Approaching Thunder, Awaiting the Light

When Metallica announced the 2025 leg of the M72 World Tour, they included several cities that would only get one show, as opposed to the two no-repeat shows they performed across the tour in 2023 and 2024. Houston was one of those one show-only cities on the 2025 list. I initially ruled it out as a destination, picking the two-show cities of Philadelphia and Denver instead. I bought my tickets for the two cities and locked in my travel plans.

But my good friend Chris reached out and told me he had a friend who had two extra Snake Pit passes for the Houston show. That changed the calculus in an instant. I offered the second one to my steady travel companion Susan who accepted. Suddenly, I was off to Houston for a quick one-off weekend on the tour.

June 13, 2025

Fresh off the highs from having watched the premiere of “Metallica Saved My Life” in close proximity to the band just two days prior, we hopped an early flight from Newark to Houston. We would only have about a day and a half to take in the sights and sample the local cuisine.

I wanted to visit the Space Center Houston Museum, so we set that as our first destination. But we also wanted lunch, and I wanted to try Mexican, so I found a casual spot nearby, Los Lopez Taqueria. I’m used to global cuisine in New York City, but I enjoy the authenticity of Mexican food when I visit a border state. This restaurant was perfect, and we both enjoyed our meal.

Authentic Mexican lunch in Houston

The Space Center Houston was a quick ride from there. My dad worked in the aerospace industry for most of his career, and NASA was always at the forefront in our household. I was excited about making my visit to the museum.

Space Center Houston Museum

The museum has a wide array of exhibits of the history of American space travel, as well as those that describe future missions to the moon and eventually to Mars. We wandered around the whole museum and took in most of them.

There was a lot of information about past Space Shuttle missions and how their engines worked.

Innards of a Space Shuttle engine

There was an exhibit about the International Space Station and how it is built to include life-sustaining features for both humans and plants. I had no idea the space station recycles and purifies water and sweat.

Astronauts drink their own, and each other’s piss
Next time I take a leak, I won’t take gravity for granted

There was a wall with pictures of every manned space mission crew, from the very beginning with Alan Shepard, to the most recent missions to and from the ISS. Coincidentally, the first one I happened to read was from the doomed Space Shuttle Columbia flight in 2003 that exploded on re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere.

Never made it home

We wrapped up at the museum and drove towards the hotel. I haven’t spent too much time in Texas, but I am certainly amazed by their maze of elevated highways. In some places they look like they are stacked four high. From a distance, I couldn’t even guess which one I was headed towards.

I made a quick stop at the NRG Stadium to shop at the merchandise truck. I wanted the Houston-specific artwork shirt, but they were sold out of my size by the time we got there. They never have enough of the local shirts, so I haven’t gotten one on this tour. I had to settle for the Houston stadium shirt, and two generic M72 2025 World Tour shirts. Poor me.

After a quick trip to the hotel to check in and get gussied up for the evening, we headed out to dinner. I traveled with Susan on this trip, and she has a knack for finding good restaurants and bars. Unlike Pooch who does PhD-level research ahead of time when we travel, Susan operates by feel of a city, and she always nails it.

I suggested Texas barbecue for dinner, but she found something that looked good, so I deferred to her expertise. We took an Uber to The Travelers Table, which billed itself as a “globally-inspired eatery”. That was not what I was expecting from a restaurant in Houston. We were early so we sat at the bar, and I ordered the margarita flight from the menu, a first for me.

Margarita flight

Susan ordered the duck, and I ordered a shrimp concoction, and both of our meals were a hit. Score one for Houston cuisine!

My main course at Travelers Table

From looking at the map and from our observations while in transit, there appears to be a good restaurant scene in Houston. We saw enough places that made me wish we had a few extra days in town. But for the rest of the night, we wanted to at least check out the bars and the clubs.

I found a bar on Yelp that was highly reviewed, but it totally sucked so we split and found another bar in the area called Soho Garden. It had outdoor seating and a good cocktail menu.

Good cocktail menu at Soho Garden

It was a very lively scene and a fun place to spend the rest of the night. Unfortunately, there were too many Astros fans there, apparently the bar was only a few blocks from the stadium and the game had just ended. As a Yankee fan, I am still upset they cheated their way past us in the 2017 American League Championship Series. Other than that, the crowd was interesting, especially the dude passed out face down at a table.

I only spent one evening in Houston but came away with the impression that it was a good town for dining and partying. I will need to find another reason to come back.

June 14, 2025

Today was going to be the main event of the weekend, the Metallica concert at NRG Stadium. But first we had to get our “passes”. The way it was described to me by Chris, that an old friend of his who lives in town was connected to a guy who was connected to a guy at Live Nation and would get us inside the stadium without a ticket and give us Snake Pit passes. Seemed legit. Well, it turned out to be legit but only after a series of agonizing events that we can only look back on and laugh at.

The idea was that Chris and his friend would meet us for lunch at 1:30 at Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen, a Cajun seafood restaurant a short distance from NRG stadium. Our connection was scheduled to meet us at 3:30 with our passes. Sounded great.

Susan and I headed to the restaurant and met Chris and his friend, Ralph, and his wife. The first thing that Ralph said to me was “trust the process and be patient, it always works out.” I had no reason not to, so I sat down to lunch with them. This restaurant was another winner. I ordered the Texas Redfish which I had never even heard of. My fish was adorned with crab, shrimp, and a brown-butter lemon sauce. I thought it was fantastic.

Texas Redfish for lunch

I had an enjoyable time catching up with Chris, he has a fascinating career, and his stories are always compelling. It was good to meet Ralph and his wife; they were very friendly. We wrapped up lunch and sat at the table for a while. We decided to get up and wait outside for the “pass guy” to show up. That is when things got interesting.

Our scheduled meeting time of 3:30 came and went. There was no sign of the guy. Ralph swore he was coming. Chris started to get agitated. Susan was hoping to grab the pass and head back to the hotel to do some work and rest before the show, and the window to do so was closing.

Things started to get ridiculous around 5PM. The guy was an hour and a half late. I am not saying I ever doubted Ralph and Chris, but the situation was at least getting weird and annoying.

Susan pointed at some slovenly dude in a pink shirt, talking on his phone and pacing back and forth nervously. She said that she thought it was the guy with our passes. As it turns out she was right. After pacing back and forth on the phone for a long time, he found Ralph and we met outside the restaurant. Suddenly a huge crowd appeared around him. We were not the only people waiting for him, there were nearly 20 of us promised these passes and we were all on time and waiting for the guy.

After a protracted discussion, we learned that we all needed to go to the stadium to some loading dock to get our passes. After all that, the dude did not have them. Traffic had started to build around the stadium, so I could tell this was going to be an exercise akin to herding kittens.

Ralph’s wife drove us a half mile to the stadium and dropped us off near the loading dock. There were two people there waiting for their passes and they were annoyed. The opening act, Suicidal Tendencies, was about to hit the stage and we were stuck outside.

