Metallica - London Review (Night Two)

Despite having a great time away in London this past weekend, I am glad to be home. Going to three big gigs in four days was certainly tiring, even having a seat at them all, and the warm London weather combined with quite an old hotel meant that the nights were fairly restless. It was worth it, though. Def Leppard and Extreme were excellent as usual, and finally getting to see Metallica was a real treat. As I have already said, Friday's show was excellent - and it was clear that the band still have the energy and desire to deliver after many years in the business. Friday was only half the experience, though, and it was somewhat strange leaving the London Stadium on Friday, and making the thankfully well-managed walk back to Stratford station, realising that I would be doing it all again on Sunday. I was glad of a day in between the two shows with no real plans. Had a decent gig cropped up I would have taken the opportunity - but a slow evening on Saturday was welcome. I ended up having a bit of a lie in on Saturday morning due to sleep coming in fits and starts, although watching the Argentina vs Cape Verde match before trying to sleep likely did not help, so much so that my breakfast plans were somewhat scuppered - before heading down to Lambeth to visit the Imperial War Museum. It had likely been close to twenty years since I last visited the museum - so I was keen to return and also see a part of London that I rarely get to. I enjoyed my afternoon in the museum, spending a couple of hours looking around the main exhibitions covering the two world wars and the Holocaust. Following my museum visit, I made my way back to my Snaresbrook base slowly, had a hour or so rest, before heading back out to nearby Wanstead to check out an Indian restaurant I had earmarked. It was nice to go out for something to eat properly in London without any real time pressures, and The Coriander certainly delivered - with a reasonably-priced chicken patia going down nicely. I had not properly been out for a curry for quite some time, so I enjoyed the experience, before settling in for a quiet night with the TV. Sunday was, of course, busier, but with the stadium not opening until 3pm (earlier than it had on Friday due to an earlier Sunday curfew) and the music not starting until 5pm, there was no need to rush down to Stratford. I got up on time on Sunday, enjoying an all-you-can-eat breakfast in the adjacent pub, before heading over to Brick Lane for a look around the market and some nearby record shops. The shops did not really provide me with anything, but I picked up a couple of LPs and CDs in the market - so the trip out was worth it. It was then back to the hotel for a little while before heading back out to Stratford. The weather in London throughout the weekend was warm. It certainly was not has hot as it had been recently, but warm enough to need plenty of fluid and breaks in the shade - for me anyway. The two-day ticket was also for the same seat at both shows - so there was no need to rush down as I knew exactly where I needed to go. It was also best to let the initial rush die down - meaning less time standing around in the sun and more time sitting in a nice, shaded stadium. I have to say, too, aside from some initial confusion as to which entrance I needed to use given my confirmation email saying one thing and my actual ticket in the app saying another, the whole thing seemed really well run. I know that gigs at big stadiums happen regularly, but getting in and out was easy on both nights - with the walk back to the tube well managed to enable a controlled and still relatively fast (given the number of people) exit.

As much as I had enjoyed Gojira's set on Friday, I think that it is fair to say that night two had the better support acts - at least in my opinion. Kicking things off on Sunday, then, were Sweden's Avatar - a band that has been around for a surprisingly long time. I do not know much about them, but I had only really started hearing about them in recent years. As such, I assumed that they were quite new - but they formed all the way back in 2001 so have been around for 25 years at this point. They have also released 10 albums, too, meaning that they are very much a veteran act. They must be starting to get quite a bit more well-known, though, as I have certainly been familiar with them in name and image for a few years - but this show was my first time properly engaging with them. As was the case with Knocked Loose on Friday, Avatar had around 40 minutes to play with - and they made count with a pretty enjoyable set. I doubt that I will be rushing out and buying all 10 Avatar albums, but the five-piece's sound was interesting - and there were certainly songs played that I liked. Sound-wise, the band are often described as a mix of melodic death metal and groove metal. In some ways I agree, but I am not sure that they sound like melodic death metal in the traditional Swedish sense - whilst there are certainly grooves to be found. There was a mix of vibes on display, though, from heavier sections which featured harsh vocals and almost nu-metal-esque riffing to more melodic sections with almost gothic keyboards and cleaner vocals. There were certainly a few hooks on show, but I did think that the nuances of the band's sound were likely not always filtering through. They certainly did not have a poor sound mix, but I did feel that the sound mixes overall throughout the second night were not as good as they were for the first night - so the symphonic and electronic elements of Avatar's sound were likely less obvious than they might otherwise be. There was also a bit of a Lizzy Borden vibe visually, I think - not that Avatar really sound like Lizzy Borden. Frontman Johannes Eckerström just came across in a pretty similar, theatrical manner - and visually there was certainly a vaudevillian theme going on that was likely a bit lost on an 'in the round' format without any trappings. Whilst I was not blown away by Avatar, I certainly found their 40 or so minutes on stage entertaining - and I would not mind checking them a bit further going forward.

