lean, mean and fighting fit and immediately launch into Hardwired's pummeling title track. With a hook to die for and a chorus for the ages ("We're so fucked, shit outta luck - Hardwired to self destruct!") it's the perfect start. What follows is a two and a half hour masterclass that shows why Metallica are still head and shoulders above every other metal band out there. To be honest, on this showing, I'd put them above any other arena-sized act on the planet. A healthy portion of the latest album is aired, with Atlas Rise! and Now That We're Dead standing shoulder to shoulder with the likes of classic early cuts Seek And Destroy and For Whom The Bell Tolls during the early stages. There was an incendiary version of 1984's suicide anthem Fade To Black which came across as nothing more than a religious experience, as well as a frankly barnstorming run through the utter genius that is Halo On Fire. Midway through and I may have been levitating. 

The staging was a sight to behold too, with giant cubes suspended above the band that rose and fell depending on what song was being played. Each cube turned into a 6-sided television screen showing videos and footage of the band from throughout their career, as well as news footage of war, death and destruction. Standard Metallica fare, then. One of the highlights of the stage show was during Moth Into Flame when, seemingly from out of nowhere, a swarm of remote controlled glowing moth like structures floated up into the arena and around the stage. I looked for wires or handlers but saw nothing - so hats off to the folks behind that little stunt. The band themselves were in splendidly high spirits and well on form musically - Ulrich pounding away like a man 30 years his junior on his revolving drum kit, while the other three patrolled and prowled the stage sharing the 8 microphones dotted about so that the whole arena got a good look at all of them. Hammett's guitar playing has never been better and his solo at the end of Halo On Fire had me punching the air in glee. Trujillo is a wonderful addition to the band's ranks, bounding around like a panther and at one stage taking the stage by himself to perform a lovely bass solo tribute to his predecessor Burton. But it's Hetfield who runs the show here. Whereas once upon a time he came across as arrogant, cocky and unwilling to endear himself to his audience, these days the front-man is far more aware of his position as the focal point of the Metallica live experience. Laughing and joking with the crowd, paying tribute to Amy Winehouse and blowing kisses to all and sundry, tonight he's also a revelation vocally with his performance during the mighty Sad But True close to magnificence. 

Ending the main set - and crashing through the curfew - with cranium-rattling renditions of stone-cold classics One and Master Of Puppets, the quartet returned for an encore of the hits. Time - and constant radio plays - may have dulled the impact slightly of Nothing Else Matters and Enter Sandman, but watching the band perform them live whilst twenty odd thousand sweaty grinning souls punch the air in unison as fireworks exploded around them, tongues of flame burst forth from the stage floor and huge circle pits erupted in the crowd - well, it doesn't get much better quite frankly. Metallica are back, and back where they belong - at the very apex of the metal mountain. Now then, where's my Voltarol.....

SETLIST;

Hardwired
Atlas, Rise!
Seek And Destroy
Leper Messiah
Fade To Black

Now That We're Dead
Confusion
For Whom The Bell Tolls
Halo On Fire
Last Caress
Creeping Death
Moth Into Flame
Sad But True
One
Master Of Puppets

Spit Out The Bone
Nothing Else Matters
Enter Sandman