Metallica cut their set short in Phoenix Night 1 but kills 'em all regardless
Fresh from breaking an attendance record set by Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, Metallica drew a massive crowd to State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, to kick off a No Repeat Weekend with an awe-inspiring show of force on Friday, Sept. 1.
These are Metallica’s first Valley concerts since 2017, when the Worldwired Tour played that same stadium.
If they’ve aged a day since that last tour, it didn’t show in their performance, from the time they crashed the gate with “Creeping Death” and segued into “Harvester of Sorrow" to the dropping of those giant beach balls on the set-closing “Seek & Destroy” from their debut.
Night 1 setlist: Every song Metallica played on their M72 tour stop at State Farm Stadium
40 years after 'Kill 'Em All,' Metallica still delivers
Lars Ulrich was a force of nature. How a man who’s pushing 60 drums the way he drums is something scientists should study and hopefully bottle. Kirk Hammett’s guitar heroics were a thrill to witness. Robert Trujillo may remain “the new guy” after 20 years, but holy hell, those basslines thundered with authority.
And James Hetfield commanded the room with all the gravity and charm at his disposal while giving each song the delivery required, from the snarl of “Creeping Death” to the emotional heft of “Fade to Black” and the drama of “Nothing Else Matters.”
It’s kind of wild to think that it’s been 40 years since Metallica thrashed their way to the forefront of the heavy metal underground with “Kill ‘Em All,” a seminal debut that hasn’t lost an ounce of urgency with time.
And it’s probably wilder to think they’re still out there riding the lighting, touring on a new release that somehow effortlessly taps into the essence of their most electrifying work, a point made especially clear by the punkish intensity of “Lux ?terna.”
Sunday's show postponed: Metallica reschedules 2nd Phoenix concert due to COVID-19 after ending early Friday
Did Metallica cut their set short in Phoenix?
Metallica did appear to play a shorter set than they’ve been doing, though. Every opening night since this tour hit the States has been a 16-song performance following “Seek & Destroy” with a set-closing “Master of Puppets.”
We got 14 songs and no “Master of Puppets.” Normally, I hesitate to overuse a word as ripe for overuse as “tragedy.” But what else would you call it? Especially after Hetfield toyed with our affections for what seemed like an eternity, egging us on to scream for one more song?
They also appeared to roll tape on the intro to "The Day That Never Comes" before switching to "Hardwired."
I had no idea why they cut those songs. It didn’t sound like they were having problems. We don’t Snapchat and/or send each other telegrams, so I could only guess.
Hetfield did appear to relinquish his lead-singing duties to the audience more often as the night wore on, but I thought it was just to make the crowd feel more like part of the performance.
Now, of course, we know that Hetfield tested positive for COVID-19, and Metallica has now rescheduled Sunday's concert for Saturday, Sept. 9.
Metallica's Phoenix concerts: Everything to know if you're going to State Farm Stadium
Metallica's set at State Farm Stadium was nearly 2 hours
Here’s the thing, though. They were still onstage for an hour and 50 minutes. That’s a longer set than you will ever get from most headlining acts. We only know we got a shorter set because the internet. And now, this review.
Perhaps what matters — more than nothing else — is that the 14 songs they played in that performance sounded great, from “Creeping Death” to the electrifying climax of “Nothing Else Matters” (Hetfield’s vocal giving way to the soaring lead guitar break) and perhaps my favorite moment, the thrash-metal splendor of “Seek & Destroy.”
It’s to their credit that the new songs didn’t feel like reasons for a beer or bathroom run surrounded by such classics. If anything, the new songs did their legend proud.
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Metallica brought an in-the-round design to their 2023 tour
They’ve taken an interesting approach to staging on this tour, with an in-the-round design that relocates the Snake Pit to center stage with Metallica performing on a ring around those fans. The view down front, surrounded by the members of Metallica, was probably amazing.
You could see it in the faces of fans when they flashed on the video towers hanging from the ceiling, which is where I watched a large part of the action unfolding on faraway stages from my fairly decent seats.
I’m sure the people in the nosebleed section thought they had it worse.
Perhaps the most surprising part of the production was the pyro going off on “Fuel,” the 13th song of a 14-song performance. I hadn’t even noticed there had been no pyro until they spent the night’s entire pyro budget on a single song. And this was followed by the beach balls, which I loved.
The reason they call it a No Repeat Weekend is twofold. 1. They’re not repeating any songs. And 2. They’re not repeating any openers.
Wolfgang Van Halen and Mammoth WVH opened for Metallica
Friday’s show opened with Mammoth WVH. As in Wolfgang Van Halen, who broke into the business filling in for Michael Anthony on bass in a band that, as it turns out, shared his last name.
He’s playing guitar these days. And it didn’t take long to establish that the finger-tapping apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
His playing would’ve done his father proud while his aesthetic takes a relatively more contemporary route, from the post-grunge power ballad “You’re to Blame” to the psychedelic grunge of “Like a Pastime” and the Gary Glitter beat of “Don’t Back Down.”
Pantera also opened for Metallica in Phoenix on Night 1
Pantera followed Mammoth WVH with a set that offset their vulgar displays of power with bittersweet tributes to their fallen comrades.
Guitarist Dimebag Darrell was murdered onstage by a deranged fan on Dec. 8, 2004, the 24th anniversary of John Lennon’s murder and his brother, drummer Vinnie Paul, died in 2018 of dilated cardiomyopathy and coronary artery disease.
Lead singer Phil Anselmo and bassist Rex Brown have recruited two amazing substitutes — Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Zakk Wylde, who also fronts his own band, Black Label Society, and Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante.
They hadn’t played a concert since 2001, officially disbanding in 2003, until December 2022. And as Anselmo told the crowd, “Everything we do up here is for Dimebag and Vinnie.”
If it felt weird seeing them continue on this path without two members who did so much to define what this band means, Anselmo did his best to make it feel like honoring their legacy while also giving his own legacy another shout-out. And as long as he can do their legend proud with the conviction he mustered in Phoenix, he should keep Pantera going.
Overall, it was a brilliant night for metal in a room so big, proving that this remains the music of the people after all these years.
Metallica 2023 setlist: Every song in Phoenix on Night 1
Here’s every song Metallica played at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on Sept. 1, 2023:
"It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)" recording (AC/DC)
"The Ecstasy of Gold" recording/video (Ennio Morricone)
“Creeping Death”
“Harvester of Sorrow”
“Holier Than Thou"
“King Nothing”
“Lux ?terna”
“Too Far Gone?”
"Cactus and Graffiti" (Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo jam)
“Fade to Black”
“Shadows Follow”
“Orion”
“Nothing Else Matters”
“Sad but True”
“Hardwired”
“Fuel”
“Seek & Destroy”
Reach the reporter at [email protected] or 602-444-4495. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @EdMasley.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Metallica dropped two songs in Phoenix but did their legend proud