Outside of Metallica themselves, of course, Sunday's main support act Pantera were easily the biggest band over the two nights. Whilst Gojira are pretty big, Pantera arguably launched the whole groove metal genre throughout the early 1990s - and are a legendary band in their own right. Since reforming in 2022, largely as an ongoing tribute to their late bandmates, bothers Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul, Pantera have become a world-wide touring force again - taking stages by storm again for the first time properly since their 1990s heyday. Given that Pantera went away for so long, I think that it is easy for younger metal fans to underestimate their importance in the history of metal - but Pantera spearheaded so much of what become popular during the 1990s, and their place in metal history is long assured. I have only ever really been a casual fan, but I saw the band live last year and enjoyed it. I was quite content not to see them again, though, but when they were announced as a part of this line-up I certainly was not disappointed - and for the next hour or so the four-piece filled the stadium with their mid-paced, riffy, hard-hitting brand of working class metal. They probably suffered from the worst sound of the weekend, though, with frontman Phi Anselmo sometimes quite low in the mix, but the power of their riffs shone through - and there was a strong atmosphere during their set. The setlist was essentially a condensed version of what they played on tour last year - with the big hitters from both 1992's Vulgar Display of Power and 1994's Far Beyond Driven largely dominating. The grinding A New Level and the slightly thrashier Mouth for War got the hour off to a fine start - and there was certainly was quite a lot of singing to be heard during the first one. Perhaps in an effort to seem humble, Anselmo kept making reference to those in the crowd who had no idea who Pantera were - but I would be surprised if there were that many in attendance that did not have at least a passing knowledge of the band. There was certainly plenty of singing during the bigger numbers - although the crowd was not intense as it was during the band's headline set last year. Strength Beyond Strength and I'm Broken were both early highlights, with the latter including a snippet of By Demons Be Driven, whilst both the more potent and shout-along 5 Minutes Alone and This Love saw gang vocals from the crowd and band alike. As I was last year, I found myself impressed by Rex Brown (bass guitar/vocals). His bass sound and high-attack playing is a huge part of Pantera's sound, and he kept everything grounded - grooving away beneath the riffs of Zakk Wylde (guitar/vocals). Despite the atmosphere being strong throughout, the levels picked up as the set progressed. The fast-paced Fucking Hostile would have acted as a wake up call to anyone not paying attention, whilst Walk had the whole crowd jumping along to the infamous riff and shouting along with the chorus. Perhaps due to the anniversary of the band's performance at the last Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne show last year, it segued into a portion of the former's Fairies Wear Boots - with Wylde getting into the bluesy riff nicely. A mash-up of Domination and Hollow followed, an arrangement that dates back to the 1990s, before the evergreen Cowboys from Hell rounded things out. It is a shame that it was the only song from the 1990 album of the same name played properly, as has been the case since the band reformed as far as I am aware, as it is easily my favourite - but the band's anthem rounded at a strong hour nicely. The setlist was:

A New Level

Mouth for War

Strength Beyond Strength

Becoming/Throes of Rejection

I'm Broken/By Demons Be Driven

5 Minutes Alone

This Love

Fucking Hostile

Walk/Fairies Wear Boots [Black Sabbath cover]