Of course, the pass dude took forever to get there. He went the wrong way around the stadium and needlessly passed through security. Then when he got to the loading dock, security wouldn’t let him in. He had to call whoever it was that had the passes and that guy wasn’t answering the phone. Maybe it was because the show started and the guy was working, and he expected us  to be there at 3:30 PM!

At this point, all of us were ready to strangle the guy. Ralph went from telling me to trust the process and be patient to apologizing profusely. We could hear the band playing from inside the stadium.

Finally, some guy sitting at the gate heard what was happening and said he would radio in to get the guy who had our passes. Nobody answered at first, so he walked inside the stadium. After a wait that seemed like forever, some important looking guy came out. All of us huddled around them as they exchanged pleasantries. I grabbed Susan and Chris and said let’s get there first. I was worried after all this, he would be one or two passes shy, and I just wanted to get inside and never see the pass guy again.

We got our passes and Snake Pit bracelets. The passes weren’t tickets; they were some sort of Live Nation employee pass. We walked in through the loading dock, went through a security check and entered a side door into the stadium while Suicidal Tendencies was playing. Finally!

This was our “pass” to get in the side door at NRG Energy Stadium. Whatever!

I went straight for the Snake Pit. Susan went for a walk; she wasn’t interested in the opening acts. Chris went to try to get a Houston Metallica shirt, but the line looked like it was an hour long and they only had medium left. If only we got in early like we were supposed to.

I got some explanation that the guy was out getting drunk and was late because of that. The guy had about twenty people waiting for over two hours and let us in late. I just wanted to put it out of my mind. I was happy to be inside. I was so worked up that I followed Mike Muir around the donut-shaped stage from inside the Snake Pit.

I got close to Suicidal Tendencies drummer Jay Weinberg and watched him play. He grew up in my home state of New Jersey and is the son of the legendary E Street Band drummer, Max Weinberg. I am a graduate of Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ and so is Jay. Prior to Jay’s arrival at Stevens, its most distinguished graduate was Henry Gantt, the inventor of the Gantt chart. Jay surpassed him as the most distinguished Stevens graduate when he landed the gig drumming for Slipknot. Here he was that day drumming on the same stage that Metallica was about to play on. I can’t think of a better alumnus in school history.

I always wanted to see him play up close. The drunk, slovenly, pass dude robbed me of a half hour of the show, but I enjoyed what I could.

The greatest graduate of Stevens Institute of Technology

Suicidal wrapped up and Pantera soon followed them. The Snake Pit was not very full yet and I was able to get very close to the stage. I got some very close up views of Zakk Wylde playing just feet away from me.

The fifth greatest guitar player of all time, Pantera’s Zakk Wylde

Pantera finished their set and the hour-long wait for Metallica began. I wrote about M72 World Tour Snake Pit positioning in my Philadelphia blog. I wanted to position myself in front of the first Metallica drum kit to pop up. To do that, I had to orient myself inside the circular stage. I picked the spot based on where the Suicidal Tendencies drumkit was placed for the Philadelphia show, assuming they would be consistent. The first Metallica drum kit first popped out directly to the right of where Jay Weinberg’s drums were.

Some woman standing in front of me insisted that spot was the third drum kit. She said she had seen Metallica before, and she knew what she was talking about. To me, she seemed dumb, and her opinion did not hurt my resolve. Most of the fans around me agreed we were in the right spot.

Eventually, a stage manager came to us and introduced himself. He said that he oversaw opening and closing the trap doors and that if we had our hands in the wrong place they’d get cut off so we should be careful. I asked him if it was the first drum kit, and he winked and smiled at me, so I got my affirmation from an authoritative source, not the idiot in front of me. Chris decided to find a stationary spot for himself on the other side of the stage. Ralph and Susan stuck with me.

There is no barricade inside of the Snake Pit, so I was about a foot away from the stage when the lights went off. As “Ecstasy of Gold” played, the trap door in front of me opened and I saw drum tech Jimmy Clark being lifted with the drums.

Jimmy Clarke riding the drums directly in front of us
In just a moment, Lars Ullrich was going to be right here!

I was overwhelmed with excitement as Lars Ulrich sat down on his kit and Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo converged. I hate fans who record videos of concerts, so I grabbed my phone and hit record anyway. Lars counted in “Creeping Death”, and I lost my mind. The show was off to a fiery start.

A quick video I took of Creeping Death to start the show

I stopped recording after a minute; I just wanted to capture a quick moment of the perspective I had. I got to jumping up and down and screaming along with the song like a proper fan should.

The first three songs were all from the 1984 classic album “Ride the Lightning” and they bled into each other. I can’t imagine that anyone thought in 1984 that Metallica would fill football stadiums and play those songs on a stage like this.

Lars walked over and gave the fans nearby a high-five. I haven’t washed my hand since mine touched his.

So close to the band inside a huge stadium
James Hetfield right in front of us
Me and Susan in front of the Greatest Drummer of All time and some uninterested security guy

The last song of the first set was “The Memory Remains” and the band played an extended outro while the crowd sang along to the eerie Marianne Faithfull melody. Normally I like to switch spots during the fourth song, but I was having too much fun being so close to Lars, so I waited there for the last note. I immediately grabbed Susan and Ralph and said, “LET’S GO!” We bolted from our spot and pushed our way towards where the second drum kit would be. We nailed it perfectly and got there in time for the high energy “Lux Æterna”, a song Metallica wrote about the exhilaration of their own concerts. Once again, we had a great view of Lars and the rest of the band.

Followed the drums all night, that’s where the action is

They played through another newer song “If Darkness Had a Son.” I love part of that song where the crowd can shout “Temptation! Temptation!” along with James Hetfield. It rattles the whole stadium. They transitioned into an epic rendition of “The Day That Never Comes”.

“The Day That Never Comes”

James played the opening guitar part while sitting on a stool to our left. It was my seventh time seeing this song played on the M72 World Tour, but my best vantage point for it yet. The song features time changes and punishing instrumental sections. Unfortunately, a couple near us got engaged during the song, but I didn’t let that ruin things for me.

I’ve become the selfie-taking douche
They play “The Day That Never Comes” with such intensity

When it was over, we bailed on our spot again to head over to where the third drumkit would be. We were in transition while the pyrotechnics lit for “Fuel”. We rocked out to that while we waited out the next drum transition because I knew what was going to happen next.

The third drum kit popped up right in front of us again. I nailed our positioning three times in a row! I think at this point, I became the best Metallica Snake Pit Strategist of all time! The band converged on the drums and played the instrumental “Orion”.

Our third stop of the night to see “Orion”

Watching Metallica play Orion from six feet away is as close as a religious experience one can have at a heavy metal concert. James dedicated it to the late Cliff Burton.

Next up was “Nothing Else Matters” and the crowd pulled their phone lights out to create an amazing visual scene.

