“Do YOU like your music heavy?” asked Metallica frontman James Hetfield. If the answer to that question is ‘no’, you’d have been advised to leave Twickenham Stadium faster than a flying full-back.
For the rest of us, last night was a masterclass in spectacle from heavy metal’s biggest hitters.
Thirty-eight years into a career that has seen the LA quartet sell in excess of 120 million records and pick up nine Grammy Awards, the Metallica formula remains unchanged: vaulting guitars, bludgeoning beats, serrated vocals and more pyrotechnics than Guy Fawkes Night.
It’s a combination best enjoyed live. Songs like the sprawling, quasi-classical The Unforgiven only truly make sense in giant arenas such as this — even if this particular arena remains a transport desert hopelessly ill-suited for music events of this size.
Unlike other acts of their vintage, Metallica are still creating great music. Their latest album, 2016’s Hardwired ... To Self-Destruct, is one of their finest. So the inclusion last night of some of its highlights — the coruscating Moth Into Flame and the thrashing title track — was a treat rather than a trial.
As is to be expected from men in their fifties, things were a little flabby around the middle. When bassist Robert Trujillo and lead guitarist Kirk Hammett were encouraged to take the mic, the results resembled a grisly jam session rather than a stellar stadium show.
But the hits were never far away. Master Of Puppets was a showcase for Lars Ulrich’s drumming: he doesn’t so much play his drum kit as bludgeon it to within an inch of its life.
Subtlety remains in short supply. But when it comes to delivering heavy thrills, Metallica proved that they’re still off the scale.
