Metallica

Eden Park, Auckland

Wednesday, November 19th

Metallica hadn’t set foot in New Zealand in 15 years — until last night.

Given this fact, their tour stop at Auckland’s Eden Park felt less like a promo for their 2023 release 72 Seasons and more like a greatest hits set that whispered (or perhaps screamed), “Thank you for your patience.”

Before the heavy metal juggernauts took to the impressively large and technically complex stage, two generations of rock royalty set an adrenaline-fuelled tone for the evening. 

First up was Suicidal Tendencies, vocalist and sole original member Mike Muir barking thrash classics such as “Send Me Your Money” and “Pledge Your Allegiance”, the latter featuring Metallica bassist and ex-band member Robert Trujillo’s crunchy riffs. 

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Next was Evanescence, Amy Lee’s live vocals immense as the band blasted through anthems like “My Immortal” and, of course, “Bring Me to Life”. 

As the openers exited, a Metallica-esque taniwha bathing in red lightning graced the screens, an homage to the remarkable patience of Aotearoa. 

Just after 8pm, a montage of past crowds and behind-the-scenes tour shots filled the screens, supported by AC/DC’s “It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll)”, before Ennio Morricone’s “The Ecstasy of Gold” and a scene from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly — a 42-year Metallica staple — welcomed the fab four of metal back in front of a roaring sea of black band tees and dark denim. 

Credit: Tom Grut

Without pause, the band broke into “Creeping Death” as lasers and towering screens bathed the stadium in red, an early sign the show wouldn’t closely align with 72 Seasons and its distinctive yellow palette. 

Drummer Lars Ulrich brandished a cacophony of carefree licks as lead guitarist Kirk Hammett sent riffs reverberating across the stadium, the band exploding through ageless classics like “For Whom the Bell Tolls”, “The Unforgiven”, as well as the rarely-performed “Harvester of Sorrow” from 1988’s 
And Justice for All. 

For lead vocalist James Hetfield, this return offered redemption: his decision to enter an addiction treatment programme six years prior sidelined the band’s previous world tour in support of their 2016 album Hardwired
 to Self-Destruct, leading to the cancellation of all shows across Oceania and extending New Zealand’s wait to over a decade. 

Now in his 60s, Hetfield looked healthy, confident, and ready to be belting out Metallica hits. 

“I’ll speak for myself, I have the best job in the whole fucking world,” he gleefully told the Eden Park crowd, who bellowed back in turn. 

introducing Hammett and Trujillo, the leading men on strings honouring their host country with covers of two Kiwi classics: “I Got You” by Split Enz and Six60’s “Don’t Forget Your Roots”. 

The full band returned for headbangers such as “The Day That Never Comes” and “Moth Into Flame”, as well as more Black Album classics like “Nothing Else Matters” and the reflective “Sad But True”. 

Then came the biggest throwback: “Seek & Destroy”, taken from the band’s debut Kill ‘Em All. The performance was paired with sky-scraping graphics of tickets from Metallica’s New Zealand shows from decades past. 

Credit: Tom Grut

After “Lux Æterna”, the only song of the night from their tour’s namesake album, the the four-piece did what all bands of such cachet and legacy do: save their arguably big three songs for the very end, which by chance was timed alongside downpours that only fuelled the melodrama. 

First came “Master of Puppets”, one of their earliest displays of heavy metal excellency, followed by “One”, a powerful anti-war anthem made more poignant by haunting visuals of undead soldiers, and finally “Enter Sandman”, perhaps the definitive Metallica song and certainly the one the Eden Park crowd knew better than the rest. 

After the crew and his bandmates doused Hammett in silly string — a celebratory prank for his 63rd birthday the day before — and a fireworks show, the masters of metal said their goodbyes and slipped away into backstage darkness. 

Even past their supposed prime, Metallica not only sound tighter than ever but as passionate about their craft as when they were just starting out. So even if Kiwi fans have to wait another 15 years to see them again, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them return in fine form, even in their 70s. 

Find Metallica’s upcoming tour dates here.Â