In celebration of the news that Metallica are to headline the UK's Glastonbury festival for the first time this summer, we revisit eight classic festival shows from the Bay Area legends...
MONSTERS OF ROCK ‘85
Donington Park
August 17, 1985
Played with: ZZ Top, Marillion, Bon Jovi, Ratt, Magnum
“If you came here to see spandex, and fucking eye make-up and all that shit, and the words ‘Rock ‘n’ roll baby’ in every fucking song, this ain’t the fucking band. We came here to bang some fucking heads for fifty minutes: are you fucking with us?” That, ladies and gentlemen, is how you introduce your band to metal’s spiritual home. The heaviest band on a lightweight bill, the Bay Area ‘bangers tore through a nine song set - starting with Creeping Death, ending with Motorbreath – which served notice that metal was changing forever.
DAY ON THE GREEN ‘85
Oakland Coliseum, California
August 31, 1985
Played with: Scorpions, Ratt, Y&T, Rising Force, Victory
So closely are Metallica identified with San Francisco, that it’s possible to forget that they were originally an LA band. This landmark show in their adopted hometown however served notice that the quartet’s hearts belonged in the City by the Bay. The quartet played an identical set-list to their Donington debut – Creeping Death, Ride The Lightning, For Whom The Bell Tolls, The Four Horsemen, Fade To Black, Seek & Destroy, Whiplash, Am I Evil, Motorbreath – and made it almost impossible for LA pretty boys Ratt to follow them. Somewhere in the crowd, a teenage Robb Flynn was taking notes.
MONSTERS OF ROCK ‘91
Tushino Airfield, Moscow
September 28, 1991
Played with: AC/DC, Pantera
Russia didn’t get many heavy metal festivals in the 1980s – 1989’s Bon Jovi-headlined Moscow Music Peace Festival – so the arrival of AC/DC, Metallica and Pantera for the country’s first ever Monsters Of Rock show was kinda a big deal. Official estimates for the attendance range from 500,000 to 1.6 million (!): what’s undeniable was that Metallica killed it that afternoon, with Enter Sandman and Sad But True from the band’s newly release ‘Black’ album among the highlights of a 13 song set.
ESCAPE FROM THE STUDIO
Donington Park
August 26, 1995
Played with: Therapy?, Skid Row, Slayer, Slash’s Snakepit, White Zombie, Machine Head, Warrior Soul, Corrosion of Conformity
Titled in deference to the fact that the gig took place when Metallica were in the middle of recording their Load album, this was the band’s first headline appearance on metal’s most sacred turf. Their 20 song set was bookended by cover versions (Budgie’s Breadfan and the Anti-Nowhere League’s So What, respectively) and featured one brand new song – Devil’s Dance, which would emerge on Reload – and a bizarre mash-up medley of Kill ‘Em All/Ride The Lightning era tracks. The main talking point of the day however, was James Hetfield’s new mullet, a truly terrifying creation.
DOWNLOAD 2003
Donington Park
June 1, 2003
Played with: Audioslave, Zwan, Flint, Apocalyptica, Disturbed, Stone Sour and more.
The first ever Download festival wasn’t short on controversy or drama. Sunday night headliners Limp Bizkit pulled out in the run-up to the event (to be replaced by Audioslave), Prodigy man Keith Flint was given a ludicrously high slot on the main stage (his solo album was then shelved forever by his record company) and Metallica chose to introduce their new bass player Rob Trujillo to their UK fan-base with a secret show. Only 8,000 people managed to squeeze into the Scuzz Tent to see the all-new Four Horsemen, but those who did were ‘rewarded’ with UK premieres of Frantic and St. Anger amid a ten song set.
DOWNLOAD 2004
Donington Park
June 6 2004
Played with: Korn, Slipknot, Slayer, Machine Head, Soulfly and more.
Metallica’s headlining appearance at Download 2004 will go down in history as the only Metallica live show not to feature Lars Ulrich. The Danish drummer had a stress-related panic attack aboard a flight from Copenhagen and was taken to hospital when the plane touched down at East Midlands airport. Rather than pull the show, the band recruited Slayer’s Dave Lombardo and Slipknot’s Joey Jordison and soldiered on without their founding father. Some suggested they’ve never sounded better…
THE BIG FOUR
Warsaw, Poland
June 16, 2010
Played with: Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax, Behemoth
Back in the mid 1980s, New York metal writer Don Kaye coined the term ‘The Big 4’ to describe the four leading acts in the burgeoning Thrash Metal movement. The four bands had history – Megadeth were formed after frontman Dave Mustaine was kicked out of Metallica, Slayer guitarist Kerry King temporarily moonlighted with Megadeth, Anthrax had looked after Metallica when they came to New York City to record their debut album Kill ‘Em All in 1983 – but until June 16, 2010 the four bands had never shared a stage. More Big 4 shows would follow, but really, this was the one that secured attendees the biggest bragging rights.
ORION MUSIC + MORE
Atlantic City, New Jersey
June 23, 2012
Played with: Modest Mouse, The Gaslight Anthem, Lucero, Baroness, Arctic Monkeys and more
In 2012, Metallica decided to create their very own bespoke, self-curated music festival. The gathering was staged at Bader Field, an abandoned airstrip in Atlantic City and featured appearances from groups as diverse as Modest Mouse, the Arctic Monkeys, Fucked Up, Hot Snakes and The Gaslight Anthem, in addition to an exhibition of James Hetfield’s classic cars and Kirk Hammett’s collection of vintage horror movie memorabilia. The opening night saw the quartet play their classic second album Ride the Lightning in its entirety for the first time, meaning a first ever live performance of the much-maligned Escape. Historical.
