I went to the ill-fated, poorly organized Centurion show in 2006. I also downloaded that show from the Metallica.com website and I still have it on my ipod. I own the DVDs “Cunning Stunts”, “The Big 4” and have at one point or another owned every single Metallica album ever released.
With my credibility (hopefully) established, I have decided to try and review Saturday’s show.
Intro – (Ecstasy of Gold)
A staple at just about every Metallica live show ever performed. The crowd was going insane and chanting with.
Hit the Lights
I saw they played this on their first Cape Town date and I could not be happier that they started with it in Johannesburg too. It was always going to be either “Hit the Lights” or “Creeping Death”. One of their older songs, I think this was a perfect start to the show. The chorus of “Hit the Lights; Hit the Lights; hit the Lights...” echoing through the stadium really set things up.
Master of Puppets
It wasn’t a matter of IF, but WHEN they would play it. I was glad that they played this early on in the set. The crowd screaming “MASTER!” is something I feel any fan of hard rock music should experience at least once in their life. Amazing!
Ride the Lightning
It’s a song of theirs I haven’t heard in quite a while and I was pleasantly surprised with myself that I still knew most of the words.
Harvester of Sorrow
I have never been a huge fan of “Harvester”, I’ll admit. I took this time to catch my breath after the fury of the first 3 songs.
Fade to Black
A classic from their “Ride the Lightning” album, it has been a staple at all Metallica shows. Mr. Kirk Hammet’s solos were (as always) amazing.
The Memory Remains
I’m proud to say that I’ve always liked both “Load” and “Reload”. This song being from the latter, I was very glad they played it with fantastic crowd participation.
Cyanide
The only song they played from their “Death Magnetic” album, this is was also the only song which I did not know the lyrics to, but one of the songs of the night. Heavy as hell!
Sad but True
I think this was the first song which every single person in the crowd was 100% familiar with. The first song they played from their self-titled Black album, "Sad but True" never gets old.
Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
The opening bit sounds very similar to “Nothing Else Matters” and it caught a few people out (as it always does). I have never been a huge fan of this song, but screaming/signing “Sanitarium” still remains satisfying as hell.
Orion
An instrumental from 1986’s “Master of Puppets” album, I’ve never seen/heard them play this live, so I was very happy that they did. (Although as an instrumental I would have preferred if they had played “The Call of Ktulu” instead. This is only because I used to spend hours practicing it on guitar back in the 90’s).
One
What can I say? This was just fucking amazing. The pyro and lighting sent chills down my spine. One of their best songs ever and it certainly did not disappoint.
For Whom the Bell Tolls
After looking Cape Town’s Thursday night setlist, I had a very real concern that they might not play this. To my huge excitement and relief, Mr. Hetfield screamed to the crowd “FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS!!!” after which the fantastic Robert Trujillo burst into that familiar bass riff. Blown away!
Blackened
To me, this was the highlight of the night. The opening track from 1988’s “…And Justice for All” album, it was simply fantastic. The chorus of: “Fire! To begin whipping dance of the dead” accompanied by flames bursting from the stage was truly something to behold. My dad, who had never heard this song in his life before, pointed out to me afterwards that this was probably his favorite performance of the evening. Loved it
Nothing Else Matters
This is the song that many people were waiting to hear. People around me were going nuts and sang along to every word. Great performance of one of their most beloved songs.
Enter Sandman
Another one of Metallica’s most famous songs, this well and truly hit the spot. Even if you are the biggest “Metallica Hipster” (a term I just made up), you cannot deny that this is one of their best songs. This is also the first song I remember hearing from them. Accompanied by amazing crowd interaction, this song gave my goosies from head to toes.
It was at this point that we started making our way out of the stadium, so I missed the encore (and to my huge disappointment, “Battery”)
It’s really hard not to give the performance 10/10.
While I was there, I got the feeling a few times that I was witnessing one of the best live performances of my life. If you were at the 2006 show, don’t even try and compare the 2 performances. I thought James Hetfield’s voice was spot-on (a department which sometimes lacks during their live performances…). The sound and lighting was fantastic.
The ‘tallica boys were on a different level to what I have ever witnessed in my life. I haven't yet read one negative comment about Saturday night's performance. I think even the biggest of Metallica haters (and believe me, there are a few) would agree that they witnessed something special.
My body is broken and sore… and I would do this again in a heartbeat
***
I got the photos from metallica.com. My phone was high and could therefore not take any photos.
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