Cool scene for “Nothing Else Matters”

As the band played through another Black Album classic “Sad but True”, we made our final transition to the last drum kit. The concert wrapped up with the barrage of classics “One”, “Seek & Destroy”, “Master of Puppets”, and “Enter Sandman”. There was a frenzy of activity as the band roamed the stage more freely for the last set. I didn’t know which direction to look in as we were completely immersed in Metallica.

Cool lighting effect behind James
They always look like they’re having fun
Metallica somehow fills entire stadiums

Another epic Metallica show was over, and I was sore and exhausted. We regrouped and took the obligatory group photo in the center of the pit.

Myself, Susan, Chris, and Ralph made our way into the show and survived the Snake Pit

I thanked Ralph and Chris again. Despite the ridiculousness of the entry process, everything worked out great in the end. We had another unforgettable Metallica experience, and I got to travel to another city that I probably wouldn’t have otherwise.

I wrapped things up in the morning and went to the airport. Susan had a business trip in Germany, and she flew straight there. We had two weeks off until ours and Metallica’s last stop on the US leg of the 2025 M72 World Tour in Denver.

My M72 Would Tour Itinerary

Show #DateVenueCity
Complete15/17/2023Stade de FranceSaint-Denis, France
25/19/2023Stade de FranceSaint-Denis, France
38/4/2023MetLife StadiumEast Rutherford, NJ
48/6/2023MetLife StadiumEast Rutherford, NJ
58/11/2023Stade OlympiqueMontreal, Quebec, Canada
68/13/2023Stade OlympiqueMontreal, Quebec, Canada
79/1/2023State Farm StadiumGlendale, AZ
87/12/2024Estadio Cívitas MetropolitanoMadrid, Spain
97/14/2024Estadio Cívitas MetropolitanoMadrid, Spain
108/2/2024Gilette StadiumFoxborough, MA
118/4/2024Gilette StadiumFoxborough, MA
125/23/2025Lincoln Financial FieldPhiladelphia, PA
135/25/2025Lincoln Financial FieldPhiladelphia, PA
146/14/2025NRG StadiumHouston, TX
Upcoming156/27/2027Empower Field at Mile HighDenver, CO
166/29/2027Empower Field at Mile HighDenver, CO

My lifetime Metallica concert history

Show #ShowDateVenueDescriptionCityTour/EventVantagePoint
14/8/1992Brendan Byrne ArenaEast Rutherford, NJWherever We May RoamSeats
27/17/1998Giants StadiumEast Rutherford, NJPoor Retouring MeSeats
311/24/1998Roseland BallroomNew York, NYGarage BarrageGeneral Admission
411/23/1999Madison Square GardenNew York, NYS&MSeats
57/20/2000Giants StadiumEast Rutherford, NJSummer SanitariumGeneral Admission
67/8/2003Giants StadiumEast Rutherford, NJSummer Sanitarium 2003General Admission
74/20/2004Nassau ColiseumUniondale, NYMadly In Anger With The WorldGeneral Admission
810/22/2004Continental Airlines ArenaEast Rutherford, NJMadly In Anger With The WorldGeneral Admission
91/17/2009Wachovia CenterPhiladelphia, PAWorld MagneticSeats
101/31/2009Prudential CenterNewark, NJWorld MagneticGeneral Admission
112/1/2009Prudential CenterNewark, NJWorld MagneticSeats
1211/14/2009Madison Square GardenNew York, NYWorld MagneticGeneral Admission
1311/15/2009Madison Square GardenNew York, NYWorld MagneticSeats
149/14/2011Yankee StadiumNew York, NYThe Big 4General Admission
156/23/2012Bader FieldAtlantic City, NJOrion Music + MoreGeneral Admission
166/24/2012Bader FieldAtlantic City, NJOrion Music + MoreGeneral Admission
175/12/2017Lincoln Financial FieldPhiladelphia, PAWorldwiredGeneral Admission
185/14/2017MetLife StadiumEast Rutherford, NJWorldwiredGeneral Admission
195/17/2017The New Coliseum Presented by NYCVUniondale, NYWorldwiredGeneral Admission
207/19/2017Parc Jean-DrapeauMontreal, QCWorldwiredSnake Pit
2110/20/2018Bryce Jordan CenterState College, PAWorldwiredGeneral Admission
2210/25/2018Wells Fargo CenterPhiladelphia, PAWorldwiredGeneral Admission
239/6/2019Chase CenterSan Francisco, CAS&M2Seats
249/24/2021Highland Festival Grounds at KY Expo CenterLouisville, KYLouder Than LifeGeneral Admission
259/25/2021Highland Festival Grounds at KY Expo CenterLouisville, KYLouder Than LifeGeneral Admission
265/29/2022Harvard Athletic ComplexBoston, MABoston CallingGeneral Admission
278/11/2022Highmark StadiumBuffalo, NY(none)General Admission
285/17/2023Stade de FranceSaint-Dennis, FRM72 World TourSeats
295/19/2023Stade de FranceSaint-Dennis, FRM72 World TourSeats
308/4/2023MetLife StadiumEast Rutherford, NJM72 World TourGeneral Admission
318/6/2023MetLife StadiumEast Rutherford, NJM72 World TourGeneral Admission
328/11/2023Stade OlympiqueMontreal, QCM72 World TourGeneral Admission
338/13/2023Stade OlympiqueMontreal, QCM72 World TourGeneral Admission
349/1/2023State Farm StadiumGlendale, AZM72 World TourGeneral Admission
357/12/2024Estadio Cívitas MetropolitanoMadrid, ESM72 World TourSnake Pit
367/14/2024Estadio Cívitas MetropolitanoMadrid, ESM72 World TourSnake Pit
378/2/2024Gillette StadiumFoxborough, MAM72 World TourGeneral Admission
388/4/2024Gillette StadiumFoxborough, MAM72 World TourGeneral Admission
395/23/2025Lincoln Financial FieldPhiladelphia, PAM72 World TourSnake Pit
405/25/2025Lincoln Financial FieldPhiladelphia, PAM72 World TourGeneral Admission
416/14/2025NRG StadiumHouston, TXM72 World TourSnake Pit

Link to YouTube playlist of all official Metallica concert videos I have been present for.