Domination/Hollow

Cowboys from Hell

As was the case on Friday, there was around 45 minutes between Pantera's set and Metallica kicking off - so there was a chance to stretch the legs and use the facilities. Being the second night of a 'No Repeat Weekend', the setlist was totally different, with no repeated songs, but everything else about the show was essentially the same. The stage set-up was the same, with drummer Lars Ulrich again making use of four different drum kits to move himself around the stage, and the 'show' itself was largely limited to the screens on the speaker towers and some occasional pyro. Metallica are certainly more about the music, though, and as they took to the stage they turned the clock back to the beginning for Whiplash to kick things off. Overall, I think that the first show was the stronger of the two nights. That may just have been my excitement in seeing the band live for the first time, but I did feel that the sound mix was not quite as good on night two - and I think that, overall, the setlist for night one was stronger. There were still plenty of excellent songs on night two, though, with early classics like For Whom the Bell Tolls and the fan-favourite Ride the Lightning hitting the large crowd with real force. For Whom the Bell Tolls certainly brought the best out of bassist Robert Trujillo, with his lead playing early on impressing, whilst James Hetfield (vocals/guitar) sounded great again vocally - even if at times he was a little buried in the mix. As was the case during night one, too, it was great to hear a couple more songs from the excellent 72 Seasons (which I reviewed here). The title track was one of the overall highlights of the night for me, as it is a really powerful song in my opinion, whilst the snaking grooves of Screaming Suicide also did a lot of heavy lifting - with Trujillo delivering some big backing vocals during it, too. The weakest moment of the night, again, though, was Trujillo and Kirk Hammett's (guitar/vocals) strange little covers showcase. Perhaps Hetfield and Ulrich really do need a mid-set break these days, but I am not sure what these 'doodles', as the setlist websites call them, really add to the show. They just seem a bit scrappy and under-rehearsed - but at least this time we got a bit of Black Sabbath's Electric Funeral, again in recognition of that final show last year. Thankfully, though, this segment of the show was short - and the rest of the band were soon back for the gargantuan and epic The Day That Never Comes. It is likely one of the band's strongest slow-burners, regardless of era, and it provided some respite during the quieter moments that were rarely seen again. The guitar interplay here between Hetfield and Hammett was especially good, even if I thought that some of the latter's solos during the night were a bit on the sloppy side. The rest of the set was largely packed full of classics. Simpler anthems in the form of Wherever I May Roam and the doomy ballad The Unforgiven certainly entertained the casuals, whilst the lengthy instrumental piece The Call of Ktulu allowed everyone to showcase their instrumental prowess - with solos for both Hetfield and Trujillo, alongside Hammett. I would have preferred another original cut instead of the band's version of Whiskey in the Jar, even though their version is quite good, but the fast-paced Blackened made up for any fleeting disappointment. It was another overall highlight for me, and it showcased that Ulrich is still a better drummer than many give him credit for. One last newer number in Moth into Flame was then wheeled out, which large sections of the crowd enjoyed, before it was time for the last two cuts of the weekend. The lengthy One was a powerful moment, with lots of pyro and a heartfelt Hetfield vocal. Some of Hammett's best soloing during the night was featured here, too, and the proggy track was another overall highlight. It was left to the big riffs and stadium-filling chorus of Enter Sandman to bring the night to a close - ending an excellent weekend with one last big sing-a-long. The setlist was:

Whiplash

For Whom the Bell Tolls

Ride the Lightning

The Memory Remains

72 Seasons

Screaming Suicide

Electric Funeral [Black Sabbath cover]/Holidays in the Sun [Sex Pistols cover]

The Day That Never Comes

Wherever I May Roam

The Call of Ktulu

The Unforgiven

...And Justice for All/Whiskey in the Jar [Traditional Irish folk song]

Blackened

Moth into Flame

One

Enter Sandman

From not having seen Metallica live a few days ago, I have now seen them twice in quick succession - where they played pretty much all of their big hitters over the two nights, whilst throwing in some fan-favourites and newer cuts, too. Both of the shows were excellent, even if I felt the first night was the strongest overall, and I am really pleased to have finally seen Metallica live after nearly 20 years of regular gig-going. I somewhat feel like I have now had my Metallica fix and probably do not need to seem them live again, especially as they do not come around too often and sell expensive tickets, but a gaping hole in my gigging history has now been filled - and the long weekend away was certainly worth it.