| Metallica |
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| Reviews - Live Gig / Festival Reviews | |||
| Friday, 17 April 2009 20:52 | |||
 Metallica grace Birmingham with their presence for the first time since 1996. To start with I will admit that I am a Metallica fan, they are my favourite band. I have seen Metallica a total of three times, being thoroughly satisfied each time. The Birmingham gig I would say, was a better overall gig then either Download 2006 or Wembley Stadium 2007, which is a controversial statement I know. How can an arena show be better then a festival show (Download 2006) or a stadium gig? (Wembley 2007) Especially since the festival show had the whole of Master of Puppets or the mesmeric crowd continuing singing beyond the end of the memory remains. The reason I think that the NEC gig was the best gig that I have ever been to was because I believe it was the most complete gig that I have attended. I shall explain why after talking about Machine Head’s performance. Machine Head on form is an imperious sight. The passion and the rage that Flynn injects into already ferocious songs is a spectacle to behold. Sadly though, Machine Head is not on form. The passion is there, the band clearly enjoy themselves and get a welcome reception from the Metallica crowd. The problem is that Flynn’s vocals can not be heard. The chorus in Beautiful Mourning was barely registered by the crowd, as was a lot of the rest of their set by loudness of the guitars. When Flynn could be heard, Machine Head were there usual selves, but alas Flynn’s voice was drowned out too often to consider this Machine Head support slot a success. On to the main event, not for the first time Metallica were late. Technical matters such as curfews mean little to Metallica as they finished at about twenty to twelve when the usual curfew for the NEC is 11pm. At about twenty past nine 'the ecstasy of gold' starts along with the anticipation of Metallica’s imminent arrival. They open with the first two songs off the newest Metallica album, 'Death Magnetic'. ' Death Magnetic' marks a return to form studio album wise from Metallica. The result for this gig is the new songs are gratefully received by the Metallica faithful and rightfully so. Six new songs are played in total. The world live premiere of 'My Apocalypse' sounds perfectly in place next to 'Ride the Lightning' or 'Sad but True'. Erected on to the ceiling of the arena were large coffins helping to convey the theme of 'Death Magnetic' into the show. Each coffin had spotlights attached to it, which descended and tilted at various points. Metallica had fire! During the intro of 'One', large flames blasted outwards of the stage. The heat of the flames could be felt by the first few rows of the crowd at least. Now the flames were not as impressive as those created by Rammstein, but they were still very entertaining. Watching James Hetfield playing the intro to 'One' is a “wow moment” memory that will stay with me for a long time. One of the main reasons for the 25th of March being so emphatically brilliant (hurrah for overuse of dramatic adjectives) was the innovative use of the stage. The traditional stage where the band stand at the front of the stage and everyone stares at them was scrapped for a circular stage in the centre of the arena. The band members proceed to move around the circular stage so all sections of the crowd can enjoy the Metallica goodness. Ulrich’s drum kit, rotated during the show so he was facing a different section of the crowd during different points of the show. The new stage made the show more personal for the vast majority of the audience then the conventional stage is able to. Many of the problems of the conventional stage are avoided by the new stage layout. The usual crush with the only people being able to see the band properly, up close and personal are those at the front. These people at the front are having their ribs smashed in by the crush. Thankfully the new stage is able avoid this common problem... More people are able to get within spitting distance of the band with this new stage, which makes the experience more personal for the fans. Even the fans in the seats are better off. The standard for those at the back would normally be to see the band, as a group of ants moving around the stage. This is no longer the case due to the fans surrounding the band. Metallica once again demonstrate that they deserve to be one of the biggest bands in metal today by providing another master class live performance.
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| Last Updated on Friday, 17 April 2009 21:30 |