Metallica songs I have seen performed on the M72 World Tour

SongTimes Seen
Creeping Death8
Fuel8
Lux Æterna8
Nothing Else Matters8
Orion8
Sad But True8
Seek and Destroy8
Enter Sandman7
For Whom The Bell Tolls7
Harvester Of Sorrow7
If Darkness Had A Son7
Master of Puppets7
One7
Ride The Lightning7
The Day That Never Comes7
72 Seasons6
King Nothing6
Moth Into Flame6
The Call of Ktulu6
Wherever I May Roam6
Fade To Black5
Shadows Follow5
The Unforgiven5
Welcome Home (Sanitarium)5
Whiplash5
Battery4
Blackened4
Holier Than Thou4
The Memory Remains4
Too Far Gone?4
Whiskey In The Jar4
Cyanide3
Hardwired3
Screaming Suicide3
You Must Burn!3
Fight Fire With Fire2
Inamorata2
Leper Messiah2
Until It Sleeps2
Dirty Window1
I Disappear1
No Leaf Clover1
Sleepwalk My Life Away1
Unique:43
Total:215

All Metallica songs I have seen performed live

SongTimes Seen
Nothing Else Matters33
Enter Sandman32
One32
Sad But True32
Master of Puppets31
Seek and Destroy29
For Whom The Bell Tolls26
Creeping Death24
Fade To Black20
Fuel20
Wherever I May Roam17
Blackened15
Moth Into Flame15
Ride The Lightning15
Battery14
The Day That Never Comes14
The Unforgiven14
Harvester Of Sorrow13
Whiplash13
The Memory Remains12
Welcome Home (Sanitarium)12
Hardwired10
Holier Than Thou10
Cyanide9
King Nothing9
Orion9
The Call of Ktulu9
Fight Fire With Fire8
Lux Æterna8
Whiskey In The Jar8
If Darkness Had A Son7
Now That We’re Dead7
72 Seasons6
Atlas, Rise!6
No Leaf Clover6
The Four Horsemen6
All Nightmare Long5
Broken, Beat And Scarred5
Halo On Fire5
Of Wolf and Man5
Shadows Follow5
That Was Just Your Life5
The End Of The Line5
Breadfan4
Hit The Lights4
Last Caress4
Too Far Gone?4
Until It Sleeps4
I Disappear3
Screaming Suicide3
St. Anger3
The God That Failed3
Through the Never3
Turn The Page3
You Must Burn!3
Am I Evil?2
Bleeding Me2
Blitzkrieg2
Die, Die My Darling2
Dirty Window2
Don’t Tread On Me2
Frantic2
Inamorata2
Last Caress/Green Hell2
Leper Messiah2
Motorbreath2
My Friend Of Misery2
Overkill2
The Outlaw Torn2
The Shortest Straw2
The Struggle Within2
The Thing That Should Not Be2
Trapped Under Ice2
– Human1
(Anesthesia) – Pulling Teeth1
…And Justice For All1
All Within My Hands1
Confusion1
Damage Inc.1
Devil’s Dance1
Disposable Heroes1
Dyers Eve1
Escape1
Hell And Back1
Helpless1
Hero of the Day1
Iron Foundry1
Jump In The Fire1
Justice Medley1
Killing Time1
Last Caress/So What/Die, Die My Darling1
Low Man’s Lyric1
Mastertarium1
Mercyful Fate1
Metal Militia1
My Apocalypse1
No Remorse1
Phantom Lord1
Sabbra Cadabra1
Sleepwalk My Life Away1
Small Hours1
So What1
Spit Out The Bone1
Stone Cold Crazy1
The Ecstasy of Gold1
The Judas Kiss1
The Prince1
The Unforgiven III1
The Wait1
Unique:109
Total:699

Metallica Saved My Life – With Metallica!

I just got to watch “Metallica Saved My Life” with Metallica! Like, I was in the same theater with the four members of the band watching it with them. It was a surreal Wednesday night that I won’t soon forget.

I got a note from their emailer a few months ago about a world premiere for “Metallica Saved My Life” at the Tribeca Film Festival in Manhattan on June 12, 2025. I work in downtown Manhattan not too far from the theater and it just so happens that I was not ironically planning to visit a city the band was playing in that day (I wasn’t set to leave for Houston until Friday). The email teased that the band might be there.

Normally, I wouldn’t be caught dead at the Tribeca Film Festival. In fact, I wouldn’t be caught dead at a movie theatre. I hate movies. But this was a no-brainer exception to those rules, and I used the pre-sale link to grab general admission tickets.

I didn’t know what to expect other than I’d get to see the movie and maybe they’d trot one of the band members out on stage after it ended. As it turned out, with a little luck the experience far exceeded my expectations.

It started with a sequence of events that got me in the exact right place at the exact right time. I was supposed to take Monday off work to help my dad with some things around the yard. But it rained on Monday, so we rescheduled for Wednesday. That altered my plans slightly, I wouldn’t be in my office that day and would have to commute into the city in the evening. I would end up getting there later than I would have if I was at work.

I arrived about 30 minutes before showtime. When I got there, because they just love doing this in New York City, there was a line down the block to get in. So, I had to wait there for no reason. But when I got inside, just before they took my tickets, I scored big time.

Some dude who I didn’t even see said to me “Hey, do you want an upgraded ticket?”. I said “sure”, and he handed me two tickets for assigned seats in row D. If I got there ten seconds sooner or later, I would have missed it.

My original ticket was General Admission, this was much better

As the letter on the tickets implied, D was the fourth row, and it was close to the center of the stage. How lucky was that?

Not too long after I found my seat, I heard a small commotion to my right. Lars Ulrich, the greatest drummer of all time, was standing at the end of my row to my right! I was in complete shock. I wasn’t sure if I should scream and yell or run over there and say something. I got hold of myself and sat down. Lars sat down in the same row in the next section over. I was going to watch the Metallica movie in the same row as Lars!

I looked around some more and in the section to my left in the fourth row was James Hetfield! He was with his girlfriend and his daughter Marcella whom I coincidentally met when she was working at my favorite jeweler in Manhattan. At that point I was completely beside myself. How on earth did I manage to land tickets to the premiere of a Metallica movie and sit in the same row as the two founding members?

Luckily the lights went off and the movie started before I could faint. I couldn’t help myself the whole night, my eyes kept darting from James, to the screen, to Lars, to the screen, and back to James. I wanted to see the movie, but I also wanted to see how they reacted to it.

There are going to be plenty of reviews of the movie as it is released globally this week. I won’t attempt to properly review it, nor will I spoil anything about it, but I will say that I was blown away by how good it was.

My first impression was that the title “Metallica Saved My Life” was a bit misleading. It was not a movie solely about fans who would have died had Metallica not been in their lives somehow. In fact, there was only one person featured in the movie who could legitimately say that he would have been dead had it not been for Metallica.

I would categorize the movie more as a documentary about both the band and its powerful connection to its diverse and global fan base. The poster advertised it as “starring a shitload of Metallica fans” and that was an understatement.

There were over a dozen compelling main-character storylines about Metallica fans from all around the world. It covered fans from every continent, including Antarctica. They ranged from original fans, to obsessed fans, to fans who had to overcome terrible adversity in their lives and used Metallica as the soundtrack of their perseverance. The stories they told were heartbreaking, irreverent, and inspirational. The common thread across all the storylines in the movie was the intensely powerful connection between Metallica and their fans.

