WOW what a show, my ears are still ringing even now, it was VERY loud and we had perfect seats with an unrestricted view of the stage, dead centre of the arena just above the VIP seating that cost £100 each ;D ;D We were at eye level with the bands.
The night started with Sword, they were on stage around 35 minutes and were OK, they were let down by poor sound though as you could not hear the singer.
Then onto Machine Head, again let down by poor sound with the same problem as Sword, they did play a good set of around 45 minutes, and surprised the crowd with an Iron Maiden track.
The anticipation was growing as Ecstasy Of Gold blasted out the PA, Metallica took to the stage with a blistering opener of This Was Just Your Life, complete with laser show. The sound was vastly improved and James' vocals could be heard loud and clear.
The night continued with material from Death Magnetic, including The Judas Kiss, All Nightmare Long and the superb Cyanide. They played all the classic that people have grown to love over the years, Sandman, Sad But True, Seek & Destroy, Master Of Puppets and the fantastic One, to name just a few.
There's the usual piros, with multi coloured gas flames and explosions, 8 huge metal coffins with lighting rigs in them, 4 of these drop down almost onto the stage during some tracks and a huge PA system.
Metallica were on stage for around two and a half hours, and gave a blistering performance that proves that this band are probably the best heavy rock act on the planet at the moment, they spent a good 5 minutes on the stage after the concert ended, handing out plectrums and drumsticks, we were lucky to get a plectrum ;D
And I've got to go through this all again on Saturday at Sheffield arena ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
