Metallica Bring WorldWired Tour to Atlanta’s SunTrust Park (SHOW REVIEW)

There isn’t a much better way to cap off the holiday week of July than a heavy metal show in a baseball stadium.   Their “WorldWired Tour” well underway, Metallica brought their well-seasoned roadshow to Atlanta’s Suntrust Park on Sunday night. Although they play shows on a regular basis, this is the first Metallica world tour supporting new material in almost a decade. The last time the band put out a new record was 2008’s Death Magnetic.  With a catalog as deep as theirs, new tunes aren’t a requirement, but enhances the allure when launching on a worldwide stadium tour of upward to 80 dates.  Metallica always brings solid support on tour and the current North American dates have proved no different.  Danish rockers Volbeat and SoCal’s Avenged Sevenfold are on board with the WorldWired Tour.  Two months into the tour, Metallica unleashed their sound and fury on a welcoming crowd in Atlanta on a sweltering summer night.

Both Volbeat and Avenged Sevenfold utilized their timeslots to provide killer sets as opening acts for the main event.  Avenged Sevenfold had a definite fan presence as could be noted by the waves of fist pumping and word for word singing.  An immense roar filled the stadium as the band took their bows and made their exit, and well deserved.  The real treat, however, was yet to come.

Local radio personalities came onstage for usual rock jock schtick, but also to introduce the final support of the evening. Asking the masses if they liked the Beastie Boys, the crowd was then introduced to their former DJ, the incomparable Mix Master Mike. Mike spun records and hyped the crowd and provided a fantastic set all his own.  His song selections and unique mashups were perfectly timed and executed. By the time he wrapped, Mix Master Mike had the crowd in a frenzy and salivating for the night’s headliners.

Shortly before 9:00, the boys of Metallica took to the stage for their two-hour onslaught. Opening with the title track from their latest album, Hardwired…To Self-Destruct, they sent their battle cry and the call was answered.  “Atlas, Rise!” followed, giving the crowd a further taste of the new material and setting the stage for deeper cuts.  James Hetfield then took the time to address the crowd and preach tolerance and acceptance:  “Metallica doesn’t care where you’re from or what you eat or who your God might be.  We are here to celebrate our similarities.  We are here to celebrate life… and music!”  The band proceeded to dive head first into the back catalog with the crowd-pleasing “For Whom The Bell Tolls,” and without hesitation, seamlessly segued into “Creeping Death.”  Both songs taken from their second album, Ride The Lightning, and presented with as much angst and vigor as if it were 1984 all over again.

When they played “Now That We’re Dead,” another Hardwired…To Self-Destruct song, large kettle drums were brought onstage for the band’s use during a middle bridge segment.  All four musicians put down their regular instruments, grabbed a set of toms, and simultaneously banged out a tribal beat.  For a hot second, it felt out of place, but that notion was quickly extinguished as the boys returned to their respective instruments and finished “Now That We’re Dead.”  “Moth Into Flame,” the lead single from Hardwired introduced new vigor into the set and signaled a marker in intensity in the band’s delivery.  Flames hopped back and forth and all along the entire length of the stage during “Moth.” One couldn’t help but recall the tragic pyrotechnic mishap from 1992 when the band was on tour with Guns N’ Roses. James Hetfield sustained second-degree burns during a performance back then, yet continues to dance with fire every time he takes the stage. The old adage rings true: If it doesn’t kill you, it makes you stronger.

The energy between the band and its audience became dramatically apparent during “Wherever I May Roam.”  Hailing from the band’s most commercially successful album, the eponymous Black Album, the song seemed to raise the decibel level and push the night’s performance into heightened elevation.

About halfway through the set, James and Lars left the stage, leaving bassist Robert Trujillo and guitarist Kirk Hammett to entertain the audience.  Hammett teased temporarily by riffing on Chic’s “Le Freak,” much to the delight of Trujillo and the crowd, before launching into “I, Disappear.”  Hammett then left Trujillo alone for the bassist to perform solo on “Anesthesia (Pulling Teeth).”  The intensely moving bass solo was accompanied by video images of founding member and original bassist, Cliff Burton.

When the entire band rejoined forces, it was as if they were pirates who had their destination in sight and were prepared to land and conquer.  The second half of Metallica’s setlist was packed with one hit after another.  Perhaps the highlight, both visually and aurally, was “One,” from the album …And Justice For All.  A sweeping war saga, the song breaks metal rules with its extraordinary length and signature changes, while meeting metal expectations with its explosions and anger.  The band closed out the main set with “Seek and Destroy”, from their debut Kill ‘Em All, a great choice and opportunity for call and response with the eager ‘Talica faithful.

Metallica took a short break and returned for a three-song encore, closing the night with a pair of songs from the Black Album, including the lead song and perhaps biggest hit, “Enter Sandman.”  One final barrage of pyrotechnic blasts filled the Atlanta sky and put an exclamation point on Suntrust Park’s very first rock n roll show (Billy Joel doesn’t count).  At no point was it apparent that there was a band of middle-aged musicians just dialing it in.  The boys of Metallica worked their metal magic and gave a performance worthy of folks half their age.  There is no rest for the wicked, and Metallica continued to make that case on a Sunday night in July.