I especially enjoyed the scenes about fans who travel the world to see Metallica play. I can relate because that’s what I’ve been doing since the beginning of the M72 World Tour. I also enjoyed a blink-and-you-miss-it picture of one of the fans in Duff’s Brooklyn with its owner, Jimmy Duff. It is one of my favorite bars in the world and I immediately DM’d Jimmy to tell him he made the movie. He had no idea!

Unfortunately, I did not make the movie. I need to fire my agent. But I don’t think I’ve ever felt as connected to the band as I did that night. James was rocking out to scenes of fans covering Metallica music. He laughed out loud at some scenes, especially ones that featured children. Lars took the movie in a bit more quietly. He appeared to be in a reflective mood. I don’t know where Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujilo were sitting, but I know they had to be somewhere nearby in the reserved section. I don’t know what I did to be so lucky as to get that seating upgrade, but I am forever grateful to whoever that guy was who handed it to me.

As the movie drew closer to the end, James and Lars left their seats so they could get backstage. When the movie ended, the band took the stage for a moderated discussion about the movie. They sat down right in front of me!

Metallica and some lame moderator who tried to impress the band by wearing a Metallica shirt
Lars Ulrich
Robert Trujillo
The best dressed guy in the band, Kirk Hammett
James Hetfield

They answered the interviewer’s softball questions about themselves and the movie. Some insights they offered up were about how the movie came about. Lars explained that the band sold “tour passes” for every show on the arena leg of the WorldWired Tour, and that got them interested in the stories of the people willing to go to every show.

They introduced some of the people in the audience including director Jonas Åkerlund, their manager Cliff Burnstein, and the director of the first theatrical Metallica documentary “Some Kind of Monster” Joe Berlinger. I wasn’t just sitting among the members of Metallica, I was surrounded by Metallica royalty.

The interview ended and Metallica left the stage to a raucous ovation. As I made my way up the stairs, I said hi to Marcella when I walked by her. I held up my ring that she repaired for me when we first met.

I was on cloud nine. My mind ran through all the special Metallica experiences I’ve had in my life:

  • Seeing them play at the old Roseland Ballroom in Manhattan
  • Watching concerts from the Snake Pit in Montreal, Madrid (twice), and just two weeks prior in Philadelphia
  • Meeting Robert Trujillo at Blackened American Whiskey bottle signings on two separate occasions in crappy liquor stores in New Jersey and Arizona

But this one instantly became one of my top Metallica experiences, and it wasn’t even at a concert.

I’m off to Houston for the weekend to see them from the Snake Pit again. I’m hoping Lars and James see me in the crowd, recognize me from the theater, and feature me in “Metallica Saved My Life Part II”. If not, I’m sure my memories from all my past and future Metallica experiences will be good enough.

Craving Dopamine

I was working from home the day before I was to attend the first of two Metallica M72 World Tour concerts in Philadelphia. I was trying to focus on getting through the workday so I could get ready to split in the morning. I got the alert that I won two Snake Pit passes through the Metclub contest and my mind went blank.

The best email I ever received in my life

“HOLY CRAP! I finally won one of these contests!”

“HOLY CRAP! I’m going to be in the Snake Pit tomorrow for the show!”

“HOLY CRAP! I need to pick somebody to come with me! What am I going to do?”

The M72 World Tour stage is shaped like a donut in the middle of a football stadium. The Snake Pit is the donut hole. If you are in the Snake Pit, you are immersed in the performance all night. I spent two nights in the Snake Pit in Madrid in 2024 and was blown away by the experience. I could not believe that I would be there again the next night. But I had to pick only one of my friends.

As I explained to them, they were all my favorite. But in 2017, Pooch scored us Snake Pit passes for Metallica in Montreal, and I have always felt like I was beholden to him since. I called him and offered him the pass, which he quickly accepted so that problem was solved.

With that dilemma solved, I was able to focus on the weekend ahead. I’ve been following the Metallica M72 World Tour since 2023, and these would be my first shows of 2025. I was excited to get back on the road.

May 23, 2025

I had a grandiose plan to ride my motorcycle to Philadelphia so I could enjoy a scenic ride back on Memorial Day along the Delaware River. Those hopes were dashed when I woke up to rain and cold that showed little sign of letting up. I also had a work emergency which ate into my day so there was no time to load the bike. I was bummed but was not going to let it ruin my weekend. I traded the excitement of my Harley for the comfort of my relatively uninteresting car.

I could have written a blog about how awful the traffic was from the moment I left my house in Hudson County, NJ until I got to Lincoln Financial Field, but you would not want to read it. By the time I got there, I felt like I ran a marathon. But we all managed to check into our hotels and since I had the car, I told the group I would be the designated driver. I grabbed Joe, Pooch, and Lefty and we made it to the show.

The Friday Night Crew before we split up

It was a bummer to have to split off from the rest of the crew. Lefty and Joe went into ham-and-egger general admission to meet up with Ed and Rita. Bobby was already somewhere along the rail; he lined up early to secure his spot. Pooch and I grabbed our Snake Pit wristbands from the box office and quickly made our way inside. We missed the first opening act, Ice Nine Kills. No big deal, they are not my favorite act on this tour.

I paused for a moment on my way into the Snake Pit. It is a bit of an overwhelming experience to begin with. But I especially enjoy walking past the losers on the other side of the general admission barrier knowing that I will have a much better view than they will. I sensed their jealousy. Granted, I would have been one of those losers had I not won the contest, but they didn’t know that.

I quickly found Chris and his stepson inside the Snake Pit. Chris cashed up and bought his way in. They picked a spot along the inside wall near where one of the four drum kits would pop up during the Metallica set.

Without much delay, Limp Bizkit hit the stage. This was my first time seeing them since July 8, 2023 when they opened for Metallica at Giants Stadium. This lineup was mostly original with a grey-bearded Fred Durst, accompanied by Wes Borland, Sam Rivers, DJ Lethal, and John Otto. We were standing right in front of Borland’s guitar rig.

Wes Borland of Limp Bizkit

Limp Bizkit is one of those bands that the cool kids did not want to admit they liked in the early 2000’s. But I never cared, I thought their tunes were catchy and I was excited to see them again. Durst sounded great and they played through their classics with intensity.

Fred Durst

Not too long into the show, it unexpectedly started to pour. The road crew attempted to put a canopy over DJ Lethal and his equipment but appeared to fail and gave up. His stuff got soaked and apparently ruined. He unplugged everything, gave it to the fans, and eventually jumped into the Snake Pit to mosh with us. I got to high-five him.

When Limp Bizkit finished, things got real in my mind. It was my first time seeing Metallica in nearly nine months and not only was my wait about to end, but I was going to be surrounded by them all night.

This is when my Snake Pit strategy came into play. I was in the pit twice in Madrid in 2024 so I have a good feel for how things work inside and how to maximize the experience.

