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By Malcolm X Abram
Beacon Journal music writer
POSTED: 06:06 p.m. EDT, Oct 16, 2009
Metallica has been around long enough to be a building block of thrash-metal; to rise to mainstream superstardom; to earn, endure and survive the obligatory backlash; and to be enshrined in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 28 years later.
But after several years of being known more as rich, spoiled rock stars belching out subpar albums, the Bay Area foursome of fortysomethings returned to Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena Thursday night with its best record in years, Death Magnetic, and a two-hour-plus concert that showed the band still has plenty of fire left.
Many fans and critics have said Death Magnetic sounds like the link between 1988's epic . . .And Justice for All and its 1990 follow-up, the commercial behemoth known as The Black Album. Well, the reinvigorated band apparently agrees with that assessment, as the 18-song set list completely ignored the last 13 years (i.e. the Load/Reload/St. Anger era), filling those slots with six songs from the new album, classics, a few live rarities and covers. No one in the near-sellout crowd seemed to mind.
Opening with the new album's That Was Just Your Life, the band, all in black, took the relatively empty stage (though there were a couple of giant coffins/lighting rigs floating above the stage, and some lasers) and quite simply rocked, with unflagging energy and a tight performance. New songs, including The End of the Line and a sing-along Broken, Beat & Scarred, sat quite well next to classics such as (another sing-along) One, big hits such as Sad but True and Enter Sandman, and a fist-pumping, headbang-inducing Master of Puppets.
The band also broke out a few live rarities, including Dyers Eve and Shortest Straw, and dug up the angst-ridden power ballad Fade to Black for the first time on the tour.
The only thing that slowed down the ''Four Horsemen'' was an audio problem that brought the entire show to a brief but screeching halt in the middle of The Day That Never Comes.
''This is one of those special moments,'' singer/guitarist James Hetfield said while a couple of roadies rode a coffin back up to the rafters to fix the problem.
With the sound taken care of (though it would go out again later) the band continued its live love letter to well-versed fans with an encore of the Misfits' Last Caress and a couple of classics from its 1983 debut Kill 'Em All — Hit the Lights and one last shout-along, Seek & Destroy, with the house lights on for maximum communal headbanging.
Throughout the show, Hetfield thanked Metallica fans old and new for their years of support, but the band's best thank-you was a lively, energetic performance and a damn fine set list.
Metal up your tuchis, indeed.
Malcolm X Abram can be reached at mabram@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3758.
Metallica has been around long enough to be a building block of thrash-metal; to rise to mainstream superstardom; to earn, endure and survive the obligatory backlash; and to be enshrined in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 28 years later.
But after several years of being known more as rich, spoiled rock stars belching out subpar albums, the Bay Area foursome of fortysomethings returned to Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena Thursday night with its best record in years, Death Magnetic, and a two-hour-plus concert that showed the band still has plenty of fire left.
Many fans and critics have said Death Magnetic sounds like the link between 1988's epic . . .And Justice for All and its 1990 follow-up, the commercial behemoth known as The Black Album. Well, the reinvigorated band apparently agrees with that assessment, as the 18-song set list completely ignored the last 13 years (i.e. the Load/Reload/St. Anger era), filling those slots with six songs from the new album, classics, a few live rarities and covers. No one in the near-sellout crowd seemed to mind.
Opening with the new album's That Was Just Your Life, the band, all in black, took the relatively empty stage (though there were a couple of giant coffins/lighting rigs floating above the stage, and some lasers) and quite simply rocked, with unflagging energy and a tight performance. New songs, including The End of the Line and a sing-along Broken, Beat & Scarred, sat quite well next to classics such as (another sing-along) One, big hits such as Sad but True and Enter Sandman, and a fist-pumping, headbang-inducing Master of Puppets.
The band also broke out a few live rarities, including Dyers Eve and Shortest Straw, and dug up the angst-ridden power ballad Fade to Black for the first time on the tour.
The only thing that slowed down the ''Four Horsemen'' was an audio problem that brought the entire show to a brief but screeching halt in the middle of The Day That Never Comes.
''This is one of those special moments,'' singer/guitarist James Hetfield said while a couple of roadies rode a coffin back up to the rafters to fix the problem.
With the sound taken care of (though it would go out again later) the band continued its live love letter to well-versed fans with an encore of the Misfits' Last Caress and a couple of classics from its 1983 debut Kill 'Em All — Hit the Lights and one last shout-along, Seek & Destroy, with the house lights on for maximum communal headbanging.
Throughout the show, Hetfield thanked Metallica fans old and new for their years of support, but the band's best thank-you was a lively, energetic performance and a damn fine set list.
Metal up your tuchis, indeed.
Malcolm X Abram can be reached at mabram@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3758.
Comments
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Posted 09:23 PM, 10/16/2009
If you want some good comments by me and some other about how bad the show was go to:
http://www.cleveland.com/popmusic/index.ssf/2009/10/metallicas_rock_and_roll_hall.html
CALDWELL, ID
Posted 04:22 AM, 10/17/2009
love that heavy METAL SOUND! ROCK THE HOUSE. LIVE ON METALLICA. you still rock!!
Canton, OH
Posted 08:35 AM, 10/17/2009
@Steve : Easy , Big Fella. Stay on your own WebSite: The Cleveland Plain Feeler. . .
The Show was good, but the sound problems were disconcerting. . .Metallica still rocks. . .
Posted 09:53 AM, 10/17/2009
@slovenko. Disconcerting....It was 6 friggin songs the sound was out for half the arena. By the end of the encore most people on my side just quit caring and were walking to there cars while seek and destroy was still playing. For 75 dollars a pop these guys dont have backup PA system? And closing the food and drink stands at 9:20? That was before Metallica went on. And every shirt stand had no Lamb of God or Gojira shirts. These guys have become KISS. It is all about $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.
AKRON, ohio
Posted 11:46 AM, 10/17/2009
They haven't been ANY good since their original bass player died.
WADSWORTH, OH
Posted 04:34 PM, 10/17/2009
Hush little baby
don't say a word
Canton, OH
Posted 09:22 PM, 10/17/2009
and never mind that noise you heard.
akron, oh
Posted 09:41 AM, 10/18/2009
These guys are just wannabees! Led Zepplin for ever!
akron, oh
Posted 09:48 AM, 10/18/2009
POSERS!
Akron, Oh
Posted 03:28 PM, 10/22/2009
up and say it; bi**h on your blog ladies. Dont be mad cause your girl pictures James Hetfield when you're wasting 4 minutes of her time she won't get back.
Metallica rocks, still. If you don't like them please have your PMS somewhere else
Akron, Oh
Posted 04:38 PM, 10/22/2009
Metallica USED to rock. I have seen them several times. Monsters of Rock in the late 80's was the last show that jammed. After that, they looked like were going through the motions. Bob Rock ruined them. They sounded great, then he made them pop stars. This latest album is better than some of their more recent releases, but still below the standard set when they had Cliff.
