metallica_2004_05

» Metallica 2004 05 30

Tourname: Madly In Anger With The World Tour 2004
Special guest: Slipknot & Lost Prophets
City: Gothenburg, Sweden
Venue: Ullevi
Date: 30 May 2004
Metallica setlength: 135 min.

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Slipknot

Take nine angry guys from Iowa and put them in clown masks, add noisy aggressive metal and you get Slipknot. They might be seen as nu-metal even though I think that they have more in their music than simply the nu, not least when it come to playing live. It gets effect full with nine aggressive and energetic clowns with two additional percussionists besides their drummer, that is something that intensifies their music and looks really great live with furious bashing with baseball-bats on metallic beer -kegs and in Corey Taylor they also got a good vocalist that can sing just as good as he can scream.

The concert with Slipknot went along really well although it never reached to any astonishing heights until the great ending before the encore, with the songs : Spit It Out, Heretic Anthem and the ever so great Wait And Bleed and Slipknot got a surprisingly big part of the crowd going. On the downside was the sound, with nine guys producing various sounds on stage there is lots to be heard in the speakers, unfortunately that got lost and it was more of a mess of sounds as the instruments got drowned in each other and it was hard at times to separate the melodies. Even though they left out good songs such as My Plague and Left Behind it was really great to see them and I will probably do it again if the chance appears, although they are very far from what should be entering the stage just a little later; Metallica.

Metallica

The wave rolled among the enthusiastic crowd at the packed Ullevi as we waited for Metallica to enter the stage. The concert sold out in just a matter of a few hours when the tickets went on sale and 56000 people were eagerly waiting for the legendary band. When the classic Metallica intro Ecstasy Of Gold (from the movie The Good, The Bad, The Ugly) went on in the speakers a warm feeling spread in my body, and then it finally started. Blackened was the first track out and so far it was everything you could wish for, and as it went on with Fuel it continued in a great way.

Biggest moment of the evening was One, it is mighty as hell and with explosions that blasted and that must have been heard throughout the entire Gothenburg and searchlights were sweeping the stage as fireworks lit up the night. Some things didn't clutch at a hundred percent but the might of that track is remarkable, the explosion that follows the word landmine in the lyrics was a little out of synch but it still was a big bang and nothing could stop this song from being the best one this evening.

Metallica made a solid performance and from what I could tell the guys seemed to really like the reception they got from the Gothenburg crowd, and so far most people seemed to be pretty satisfied with what they were getting at this point. Although there were some misses in their performances it was a concert which I want to remember, St. Anger got out of pace when Lars was drumming too fast and Creeping Death also got carried away with too much of speed. And there were more misses when they played out of tune and didn't act as the tight band that they are capable of, but on the other hand it shouldn't be perfect live.

Although they have a new album that they are very proud of they only chose to play two songs of that one, I guess they know what their fans likes the most, and it is the older stuff. First from the new album was Frantic and that one just doesnt cut it live, although St. Anger proves to be somewhat of a good live track and I believe that will be the only track from the St. Anger album that they will stick with live on further tours. I Disappear and Fuel is together with the other two the only tracks from the last thirteen years that they brings out live, so it mostly from the older and in my belief the better album most of the concert is picked. As always you could complain about the selection of songs, but I Disappear doesnt work for me, a good song but it simple doesnt work live.

The first encore started with Wherever I May Roam and Nothing Else Matters, and in my opinion the concert lost flow at that time, the tempo was slowing down and it lost its nerve. I guess my belief doesnt match the general opinion since the response toward the ballad was overwhelming from the crowd, thousand of lighters shined and people were singing along, yes it was a mighty sight but it slowed down the concert too much. Otherwise I cannot really complain, half of the Master Of Puppets album was delivered but I missed one of those fast aggressive in your face kind of songs, where was Motorbreath or Whiplash?, Dyers Eve or Damage Inc. could also have done it. But they have a bunch of tracks to chose from and they cant satisfy everyone, that is something you just have to accept and instead be grateful with the other great songs and moments Metallica created.

It really was great but I expected more, a band like Metallica does not need a stage-show since their music is enough for a pleasant evening, although there was something missing this night, I simply wanted more, the energy was great but it never really lifted to those heights my high expectations was set for. Something more on stage could have been the ingredient that could have don't this show a really great killer concert, now it wasn't more than just really great but no killer.

The new guy Rob Trujillo has high energy and his special way of moving around on stage, and in my belief he really fits perfectly in Metallica. And the only time when I missed Jason was in Creeping Death, that track didn't become as great as it can be, it seemed to be delivered on routine rather than on enthusiastic energy, Creeping Death needs Jason furiously screaming die repeated times in the mighty break of the song. Also Seek And Destroy seemed to be stuck on routine, in those two at least I want more of them and longer versions, Seek should be endlessly long with much more audience participation led by James.

It was easy to separate the older fans from the newer ones, not least with Leper Messiah that Metallica performed for the first time in Sweden. The tracks from The Black Album and those released as singles got more cheering from the younger ones while it was more the older fans that sang along in the older tracks and shouted along at the right places as they always have done. Even though I might have sounding negative at times in my report it really was great, a sold out stadium and an enthusiastic crowd and a Metallica that was high on spirit and what it seemed overwhelmed by the reception they got, but then they probably seem that way no matter where they play but it felt like a genuine appreciation from the guys. In the end all that's left to say is that compared with most other bands Metallica would have kicked their ass with this concert but compared with Metallica they have more in them.

Setlist :
01. Blackened
02. Fuel
03. Harvester Of Sorrow
04. Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
05. Frantic
06. For Whom The Bell Tolls
07. I Disappear
08. St. Anger
09. Sad But True
10. Creeping Death
11. Battery
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12. Wherever I May Roam
13. Nothing Else Matters
14. Master of Puppets
15. One
16. Enter Sandman
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17. Leper Messiah
18. Seek And Destroy