Metallica plays 15 songs per night, and there are 4 drumkits, one for each quadrant of the stage. The band roams the whole stage throughout the show, but most of the action takes place near the drums. They play four songs in the first quadrant, four in the second, three in the third, and four in the fourth. In a regular general admission concert setup, there is a crush of people in front of the stage. But since there is no front of this stage inside the circle, there is no singular crowded spot so you can move around. Therefore, I wanted to plant myself in front of all four drumkits before they popped up before people crowded them.

My original instinct told me we were in the wrong spot and standing in front of the third drumkit. Pooch was happy where we were and didn’t want to move. I told him I was going to the other side of the stage and that I’d find him. But when I got to the other side, I asked security, and they told me that side was the third drumkit. I immediately made it back to Pooch and Chris and told them that this must be the right spot for the first drumkit. Since my sources were not 100% reliable, I was very nervous for the rest of the break in between sets. I really did not want to screw this up.

The lights went off and AC/DC’s “It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock and Roll)” blasted over the insane PA system Metallica uses for their stadium tour. It was time! AC/DC transitioned into “Eecstacy of Gold”, the traditional opening song for Metallica concerts. Much to my relief, a trap door opened in front of us and I caught sight of Jimmy Clark, Lars Ulrich’s drum tech being lifted on to the stage along with the drums. We got it right. We were about eight feet away from drums!

In a flash, Metallica took the stage and Lars counted in “Creeping Death”. The rest of the band huddled close to him and tore into the song. The crowd was screaming and jumping up and down. We were so close to the drums, we could hear them over the PA. It was bedlam.

We were just a few feet from the band when the show started
You can’t get closer to Metallica than the Snake Pit

Metallica was fired up as they ripped through the first song. They quickly transitioned into the slower but just as heavy “Harvester of Sorrow” and followed that with the deeper cut “Holier Than Thou”. They were moving at a blistering pace and had the entire stadium hanging on every note. With a quick pause to introduce “King Nothing”, I knew it was time to find the next spot.

Chris from his spot in the Snake Pit with James in the background

Chris elected to stay put, but Pooch and I pushed towards the second quadrant and found it with relative ease. “King Nothing” ended and the second drumkit popped up right in front of us and the band followed for two newer songs, “72 Seasons” and “If Darkness Had a Son”. The latter was made to be played live with James Hetfield prompting the crowd to chant “temptation!” repeatedly.

James sat on a chair for the intro to the “Death Magnetic” epic “The Day That Never Comes”. Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo huddled close throughout the long instrumental parts of the song, and the band was in a zone.

James playing the intro to “The Day That Never Comes”

By my count, it was time to think about the next move. Before the band could start “Cyanide”, Pooch and I had rushed towards the third drumkit. We had to sacrifice being close to Lars on this song, but it would pay off when the next song hit. Once again, we were mere feet away from the band and just in time for “Orion”, the greatest heavy metal instrumental song ever written.

The band stayed closest to each other during this song. Being within feet of Metallica playing one of their greatest songs is like having had the opportunity to watch Leonardo da Vinci paint.

Our view of the third drumkit while the band played “Orion”
Watching Metallica play “Orion” from this close is a near-religious experience

Next up were two more “Black Album” concert standards, “Nothing Else Matters” and “Sad But True”. About the time I wanted to depart for the fourth drumkit, James was standing right in the spot. I started to panic, there was no way we could make it to the front if everybody was looking right at him. Eventually I said we should go and figure it out on the way. Then I looked up and saw Robert being pushed through the Snake Pit on a mobile platform, and he was coming right at us! I looked up at Robert as he looked down at me, I couldn’t believe my luck. Pooch instinctively ducked behind the platform as it moved because it parted the crowd and gave us a path right to where we wanted to be for the fourth drumkit. We made our own luck this time.

With four songs to go, I was happy with how we progressed. We nailed the spot for all four drumkits and had the best Snake Pit experience out of anybody there! At the end of “Fight Fire With Fire” Kirk threw one of his picks and it hit me in the right ear. It stuck to my jacket and the guy behind me handed it to me. I would have kept it if I was him.

Our spot for the final four songs of the show
Metallica rounding out their set right in front of us

The set rounded out with pyrotechnics during “Fuel”, a beach ball drop during “Seek and Destroy”, and a frenzied rendition of “Master of Puppets”. Metallica owned Lincoln Financial Field that night.

May 24, 2025

One of the many cool things about the two-night schedule for the M72 World Tour is that it leaves a gap on Saturday. It is even cooler if you are visiting a city that you wouldn’t normally be in and you have your friends with you.

Unfortunately, Ed and Bobby couldn’t stick around on Saturday, but Joe, Lefty, and Pooch were ready to go. I was especially happy to have Pooch there, he is known for his PhD-level research of things to do when travelling, with a focus on breweries and restaurants.

We met at The Butcher Bar on Chestnut Street or brunch. It is probably not a coincidence that Pooch picked a place with bottomless brunch drinks.

Brunch

To avoid making it a messy all-day drink fest, we planned a bit of sight-seeing and spontaneous exercise following brunch. We walked to The Philadelphia Art Museum to visit The Rocky Statue. Someone had the idea that we should run the steps. We all made it up without having a coronary. All the time I spent at my local gym was worth it.

After we triumphantly conquered the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum, we took the obligatory picture in front of the Rocky statue.

Proud of our accomplishments, we walked south on the scenic Benjamin Franklin Parkway to Victory Brewing. I tend to be a Pabst Blue Ribbon and Miller Lite guy, so I was a bit lost. Pooch was already well versed in their offerings, so I asked him to fill out a flight order for me. They started off OK, but the flavor fell off a cliff on the last two. They didn’t convince me to be a craft beer guy.

Dressed in my Metallica shirt, several people at the bar asked if I was at the show the previous night. I’m not sure who would walk around Philadelphia in a Metallica shirt the day after they played there and have not attended the concert, but I answered their stupid questions in the affirmative anyway. They all said something like “I thought about it but didn’t go”. Talk about people who make really, really, really bad life decisions in this town.

But every time one of them asked me about the show, I could not help but picture Metallica right in front of me. It was my 39th Metallica concert and I was still just as stoked as ever to have seen them and could not get over how good they were and how amazing the Snake Pit experience was. It really made me realize how appreciative I was to have had that experience. I made sure to let each one of those idiots know that they completely blew it.

We left Victory and made a few more stops. First was at a rooftop bar for some cocktails. Then we went to Barcade Philadelphia. Barcade is a small chain of bars that has rows of retro video games and pinball machines. A friend of ours, Brian, happens to be the manager there so it was cool to see him. Another lucky way Metallica brings us all together.

Barcade had the wrong band’s pinball machine. It was fun anyway.

At dinner time and Pooch directed us to Fogo de Chão Brazilian Steakhouse. Pooch is a big rodizio guy, so it was no surprise he wanted to go there. The waiters aggressively carved grilled meats on our plates, it was very intense. I flipped my stop/go card to the red side after I ate what felt like 17 pounds of beef.

