On Metallica, The Sword and Machinehead

And speaking of my top 5 in music, my buddy Peter and I had club seats to see Metallica at the Banknorth Garden last Sunday with The Sword and Machinehead opening. What follows is a short review.

The Sword - A very solid, no frills, just music type performance. If you enjoyed their most recent "Gods of the Earth" you'd have no trouble enjoying their live performance as it sounds very similar to the LP. What I liked most about their stage run was that they just came out and rocked. They engaged the crowd a little in stating who they were, but spent little time with any long-winded speeches. They kept it fun, rockin' and lively.

Machinehead - Let me state this plainly. These guys are good on the technical side. Beyond this they were FREAKIN' AWFUL! I hesitate to call their particular style of musicianship "metal" as i'm in favor of more accurately labeling it "poser metal." The vocalist was continually calling everyone to stand up and clap their hands over their heads which ultimately has little place at any metal show. Their songs always fast and loud with no nuance whatsoever or any significant craftsmanship for that matter. The members all looked identical with the same smelly-looking torn-sleeved black t-shirts, black pants, and all physically resembling burnt out professional wrestlers long after their prime. In everything stereotypical of metal music, the vocalist had a fond affection for the f-word. "Hey effin' Boston, we're Machine-effin'-head and we're here the effin' rock your effin' world! Now I want you see all you mother effer's pump your mother effin' fists in the effin' air and effin' headbang this muther effin' song with us. Ef yeah!" He also asked all of us to sing along with their songs if we knew the words. Strike two for being a true metal show. Metal vocalists should never ask the crowd to "sing with us."

Metallica - This was my first time seeing Hetfield and crew, and while I really wish i had seen these guys 20 years ago, the show did not disappoint. I've never had a better seat at a concert than i did at this show, sitting center stage and only 25 rows back, in the front of the Club Seating section. To put it more tangibly, I was physically able to see the strings on each of their guitars. One of the more impressive aspects of the show was knowing that these guys are all in their mid-40's and can still play almost as good as they did in their prime. Equally impressive is the number of songs they chose to play from their back catalog. Three songs from the Black Album, six off Death Magnetic and the rest were the classics everybody loved. For those keeping track at home, that's three songs from anything that Bob Rock produced, the rest was the Metallica we once knew (or close to it). The only complaint I have came during the first encore when the band immediately started into "Frayed Ends of Sanity," one of my favorites off of Justice, only to have Lars screw something up sending the band subsequently into a Queen cover of "Stone Cold Crazy." Overall, a solid and fun show.

Set list:

"That Was Just your Life" (Death Magnetic)
"End of the Line" (DM)
"Harvester of Sorrow" (...And Justice for All)
"For Whom the Bell Tolls" (Ride the Lightning)
"One" (JFA)
"Broken, Beaten & Scarred" (DM)
"Sad But True" (Black Album)
"And Justice for All" (JFA)
"All Nightmare Long" (DM)
"The Day That Never Comes" (DM)
"Master of Puppets" (Master of Puppets)
"Battery" (MP)
"The Unforgiven" (BA)
"Enter Sandman" (BA)

ENCORE:
"Stone Cold Crazy" (Queen Cover)
"Hit the Lights" (Kill 'Em All)

Encore II:
"Seek and Destroy" (KEA)