Live Review

Metallica – O2, London

• 11th Mar 2009

I went to see Metallica at the O2 arena in London on Monday 2 March, and was impressed by the sound quality in such a large venue.  I was in the standing section on the ground and did not detect any problems with the sound at all.

The Sword, from Austin, Texas, were first up, while the venue was still filling, and they put in a very commendable performance.  This was my first experience of them in any form, so I do not know their setlist.  Some dramatic intro music was followed by a deep bass sound, some nice guitar, solid vocals, great drums – all in all, good old heavy rock.  Melodic guitar opened the second track before it became more riffing, the drums blasted out and this was a harder number.  Then came a new song, a heavy instrumental which kept the intensity going, and they maintained that intensity into the next track, a heads down rocker.  Then came a track which was not so fast, had a good beat to it, rolled along with a melodic feel – it reminded me of a harder version of Black Stone Cherry.  Next up they moved back to more of an early Metallica sound, it was deeper with a big guitar intro, heavy riffing, the drums charging along, and they finished their set with more of the same, and they were very good at what they did.  Definitely a band I will be checking out more closely.

Machine Head are from Oakland and clearly had a lot of support in the venuewe judging by the tshirts on display, but they are another band I had no prior experience of.  I understand their setlist was Clenching The Fists Of Dissent, Imperium, Halo, Beautiful Mourning, Descend The Shades Of Night and Davidian, and it was impressive metal.  They put their heads down and rattled through the first three tracks.  Feedback exploded us into the opening track, drums burst, screamed/growled vocals, guitars whirling, it’s a wall of metal rather than any real melody coming through to start with, always fast paced, the bass and drums attacking, driving, the guitar solos intense, bringing through the melody – but mostly its a battery with a lot of anger and little subtlety.  When we do finally get some respite they show their humour, “we are so happy everyone came in early to see our dumb asses”, and they have a great rapport with the crowd.  The next track, from their new album, has a more melodic guitar opening, a more sophisticated sound, which still leads into all out thrash on a major scale.  The vocals are clear, powerful, and along with the guitars and rhythm section there is a real depth to their sound, the drums are running away and guitar bursts lead into a screeching solo before a big, big ending to an epic track.  Even when they go into a ballad it has a twist, a harder sound, a sharpness which veres off on its own track, creating something dramatic of its own.  And it feels right that they feedback into the end of their set.  It’s been a powerful performance.

The stage is well set for Metallica.  I have seen them a number of times over the years and was very much looking forward to see how they would be after the return to form of their new album, Death Magnetic.  The darkness in the arena lent itself well to their dramatic opening, the spaghetti western theme, a pause, a heartbeat pulsing, a guitar intro cutting through the dark, lasers now criss-crossing the stage to the drum beats, and then finally the band hit the stage running and with a roar we are off into That Was Just Your Life, also the opening salvo on Death Magnetic, and there is a great sound within this vast arena, the light show is still ‘only’ the lasers, but already a class above, and now James Hetfield’s face is lit up for his vocals, and they are playing in the round and are so used to this by now that they change position effortlessly, keeping up the momentum of the first track, the lasers now circling outwards, and the band are really rocking along to a very solid beat from Lars Ulrich, and the arena lights come up for the end of the track – but they keep going straight into The End Of The Line, keeping the flow with the order from Death Magnetic, and as a band they look lean and fit and well up for this, and Robert Trujillo is throwing down some very solid bass lines, keeping a fast pace going, with support from Lars who is getting all that he can from his kit, and it builds to a big finish, and if there was ever any thought that they might have been blown off stage by one of the support bands it is gone.  So they have opened with two off the new album, and James says “know what goes good with that ? Old stuff…” and we are into Creeping Death, with the lights within coffin shapes descending from the ceiling as they blast through the track to a screeching solo from Kirk Hammett, the coffins now at 45 degrees pointing up and away from the stage and the audience are joining in with the track.  It ends with feedback and they continue on into Holier Than Thou, hard, heavy, just white and red lights around the arena, but giving it a feeling of being lighter, more open as they hit a great wailing guitar solo.  And its a versatile set they are using, because at other UK shows before this one these two slots have featured The Four Horsemen and Leper Messiah, For Whom The Bell Tolls and Wherever I May Roam, and Ride The Lightning and The Memory Remains.

