Two nights in one stadium. Two sets of openers. Two completely different set lists. Eight giant tower screens. 32 songs. 120 000 tickets sold. When it comes to putting on a show, Metallica don't fuck around. 39 years after their first Paris gig at the now-defunct Espace Balard and two nights after an epic concert at the Stade de France, here they are again for more Metal, more fire, more fury and most of all more fun.
Apart from a completely revamped setlist, there are no major differences to the show. The sound is more balanced than on night one (kick is drum still too loud). The screen projections and taped intros are obviously different too, but this doesn't fundamentally alter the experience because the main ingredient is still there: Metallica. The Four Horsemen, larger than life even on such a gigantic stage, bringing the Metal to the consenting masses.
Heavy Metal is everywhere these days: it's on singing contest shows on TV, it's on the radio... Bands like Slipknot play stadiums. Reality TV stars wear Pantera T-Shirts. Real Heavy Metal (not Pop-Metal, not Glam-Metal, not Hard Rock) went from the underground to the mainstream and we have Metallica and their self-titled black album to thank for it all, the good and the bad. And last night, it was all good: 60 000 people headbanging throughout, chanting Die! Die! Die! on Creeping Death, singing along to the choruses, riffs and solos... What a glorious sight!
Where do they take it from here? What's the next step for Metallica? Return to clubs? Done. Play in the round? Done. Play with an orchestra? Done. Play in Antarctica? Done. Full album setlists? Done. Maybe the next tour cycle will be gimmick-free: just release an album, and tour to promote it. But whatever these guys do, it'll be huge, it will be Metal and it will be awesome. They warned us with the first lines on the very first track of the first side of their first album. "No life 'til leather... We're gonna kick some ass tonight."
Promise kept.
Re-live the concert by playing the setlist in the embedded Apple Music player below
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