Venue: O2 Arena
Date: 15 September 2008
Website: metallica.com
MySpace: myspace.com/metallica
Label: Vertigo
Featured on: Loucifer Speaks Exclusive!
Ok, let's get this part out of the way - I've never been a big fan of Metallica. I've liked them from afar and respected them for years, but they've never really been a band that I've gone crazy over. However, when rockgoddess on the forum informed me that they were going to be playing a gig in London and the tickets were only going to be a fiver, I knew that I couldn't pass up the opportunity to see these metal legends. I mean, who in their right mind would want to pass that up?!
So, I signed up to Mission Metallica, pre-ordered the new album ("Death Magnetic") and bought myself a couple of gig tickets.
Mark (my rock god boyfriend - no he didn't pay me to say that!) and I got to the venue at around 6pm and then had to queue because we'd purchased the tickets with a Maestro card, while Visa people could waltz right in. This seemed a little bit bizarre to me, but I didn't really care... I'm sure the O2 had it's reasons - as unclear as they were.
We spent a bit of time in the pre-show party in the IndigO2. The party involved lots of Guitar Hero related fun and games and was cool apart from the fact that you needed to take out a loan to buy a couple of beers.... Don't they know it's a Credit Crunch!?
Metallica didn't come onstage until 9pm, which meant that we spent a vast amount of time just waiting around since there was no support act.
Once Metallica did hit the stage, boredom immediately disappeared! The band played loads of stuff from "Death Magnetic" and quite a few older tracks as well. As far as the classics go, "One" was a particular highlight for me. It was unbelievably good! The new stuff sounded excellent live - especially "Broken, Beat and Scarred" and "That Was Just Your Life". Both of those tracks proved that Metallica are still relevant today and can easily give newer bands a decent run for their money.
Within a few moments of the gig I started to understand what Metallica's huge fanbase see in them. The band put on a terrific metal show and I think they made every fan feel like they were a part of something amazing - even me and I was stuck up high in the 'nosebleed' seats. If I can afford it, I will definitely see Metallica again. The band definitely gained another fan that night.