![\"Metallica](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1782267800_206_0x0.jpg\")
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BERLIN, GERMANY – MAY 30: All Members of Metallica perform live on stage at Olympiastadion on May 30, 2026 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Rainer Keuenhof\/Redferns)<\/p>\n
Redferns<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been nearly seven years since Metallica last graced the emerald isle. In 2019 the heavy metal titans came to Ireland\u2019s Slane Castle during one of the last legs of their WorldWired Tour, where they performed in front of 75,000 fans in the pouring rain. This past weekend the band\u2019s 72 Seasons tour finally arrived to Ireland, which saw the band perform two 2-hour long no repeat sets in Dublin\u2019s own Aviva Stadium on June 19th and 21st. <\/p>\n
Both the Friday and Sunday shows sold out, and over 50,000 fans attended the monumental heavy metal event. Having caught the band\u2019s 72 Seasons tour back in 2023 in Los Angeles<\/a>, I felt somewhat prepared going into this leg of the band\u2019s tour and while there were some surprising sound issues on the Friday performance, Metallica\u2019s performance, setlist, and overall production were on a level I\u2019d not seen since I first saw them in the early 2000s\u2019. <\/p>\n Metallica\u2019s Setlist At Their 2026 Ireland Shows<\/p>\n As any hardcore Metallica fan knows, a huge part of what makes or breaks a Metallica show is the setlist. It\u2019s a nearly impossible task to satisfy every fan\u2019s demands, but the sets Metallica has crafted for their double header shows are flawless. For both nights, the band\u2019s first three songs were an ode to the die-hards, with Friday\u2019s show opening with \u201cCreeping Death,\u201d \u201cHarvester Of Sorrow,\u201d and \u201cLeper Messiah,\u201d and Sunday\u2019s going straight into \u201cWhiplash,\u201d \u201cFor Whom The Bell Tolls,\u201d and \u201cRide The Lightning.\u201d <\/p>\n The biggest achievement from Metallica\u2019s sets was the value they packed in for each night. Friday saw the band play four songs off of Master Of Puppets, Sunday featured four more songs off Ride the Lightning, and combined both nights saw a five songs off The Black Album and three off of \u2026And Justice for All. Additionally each nights featured two songs off 72 Seasons and at least one song off Load or Reload, though the highlight from the post-black album era had to be when the band kicked into \u201cWhiskey in the Jar” \u2013 James Hetfield teased the Dublin crowd before starting the song saying \u201cwe won\u2019t make it out of this town alive if we don\u2019t play this next song,\u201d and based off the adrenalized crowd reaction for the renown Irish folk tune, he wasn\u2019t lying. <\/p>\n Metallica performing in Dublin, Ireland June 2026<\/p>\n Quentin Thane SingerMetallica\u2019s Production Was Immaculate But Flawed<\/p>\n The production for Metallica\u2019s 360 stage continues to outdo any other rock or metal show I\u2019ve seen. Each song gets its own theme on the spiral towers with the proper lighting, effects and sometimes pyro to go with it. The camera work is great to help fans in seated areas, like myself, catch the band up close as they make their way around different parts of the stage. However, the only issue with the production was the sound, specifically for myself and those in the seated section in the middle bowl. Metallica\u2019s sound on Friday was only half-decent. Hetfield\u2019s vocals were clear enough, but guitars riffs were often muddy and solos barely managed to cut through the mix. However, Metallica\u2019s show on Sunday was a noticeable step up in sound quality, with instruments on the whole coming through the speakers much louder and clearer. <\/p>\n For the opening acts it was an entirely different story. Unfortunately Pantera and Gojira had incredibly muddy audio to the point where not a single word could made out when the band performed or were speaking between songs. This sentiment was echoed from a number of concert goers in my section and on reddit<\/a> forums, and it\u2019s a shame because all of the opening acts performed incredibly well \u2013 drummer Mario Duplantier was the talk of the town as he put on a drumming masterclass during Gojira\u2019s set. <\/p>\n Metallica\u2019s Performance In Ireland Was Next Level<\/p>\n The biggest aspect that stood out from Metallica\u2019s Ireland shows was the band\u2019s overall performance. I\u2019ve seen a fair share of Metallica shows, some where the band is operating on high and others where they\u2019re not as locked in as they could be. These shows were different and that was not the expectation for a band that\u2019s been around for over 40 years. It\u2019s not often the case that James Hetfield\u2019s vocal style can adapt to every era of the band, but somehow he managed to execute classics like \u201cRide The Lightning,\u201d \u201cWhiplash,\u201d and \u201cMaster of Puppets\u201d to a more than satisfying degree.<\/p>\n While valid criticism is warranted, Lars Ulrich\u2019s musicianship has routinely been a punching bag within the metal and rock community. However, these shows showcased Ulrich putting much of these criticism to rest. The 62-year old drummer was constantly locked in the pocket, nailing technical thrash tunes, and bringing his signature enthusiasm to every song. The latter is what makes Ulrich such an integral part to the band\u2019s live shows, and without his personality on and off the kit, Metallica shows wouldn\u2019t be the same. <\/p>\n Metallica performing in Dublin, Ireland 2026<\/p>\n Quentin Thane Singer<\/p>\n Kirk Hammett on the other hand was probably the biggest surprise. Blazing through some of his monstrously challenging solos like \u201cCreeping Death,\u201d and \u201cBlackened,” Hammett amalgamated motifs from these challenging solos with bits of improvisation flawlessly, which hasn\u2019t always been the case. Of course there are iconic solos like \u201cThe Unforgiven,\u201d \u201cEnter Sandman,\u201d and technical gauntlets like “Master Of Puppets” that Hammett plays note for note. However, Hammett\u2019s off-the-cuff soloing seems to have aged gracefully the more the band plays through the 72 Seasons tour. <\/p>\n Bottom Line<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s just a matter of fact that there are very few legacy rock or metal bands left that have the same core lineup that continue to sell out stadiums and perform at the level that Metallica is right now. It\u2019s bittersweet seeing Metallica on this tour. The band still has their \u2018mojo\u2019 and they\u2019re able to rile crowds like it\u2019s 1991, but everyone is constantly wondering how much gas the band has left in the tank. Regardless of that, fans should rejoice knowing that the greatest metal band<\/a> on earth is still around and doing what they do best, and if there\u2019s ever a time to see them, it\u2019s now. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BERLIN, GERMANY – MAY 30: All Members of Metallica perform live on stage at Olympiastadion on May 30,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":551065,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[75],"tags":[13425,52,18,117,19,17,62900,40821,62901,236043,7163,16577,236042],"class_list":["post-551064","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-aviva-stadium","tag-dublin","tag-eire","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-james-hetfield","tag-kirk-hammett","tag-lars-ulrich","tag-master-of-puppets","tag-metal","tag-metallica","tag-ride-the-lightning"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116802710241780558","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/551064","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=551064"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/551064\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/551065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=551064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=551064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=551064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}