Metallica kicked off their Australia and tour in style last night (November 1st), bringing decades of hits to Perth’s Optus Stadium.
Following their WA show, the local leg of their ‘M72 World Tour’ will take the heavy metal veterans to Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Sydney over the coming weeks, followed by a quick stop in New Zealand for an Auckland performance.
Tone Deaf was at the band’s Perth show — here are four takeaways from the spectacular tour opening.
Incredible Supports
Before Metallica took to the stage, Suicidal Tendencies kicked things off with a thrilling performance. Led by energetic frontman Mike Muir, they powered through anti-authoritarian anthems as only they can. They brought up Aussie singer Nisha STar to help out on their recent single “Adrenaline Addict”, a highlight of their set.
Why have one incredible support act when you can have two? Even better when the second support is Evanescence. Amy Lee’s vocals were as immaculate as ever, with their set ending with, of course, the stunning “Bring Me to Life”.
Favourite Album
James Hetfield and co. sure do love The Black Album. Their 1991 classic dominated their setlist, the most represented record with six tracks. That meant there was only room for one or two tracks from other fan-favourite albums — we’re not one to tell Metallica how to do their job, but a more evenly-spread setlist might have kept the crowd more entertained.
We’re Jamming
As is their wont, Kirk Hammett and Rob Trujillo had fun with a fun jam section, featuring Budgie’s “Crash Course in Brain Surgery”. Their jam session also featured “Zebra” by John Butler, adding a nice Aussie flavour to their set.
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Young and Old
Looking around the crowd inside Optus Stadium, one thing became abundantly clear: Metallica aren’t just for ’80s metalheads. There were plenty of those fans, who have been with the band all the way since their 1983 debut Kill ‘Em All, but there were also lots of younger fans, a sign that millennials and zoomers are aware of Metallica’s mightiness. As if to prove this point, the crowd roared for the band’s latest single “Lux Æterna” — and as any live music lover knows, new material often doesn’t go down a treat…
Ticket information for Metallica’s remaining Australian tour dates is available here.
