Since the first days of 2010 the rain was pouring down unmercifully in Sao Paulo. But the gods of metal wouldn’t spoil the party of those thousands of Metallica fans, who waited 11 years to rediscover the band. And the request was granted as, incredibly, Saturday (30/01) was perfect for those who left home to enjoy one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Not a drop of rain!

In the surroundings of the stadium, rows upon rows of fans were waiting for the gates to be opened. And we headed for the gate 17, which would give us access to the much-dreamed Meet & Greet with the band – which happened just after the news conference.

After that meeting, we joined the public and saw Sepultura start their opening set. In about 45 minutes, the most successful Brazilian band of all times did its best with songs like ‘Territory’, ‘Troops Of Doom’, ‘Inner Self’, ‘Sepulnation’, among others. As usual, they almost burnt down the place with ‘Roots Bloody Roots’. Despite not having the same footprint of the glory days of Max and Igor Cavalera, Sepultura did an honest show. 

Without much waiting and the Morumbi Stadium already almost full, Metallica hit the stage to show that they’re still well admired by their fans. Like Iron Maiden, which precedes each performance with the original recordings of ‘Doctor Doctor’ (UFO), Metallica tested the nerves of those present with ‘Heavy Metal Thunder’, by Saxon, to then turn off the lights and kick off properly with ‘Exctasy Of Gold’.

Just like on the DVD, released recently, Lars Ulrich was the first to show up, climbing his drumkit. He greeted the fans, threw his drink to the crowd and started nothing less than ‘Creeping Death’, putting all fans into a trance.

With perfect sound and without bullshit, the band amended ‘For Whom The Bell Tolls’.  At that moment it became clear that Robert Trujillo was the best choice for the bass, because his performance reminded the killer chord thing Cliff Burton used to do – Jason Newsted used to only make some noise in this song. The setlist was a mystery as Metallica usually choose 17 songs out of 60 rehearsed ones, to play each night. So every time a song finished, the next one was a surprise. James Hetfield was very restrained and calm, announcing the songs, always quietly interacting with the public. In no ways he seemed like the old James who, out of every 10 spoken, 9 were "fuck" or "beer"...

Next was ‘The Four Horsemen’ to cheer up the admirers of the seminal Kill 'Em All (83), followed by ‘Harvester Of Sorrow’ and ‘Fade To Black’ – this one brought some people to tears.  The huge screen in the back of the stage made the difference because many people who were in the back could see the cool details, captured by several cameras around the stage.

A short pause to take a breath and they played three songs from the latest album, Death Magnetic (2008), ‘That Was Just Your Life’, ‘The End Of The Line’ and the hit single, ‘The Day That Never Comes’ – which sounded perfect live. We had then ‘Sad But True’ dedicated to Sepultura, and it was applauded by the fans. The attitude of the frontman ended the rumors that Metallica and Sepultura don’t get along. The following song, James dedicated to the Metallica fans instead, and it was once more from Death Magnetic, "Broken, Beat & Scarred", and it sounded great live.

The lights dimmed and the traditional explosions preceded another great moment of the show, ‘One’, which made use of fireworks, making the whole thing even more intense. At the end, James appeared on the screens with two straws in his mouth, imitating a vampire and then started another great classic, ‘Master of Puppets’. Another blackout and the intro of ‘Blackened’ came to life (this is perhaps my favorite song, although it’s really hard to pick one!). James then introduced us guitarist Kirk Hammett, who did a short solo and then played the ballad ‘Nothing Else Matters’, giving everybody goose bumps. Next song was one of the most highly anticipated by the fans, ‘Enter Sandman’.

The band then left the stage and left everyone guessing what they would be playing in the encore. As the riffs of ‘The Frayed Ends Of Sanity’ echoed (with the crowd singing along), James announced what was expected; the time for cover song, which as he said is always "by a band that has influenced Metallica". They chose Queen, with ‘Stone Cold Crazy’. Despite its accelerated pace, I admit that I was a little disappointed with the choice.

The band presented us with another classic from Kill 'Em All, ‘Motorbreath’, what made many old fans go berserk. To finish on a high, as usual, James asked the crowd what would be the last song, only to hear back loud and clear: "Seek And Destroyyyyyy!" And he joked asking: "Why? Why do you like that one? Is it because it has easy lyrics?". So that one went on and they finished their set brilliantly.

Luciano Piantonni
photos: Marcelo Rossi