Our last stop of the night day was a heavy metal bar called Doom that Pooch found. It was very spacious and was outfitted in gothic décor. There was custom stained glass and original art on the walls. There was one major flaw, however. The music they were playing was so obscure that we couldn’t identify it using Shazam. It was Metallica weekend in Philadelphia and there were only a handful of people there. Not a good showing for the only heavy metal bar in town. It looked like they had a good idea when they built it, but their execution was poor, and it did not catch on. It was worth checking out, but I would not recommend it.

Outside of Doom

May 25, 2025

I got a call from Bobby that he was in town and on the line for the Metallica pop up store. I drove over and cut in line next to him, saving myself about 45 minutes. These stores are very popular and often difficult to get in to. I grabbed three t-shirts and a license plate cover because I don’t have enough Metallica stuff already.

Me and Bobby outside of the greatest store in Philadelphia history

We finished our shopping excursion, and Pooch told us to meet him and Lefty at Yards Brewing. I was shocked that he picked another brewery! I never drink on Metallica days so I couldn’t partake in another crappy flight, but everyone else seemed to enjoy their beers.

The culinary highlight of the trip came next. We made the short walk to Del Rossi’s Cheesesteak & Pizza Co. for cheesesteaks. I’ve had a handful of Philadelphia cheesesteaks in my day, but this one was my favorite. Great bread and great cheddar cheese made the sandwich perfect.

Cheesesteaks usually do not photograph well, but this one was a 10/10

Pooch and Lefty wanted to hit a distillery, so I went back to the hotel to grab my stuff and check out before heading back to the stadium for the final time. I didn’t miss much, Pooch later told me that each successive taste of whiskey in his flight tasted more and more like turpentine. Even PhD’s have errors in their research sometimes.

We met up and took an Uber to the stadium. Pooch, Lefty, and Joe wanted to grab some beers at Victory Brewing at the Xfinity Center entertainment complex outside the stadium. I wanted to catch Suicidal Tendencies, the first opening act so I went in early.  I said hi to Sue, Ned, and Colleen who were on the rail already.

I visited Ned and Colleen near their spot on the rail

Then I found Bobby who was dutifully lined up close to the rail on the side of the stage. It was a bit of a bummer being reduced to ham-and-egger general admission status for this show, but I was stoked regardless. We had a good spot, and I was going to make the most of it.

Suicidal Tendencies now features a rhythm section of Jay Weinberg on drums, and Robert Trujillo’s son, Tye Trujillo on bass. During the show, we noticed that Robert was watching the show from one of the Lux Æterna platforms on the far side of the stage. It must have been a proud moment for him as a father and a former bass player for Suicidal Tendencies. It was a fun show and Suicidal played all their hits. I could see Chris in the Snake Pit directly across from me and we had fun taking pictures of each other and sending them back and forth.

After the ST set ended, Pooch, Lefty, and Joe came in and met up with Ed. Unfortunately, too many people surrounded me and Bobby by that time, and they were not able to get very close to us. Pantera hit the stage and people started to mosh behind us. It was a lot of fun, it reminded me of seeing the original Pantera lineup in the late 1990’s. I always love watching Zakk Wylde play, he is one of my favorite musicians.

Phil from Pantera

The hour-long wait between Pantera and Metallica always feels like it is a day long. But when AC/DC hit the PA, it felt like we were hit by lightning. Metallica took the stage and started with the 1-2 punch of “Whiplash” and “For Whom the Bell Tolls”. They always hit the stage and sprint out of the gate. I never understood how they can get so fired up so quickly.

In my third year of following this tour, I pretty much always know what song is coming next. But the lack of suspense never dulls my excitement for the classics like “Ride the Lightning” and “The Memory Remains” which followed. Metallica played an extended outro at the end of the latter which I had never seen live. It looked like something they improvised.

We were on the side of the stage where the final two drumkits would pop up. We stood in front of Robert Trujillo’s rig and bass tech, so he spent a lot of time in front of us between songs.

Robert Trujillo’s side of the stage was right in front of us

When the drums made it to our side of the stage for the second half of the show, we had our best views of the evening. They started with “The Call of Ktulu”, an instrumental on par with “Orion”. The band stuck together like they normally do for that song and looked like they were having a blast playing it. I think that is one of the things that make these M72 concerts so great. Since Metallica is in the round, they can’t hide anything. You can sense their genuine enjoyment throughout the night.

Not quite the Snake Pit, but close enough

The final songs of the night battered our senses with fire, fireworks, beach balls, and loudness. They played through hits, finishing up with “One” and the anthemic “Enter Sandman”. I was completely drained.

We huddled up and took the subway back to the hotel. Since I couldn’t ride my motorcycle as originally planned, I just drove home after the show. It wasn’t quite the ending to the weekend I was looking for, but my spirits were high. I got everything else I wanted out of the weekend. Time spent with friends in a fun city, and 30 unique songs from The Greatest Band of All Time.

Next up for me is a trip to Houston for a one night-only stop at NRG Stadium. A friend of a friend scored us Snake Pit tickets, so it is going to be worth the quick trip.

My M72 World Tour Itinerary

Show #DateVenueCity
Complete15/17/2023Stade de FranceSaint-Denis, France
25/19/2023Stade de FranceSaint-Denis, France
38/4/2023MetLife StadiumEast Rutherford, NJ
48/6/2023MetLife StadiumEast Rutherford, NJ
58/11/2023Stade OlympiqueMontreal, Quebec, Canada
68/13/2023Stade OlympiqueMontreal, Quebec, Canada
79/1/2023State Farm StadiumGlendale, AZ
87/12/2024Estadio Cívitas MetropolitanoMadrid, Spain
97/14/2024Estadio Cívitas MetropolitanoMadrid, Spain
108/2/2024Gilette StadiumFoxborough, MA
118/4/2024Gilette StadiumFoxborough, MA
125/23/2025Lincoln Financial FieldPhiladelphia, PA
135/25/2025Lincoln Financial FieldPhiladelphia, PA
Upcoming146/14/2025NRG StadiumHouston, TX
156/27/2027Empower Field at Mile HighDenver, CO
166/29/2027Empower Field at Mile HighDenver, CO

