METALLICA In Las Vegas; Review, Photos And Video Available
December 7, 2009, 14 years ago
Las Vegas Sun's Michael Mishak reports:
Sweat, spit, fire and lasers.
METALLICA brought heavy metal's four key elements to Las Vegas Saturday night in an ear-splitting shredfest that left the sold-out crowd at the Mandalay Bay Events Center deaf and hoarse. Their two-hour performance made one thing perfectly clear: Metallica is back - and they know how to bring the heavy.
The band's set list seemed to acknowledge a hard truth: The metal giants have been in an artistic rut since 1991's Black album, struggling to maintain relevance in a decade of cheap, sololess punk riffing before having a good cry about the nightmares their personal lives had become. How else do you explain the one-two sucker punch of Load and Reload and whatever St. Anger was supposed to be?
On Saturday, Metallica torched through epics, old and new, playing just one song from that bygone era, 'The Memory Remains'. Eager to showcase new material, the band leaned heavily on its latest offering, Death Magnetic, performing six of the 10 songs. The tunes mark a return to form and fit comfortably among a catalog heavy on shredding and musical pyrotechnics. Guitarist Kirk Hammett's solo on 'The Day That Never Comes' is pure 'Ride The Lightning'.
Read the full report here.