Darkness descends, machine gun fire rattles out, there are six explosions of fire and you can feel the heat, then the sublime guitar intro of One, and the sound is perfect for this classic.  The crowd seem to be singing along with every word, there are bursts of flames either side of the drum riser as the song blasts through to its wonderful solo, then they are all up on the riser as we build towards the climax and more flames.  Truly awesome on all fronts.  “How many are seeing Metallica for the first time”, asks James, and there are a surprisingly high number of hands in the air.  “This song is about…six minutes”, he continues, “it’s about Metallica, actually” and a massive sound takes us into searing guitar brusts and we are into another from Death Magnetic in Broken, Beat & Scarred, with the drums and bass really driving us on into a track which proves itself strong enough to follow One, and rippling solo from Kirk ends with a screech.  Another new one in Cyanide, some heavy riffing from the guitars, a great beat to it, the vocals are spot on, chanting and clapping from the crowd who are totally into this, Kirk is really rocking out and James and Robert jam together in front of Lars as he solos, and the track kicks off again.  “We’ve just been getting warmed up, so now we’re going to start the real show.  We’re going to play some heavy stuff.  Can you handle it ?”  Massive chords, big drums, thumping bass and it’s Sad But True, the crowd chanting along, four smaller lighting coffins at the corners glowing red, there’s a real bite to Lars’ drums, he stands to finish the track and exits.

It’s a haunting guitar sound which leads into Turn The Page, their version of the Bob Segar classic, and tonight it’s a heavier version than on Garage Inc, faster, crunching guitars everywhere, the drums very prominent and especially towards the climax of the song.  And to again show their versatility, at other UK shows before this they had played No Leaf Clover or The Unforgiven in this slot.  They start up All Nightmare Long (which means no Judas Kiss tonight) and it’s hard and heavy and rumbles off driven by the drums before a brilliant guitar break into the chorus.  It’s very uptempo and racing, and there has really been no let up tonight, and the track erupts inot a screeching, scratching guitar solo before a sharp stop, silence, then it restarts with the same intensity.  Then Kirk’s first solo spot, with the flying V, the crowd clapping along, he’s soaring, blinding finger work, such an explosive yet melodic sound, and then james comes in, great riffing, lovely melodic guitars swaying, and we are into another new one, The Day That Never Comes, which breaks into heavy guitar and drums, then picks up and flys off, Kirk’s guitar now really heavy and fast, the speed inspired by the pace of the drums and bass, and Kirk executes a stunning solo.  There is a feedback intro and the crowd go wild for a hard, blasting, no nonsense Master Of Puppets, which features a sublime guitar part from James before we are off again, and they all gather on the drum riser to take us into the climax, and an epic manic laugh from James.  Damage Inc has a heavy, fast, rumbling start, a furious pace, power, explosions of fire, more fire, an absolutely outstanding solo and ends with more, more fire – this is Metallica at their best, and on other nights they have played Fight Fire With Fire, Blackened or Battery in this slot.  It leads into Kirk’s second solo spot, and we all kow where this will take us, and James joins him and the crowd sing along for Nothing Else Matters, which gently grows until the guitars roar us to the end with a sustained wail…into Enter Sandman, and the crowd is jumping, there’s more fire, a big mosh erupts just in front of me, there’s crowd surfing and we clap, oh we clap, the band are tight, so very tight, this is top quality, a jumping nd to the set, there is more fire, so much power, and it riffs to an end.  The set has been so well balanced, the band have been totally on the top of their game, breathtaking.

There is darkness again.  A guitar riff intro.  Lars drums kick in, and they are back on stage, and it’s Motorhead’s Too Late Too Late going out to “our friend lemmy”, and only the second time they have played this live.  It’s lighter, more bouncy and less bass than the original, and it sounds really good – though I am not convinced most of the crowd recognise it.  Then we really take off, much, much faster, this IS thrash, and we still get structure and melody, especially in the solo, and this is where a lot of bands simply cannot follow Metallica’s lead – and especially as this is Phantom Lord from Kill ‘Em All, so its hardly new ground for them.  The other UK nights so far have seen them play Breadfan and Helpless, Blitzkrieg and The Prince, and Am I Evil? and The Wait in those slots.  “I think we’re out of time”, says James, but we know there has to be one more, and they come back on, “sing loud so the other bands can hear…who your favourite band is”, after all it’s “three simple words, Seek And Destroy”.  And it is a fitting end to a brilliant evening, Metallica are back, both on record and live, and as black balloons fall from the ceiling, Robert Trujillo is spinning with his bass.