Louisiana State University’s The Daily Reveille has issued the following report from Entertainment Writer Erin Rolfs:

Fans have a new way to experience the thrashing riffs and primal vocals of METALLICA. At the Irene W. Pennington Planetarium, guests can lie back under a 60-foot dome and watch a laser show set to rock classics.

Every Saturday at 8 p.m., the Louisiana Art and Science Museum puts away the high-brow sculptures and educational maps to make way for a little pop culture as the Rock Laser Show dances across the dome. The planetarium features a different artist each month. January paid homage to the post-metal quartet, Metallica, with 45 minutes of pulsating spirals and complex graphics.

“The music, combined with the intense graphics, almost creates an altered state of consciousness,” said Rebecca Marchiafava, an English senior

One hundred and fifty seats recline guests into pitch blackness. A tiny pin-point of light creeps across the ceiling and evolves into a flying bat. Multi-colored streams of light undulate from one side of the theater to the other. From ‘Unforgiven’ to ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’, fearful images represent the hardcore rock for which Metallica is famous.

Despite the lack of romanticism, Rock Laser Show is often host to couples starting out their Saturday night date.

“My date is really into Metallica, so it seemed like a good idea to come,” Mollye Langious, 16, said. “Some of it was cheesy, but I liked most of it.”

The renovated planetarium opened in 2003, and is the first in the nation to have a remote-controlled star, laser, film and video projection system — according to the LASM Web site. At a cost of almost 10 million dollars, the new theater now includes the Omniscan, a full-dome laser projection system. This system can produce more than 40 million colors and 32,000 levels of light intensity, said Jon Elvert, planetarium director.

The planetarium also offers a family laser light show at 5 p.m. But Elvert said the Rock Laser Show is for a more adult audience.

“Rock laser shows have been around for a long time,” said Elvert. “But when I got here, Baton Rouge didn’t offer anything like that. There was nothing for the college crowd.”

Audio Visual Ingineering, the laser manufacturers, produces the show, said John Blanchard, projectionist.

“The technology is very expensive,” Blanchard said. “But more and more people have been coming out to the laser shows.”

From Aerosmith to the Beatles, the planetarium hopes to offer a “Lollapalooza” of music laser shows Elvert said.

Visitors leave the theater anxious to see their favorite song put to laser lights.

“I think they should have a New Kids on the Block show,” said Rene Fynart, 24.

Pink Floyd’s The Wall will be featured next month. Tickets are regularly $7 and $4 for LASM members. Following Floyd’s luminous debut, U2 is scheduled for March.