The Four Horsemen

Aching neck. Check.

Dead throat. Check.

Headache. Mild.

Ringing ears. Resounding yes.

You know it isn't everyday that the solo to Master of Puppets (and Seek & Destroy) is played 6 ft. away from your face. By one Mr. Hammet. That was my Tuesday night. How was yours?

The opening bands were The Sword and Down. I didn't know much about Down till I saw them, and thought to myself "Gee, this singer is so damn wannabe. Sounds just like that guy from Pantera". Turns out it was Anselmo after all. Gulp. I liked The Sword better than Down anyway, can't believe the latter didn't have any solos.

An agonizing 45 min wait later, the stadium went dark and what is now their unlikely anthem started. It had barely finished the last note when the madness began. The band appeared out of nowhere and pounded away like there was no tomorrow. Oh man. I still can't believe it. I saw Metallica live. From the 2nd row on the floor. Oh God.

You'll realize a few things soon enough. As much as that lil shit Ulrich is hateable, he has tremendous spunk. Trujillo is what a bassist should be - dark, powerful and menacing as hell. Hammet's got the coolest calm smile before he launches into a murderous 4 min. solo. And when Lord Hetfield moves as much as an eyebrow, the entire stadium watches. He's like that. Everything about the performance was incredbile - the 2 hours that went by in a flash, the extraodinary energy that all of 'em have, how much they enjoy their music and their playing, the chemistry all 4 share, and how well they get a crowd pumped up.

The songs were a great mix of their discography. Setlist :

That Was Just Your Life

The End Of The Line

Ride The Lightning

The Memory Remains

One

Broken, Beat And Scarred

Cyanide

Sad But True

Wherever I May Roam

For Whom The Bell Tolls

The Day That Never Comes

Master Of Puppets

Damage Inc.

Nothing Else Matters

Enter Sandman

Encore:

Last Caress

Hit The Lights

Seek and Destroy

Lots of pyrotechnics, descending coffins, mad lights to add to the fun. The bozos at security weren't even letting us use cell phone cameras let alone proper ones. I still managed to snag a few crappy ones before the guitars melted a part of my face ...