Metallica at Allstate Arena
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Today's Metallica this isn't the Metallica detractors bitch and moan about. Granted, there have been a few missteps in their discography (the Load, Re-Load, and St. Anger years being the most bleak), but Metallica hasn't been the young, hungry, small club-playing thrash pioneers that they're often remembered as since the early-'80s. The band was already playing large venues by the time Master Of Puppets was released in 1986 (they toured with Ozzy, for crying out loud), and by the time Metallica (a.k.a. The Black Album) was released in 1991, they were consistently playing to thousands.
Since "Enter Sandman" dominated MTV in 1991, Metallica have officially been an arena-rock band. Period. Sorry, purists, but they don't play sweaty, 500-capacity dumps anymore, and haven't for more than 20 years. These days, they're a band that fathers and sons can find common ground in and share a beer over. As with any act that's been touring forever—be it Elton John, The Rolling Stones, Madonna, or Metallica—it's all about the spectacle mixed with a very strong back catalog. Not one to skimp on stage production, Metallica once again performed in the round on Tuesday night and had multiple coffin-shaped lighting rigs designed to reflect the cover of the newish Death Magnetic. The three members of the band not tied down to a drum throne greeted fans with smiles and solos all around the stage during the two-hour show. Oh, and there were lasers!
The band's setlist on Tuesday at the Allstate Arena didn't offer many surprises for a discography containing 95 original songs spread out over nine studio albums. "Fight Fire With Fire" popped up late in the set, but this was already after predictable choices like "One," "Sad But True," and "(Welcome Home) Sanitarium" rubbed shoulders with a handful of Death Magnetic tracks. It's impossible to take points away simply because Metallica decided to play 45 minutes worth of new material: You can't blame them for wanting to play some new damn songs, but it becomes a Sisyphean task to keep winning over the crowd after the lull in momentum created by new—and not necessairily great—songs. Metallica fans are diehards, so why not give them some deeper cuts? Would it kill you to play "Dyers Eve" once and a while? Okay, maybe it would kill Lars.
Direct support act Machine Head played a few songs each from 2007's excellent The Blackening and 2004's Through The Ashes Of Empires to great response. Veterans of the metal scene, Robb Flynn and Co. looked (and sounded) totally comfortable in an arena setting. Openers The Sword looked less comfortable in such a large venue, but their weed-friendly, Orange-amplified sounds were right up the alley of Metallica's fanbase.
While Metallica are certainly beyond-capable performers, the rote feel of Tuesday's show (the second of two consecutive nights) left a little to be desired. Those hoping to hear their favorite songs were most likely disappointed, unless their favorite songs are the most obvious choices for the yet-to-be-released Best Of Metallica CD.
