Metallica

Since last winter, I had been waiting to see Metallica. Then, I was sitting there at Great Woods, watching Days of the New play "Shelf in the Room." Days of the New got right down to business. They flew through their distorted acoustic set. It was still light and everyone was still in his or her seat.

Next came Jerry Cantrell. After their first couple of songs, the crowd got rowdier. Fists started to pump. Jerry told everyone to get out of their seats. The band played some songs by Alice in Chains and finished with "The Dark Side of the Moon," which enchanted the crowd. They got huge applause.

Eagerness settled over the crowd as the timeless Black Sabbath songs faintly struggled to be heard over the speakers. Darkness settled. The stage was cleared and after what seemed like an eternity, Hetfield, Ulrich, Harnmet and Newsted walked on stage and started "Breadfan," a song Metallica covered. The crowd was going wild already. Then, they slipped into "Master of Puppets," a classic Metallica anthem of fast guitar riffs and awesome solos. Hetfield got a lot of help with the lyrics from the crowd. After "Puppets," they played songs from the new album, which quieted the crowd a bit. When they switched to some metal from their first two albums, it was more than enough to satisfy the older fans and confuse the "Unforgiven 11" generation. Metallica finished off this section with "Fight Fire With Fire," a speed-metal, fist-pumping song from "Ride the Lightning."

After that, the band settled down, taking breaks while playing parts of "Nothing Else Matters," followed by a small acoustic set. Hetfield thanked the crowd for having patience. Finally, for the climax, they played "Enter Sandman," easily their most famous song. Everyone sang along and loved it. They extended the song because the crowd kept asking for more. Hetfield thanked the crowd. Lars said we were the best crowd yet on the tour. I thought it was an awesome concert that all metal fans should see..

Review by Jesse W., Westford, MA