On Friday night, the legendary Metallica took to Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, marking the group’s first show in Massachusetts in eight years. Massachusetts was the fifth stop in Metallica’s WorldWired Tour in support of the Californian band’s tenth studio album, Hardwired To Self-Destruct—a double-album that was released last November and features twelve new songs that pick up right where 2008’s Death Magnetic left off. (The deluxe edition also features a third disc with over a dozen live recordings from various shows).
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Compared to the original all-thrash metal band they used to be, the band’s recent music displays an overall more balanced sound that lends itself to broader audiences, seemingly resulting in more album and concert ticket sales. Undoubtedly, Hardwired To Self-Destruct was a huge commercial success, debuting at #1 on Billboard 200 and taking the title of best-selling metal album of the year. Surprisingly, it was also the third largest album debut of all of 2016, proving that metal is certainly not dead. On the contrary, it is alive and well, reiterated by the boisterous Boston crowd that gathered at the New England Patriots’ home turf on Friday evening.
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The show started with two songs off their new album, title track “Hardwired” and “Atlas, Arise!” before dropping into the classic “For Whom the Bell Tolls” off of the 1984 album Ride The Lightning. Metallica played three tunes from the band’s sophomore album, which went six times platinum and had a profound effect on the metal scene in America and across the globe. The remainder of the setlist weaved between hits of old and new and gave fans from all generations a solid representation of their discography. The band also played five songs from the self-titled album Metallica, often referred to as the “Black Album,” which features the infamous songs “Enter Sandman” and “Nothing Else Matters,” both of which have become staples in Metallica sets over the years.
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In a time where our nation seems to be more divided than ever, we are fortunate to have the often-thrashing and always-emotive music of Metallica to provide a soundtrack that allows us to let our aggressions in a socially acceptable way. That seemed to be the uniting theme as lead singer James Hetfield addressed the crowd: “It doesn’t matter how old you are, where you come from, what religion you follow, who you voted for. If you are here, you are Metallica Family.”
If you ever had any doubt at how uniting this message can be, just look at the list of stadiums across North America that Metallica have been jam-packed with fans in black T-shirts and ripped jeans. Despite the “angry asshole” stigma metal fans sometimes get, the community showed its true colors Friday night, coming together and head banging to music new and old in complete harmony. It inspires hope in humanity to see sweaty tatted-up dudes in the mosh pits, helping each other of the ground and holding up lost wallets, phones, watches, and missing shoes—lots and lots of missing shoes. An occasional flying cup of ice cooled the crowd whether they liked it or not. On the way out of the gates, it was nothing but high-fives and hugs. The ‘Metallica Family’ is alive and well.
Check out the complete set list below, along with the full photo album from photojournalist Adam Straughn (ATS Photography).
Setlist: Metallica | Gillette Stadium | Foxborough, MA | 5/19/17
Hardwired, Atlas, Arise!, For Whom The Bell Tolls, Fuel, The Unforgiven, Now That We’re Dead > Full Band Drum Solo, Moth Into Flame, Wherever I May Roam, Halo On Fire > Kirk Hammet Solo > Rob Trujillo Solo (Chris Cornell Tribute), Motorbreath, Sad But True, One, Master of Puppets, Fade to Black (‘Eye of the Beholder’ intro), Seek & Destroy
E: Fight Fire with Fire, Nothing Else Matters, Enter Sandman (‘Frayed Ends of Sanity’ outro)
[cover photo image by Josh Skolnik / Adam Straughn]
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