My lifetime Metallica concert history

Show #ShowDateVenueDescriptionCityTour/EventVantagePoint
14/8/1992Brendan Byrne ArenaEast Rutherford, NJWherever We May RoamSeats
27/17/1998Giants StadiumEast Rutherford, NJPoor Retouring MeSeats
311/24/1998Roseland BallroomNew York, NYGarage BarrageGeneral Admission
411/23/1999Madison Square GardenNew York, NYS&MSeats
57/20/2000Giants StadiumEast Rutherford, NJSummer SanitariumGeneral Admission
67/8/2003Giants StadiumEast Rutherford, NJSummer Sanitarium 2003General Admission
74/20/2004Nassau ColiseumUniondale, NYMadly In Anger With The WorldGeneral Admission
810/22/2004Continental Airlines ArenaEast Rutherford, NJMadly In Anger With The WorldGeneral Admission
91/17/2009Wachovia CenterPhiladelphia, PAWorld MagneticSeats
101/31/2009Prudential CenterNewark, NJWorld MagneticGeneral Admission
112/1/2009Prudential CenterNewark, NJWorld MagneticSeats
1211/14/2009Madison Square GardenNew York, NYWorld MagneticGeneral Admission
1311/15/2009Madison Square GardenNew York, NYWorld MagneticSeats
149/14/2011Yankee StadiumNew York, NYThe Big 4General Admission
156/23/2012Bader FieldAtlantic City, NJOrion Music + MoreGeneral Admission
166/24/2012Bader FieldAtlantic City, NJOrion Music + MoreGeneral Admission
175/12/2017Lincoln Financial FieldPhiladelphia, PAWorldwiredGeneral Admission
185/14/2017MetLife StadiumEast Rutherford, NJWorldwiredGeneral Admission
195/17/2017The New Coliseum Presented by NYCVUniondale, NYWorldwiredGeneral Admission
207/19/2017Parc Jean-DrapeauMontreal, QCWorldwiredSnake Pit
2110/20/2018Bryce Jordan CenterState College, PAWorldwiredGeneral Admission
2210/25/2018Wells Fargo CenterPhiladelphia, PAWorldwiredGeneral Admission
239/6/2019Chase CenterSan Francisco, CAS&M2Seats
249/24/2021Highland Festival Grounds at KY Expo CenterLouisville, KYLouder Than LifeGeneral Admission
259/25/2021Highland Festival Grounds at KY Expo CenterLouisville, KYLouder Than LifeGeneral Admission
265/29/2022Harvard Athletic ComplexBoston, MABoston CallingGeneral Admission
278/11/2022Highmark StadiumBuffalo, NY(none)General Admission
285/17/2023Stade de FranceSaint-Dennis, FRM72 World TourSeats
295/19/2023Stade de FranceSaint-Dennis, FRM72 World TourSeats
308/4/2023MetLife StadiumEast Rutherford, NJM72 World TourGeneral Admission
318/6/2023MetLife StadiumEast Rutherford, NJM72 World TourGeneral Admission
328/11/2023Stade OlympiqueMontreal, QCM72 World TourGeneral Admission
338/13/2023Stade OlympiqueMontreal, QCM72 World TourGeneral Admission
349/1/2023State Farm StadiumGlendale, AZM72 World TourGeneral Admission
357/12/2024Estadio Cívitas MetropolitanoMadrid, ESM72 World TourSnake Pit
367/14/2024Estadio Cívitas MetropolitanoMadrid, ESM72 World TourSnake Pit
378/2/2024Gillette StadiumFoxborough, MAM72 World TourGeneral Admission
388/4/2024Gillette StadiumFoxborough, MAM72 World TourGeneral Admission
395/23/2025Lincoln Financial FieldPhiladelphia, PAM72 World TourSnake Pit
405/25/2025Lincoln Financial FieldPhiladelphia, PAM72 World TourGeneral Admission

Link to YouTube playlist of all official Metallica concert videos I have been present for.

Metallica songs I have seen performed on the M72 World Tour

SongTimes Seen
Creeping Death7
Fuel7
Harvester Of Sorrow7
Lux Æterna7
Nothing Else Matters7
Orion7
Sad But True7
Seek and Destroy7
72 Seasons6
Enter Sandman6
For Whom The Bell Tolls6
If Darkness Had A Son6
King Nothing6
Master of Puppets6
Moth Into Flame6
One6
Ride The Lightning6
The Call of Ktulu6
The Day That Never Comes6
Wherever I May Roam6
Fade To Black5
Shadows Follow5
The Unforgiven5
Welcome Home (Sanitarium)5
Whiplash5
Battery4
Blackened4
Holier Than Thou4
Too Far Gone?4
Whiskey In The Jar4
Cyanide3
Hardwired3
Screaming Suicide3
The Memory Remains3
You Must Burn!3
Fight Fire With Fire2
Inamorata2
Leper Messiah2
Until It Sleeps2
Dirty Window1
I Disappear1
No Leaf Clover1
Sleepwalk My Life Away1
Unique:43
Total:200

All Metallica songs I have seen performed live

SongTimes Seen
Nothing Else Matters32
Enter Sandman31
One31
Sad But True31
Master of Puppets30
Seek and Destroy28
For Whom The Bell Tolls25
Creeping Death23
Fade To Black20
Fuel19
Wherever I May Roam17
Blackened15
Moth Into Flame15
Battery14
Ride The Lightning14
The Unforgiven14
Harvester Of Sorrow13
The Day That Never Comes13
Whiplash13
Welcome Home (Sanitarium)12
The Memory Remains11
Hardwired10
Holier Than Thou10
Cyanide9
King Nothing9
The Call of Ktulu9
Fight Fire With Fire8
Orion8
Whiskey In The Jar8
Lux Æterna7
Now That We’re Dead7
72 Seasons6
Atlas, Rise!6
If Darkness Had A Son6
No Leaf Clover6
The Four Horsemen6
All Nightmare Long5
Broken, Beat And Scarred5
Halo On Fire5
Of Wolf and Man5
Shadows Follow5
That Was Just Your Life5
The End Of The Line5
Breadfan4
Hit The Lights4
Last Caress4
Too Far Gone?4
Until It Sleeps4
I Disappear3
Screaming Suicide3
St. Anger3
The God That Failed3
Through the Never3
Turn The Page3
You Must Burn!3
Am I Evil?2
Bleeding Me2
Blitzkrieg2
Die, Die My Darling2
Dirty Window2
Don’t Tread On Me2
Frantic2
Inamorata2
Last Caress/Green Hell2
Leper Messiah2
Motorbreath2
My Friend Of Misery2
Overkill2
The Outlaw Torn2
The Shortest Straw2
The Struggle Within2
The Thing That Should Not Be2
Trapped Under Ice2
– Human1
(Anesthesia) – Pulling Teeth1
…And Justice For All1
All Within My Hands1
Confusion1
Damage Inc.1
Devil’s Dance1
Disposable Heroes1
Dyers Eve1
Escape1
Hell And Back1
Helpless1
Hero of the Day1
Iron Foundry1
Jump In The Fire1
Justice Medley1
Killing Time1
Last Caress/So What/Die, Die My Darling1
Low Man’s Lyric1
Mastertarium1
Mercyful Fate1
Metal Militia1
My Apocalypse1
No Remorse1
Phantom Lord1
Sabbra Cadabra1
Sleepwalk My Life Away1
Small Hours1
So What1
Spit Out The Bone1
Stone Cold Crazy1
The Ecstasy of Gold1
The Judas Kiss1
The Prince1
The Unforgiven III1
The Wait1
Unique:109
Total:684