The metal juggernauts showed no signs of slowing down at the tour leg kickoff
Last night, the mighty Metallica returned to North American to kick off the highly anticipated second round of shows on their home turf. For the last year and a half, Metallica have been trekking all over the globe in support of their acclaimed new album, 72 Seasons. Fresh off their second run across Europe, the band is back on their home turf for another run across the United States. While the sheer magnitude of this tour – a global stadium trek with two shows per weekend – must be taking its toll, the metal juggernauts showed no signs of slowing down at the Foxborough kickoff last night at Gillette Stadium.
Check out all the setlists and full photo galleries below.
As fans started to roll in, Mammoth WVH took the stage first and got the evening’s festivities off to a tremendous start. The group, let by Wolfgang Van Halen, are by no means a metal act, but their music is still stacked with plenty of riffage to keep even the most extreme headbanger content. They opened up with “Another Celebration at the End of the World,” the lead single from their sophomore LP, Mammoth II. From there, they made the most of their six-song set and likely won over a few new fans.
Other highlights included “You’re to Blame” and “Like a Pastime.” They wrapped things up with their fist-pumping anthem, “Won’t Back Down.”
Mammoth WVH had a mammoth year in back in 2022. The Wolfgang Van Halen outfit released its debut album, and the lead single “Distance” received a GRAMMY® nod for Best Rock Performance. Last year, they toured alongside Alter Bridge on their Pawns & Kings Tour, and also mounted some headlining jaunts of their own. After touring relentlessly and putting out a second album, Mammoth WVH now find themselves serving as special guests simultaneously for two of the biggest bands on the planet – Metallica and Foo Fighters. All the hard work is paying off in a big way, and they’re helping keep the flame of rock ‘n’ roll lit and burning bright.
Again on this tour – as with all shows prior – Mammoth WVH’s set did not include any Van Halen tracks, nor should it have. Wolfgang Van Halen played bass for the iconic group his father founded from 2006 to 2020. Now, Wolfgang has set out to establish his own place in the rock world since Eddie’s unfortunate passing in 2020 at just 65 years old – and he’s doing a damn fine job of it. He isn’t riding his father’s coattails to stardom, and the material he’s cranking out on his own has some serious weight to it.
The lights went out and a video montage graced the big screens. Reels of rare and behind-the-scenes footage of the band mixed in with live highlights played. Just in case anyone had trouble remembering, the clips brought back to light just how absurdly wild Pantera were back in the day. If they weren’t ripping it up on stage, they were doing shit like shaving Tommy Lee’s head or crashing pick-up trucks into buildings. What a time it was.
When the video stopped and the banner dropped, Zakk Wylde’s guitar squealed out the intro to “A New Level.” The same track that opens Pantera’s legendary live album Official Live: 101 Proof, playing that song first was poignant. They wasted no time tearing into “Mouth For War,” and before the capacity crowd could catch their breath – they unleashed “Strength Beyond Strength.” With Pantera’s body of work, it’s hard to put a setlist together that includes songs that aren’t hits.
Just three songs in, the new foursome was firing on all cylinders. Phil and Rex looked good and sounded good. While it must be difficult to a significant degree to take a stage under the Pantera moniker, they seemed genuinely excited for the moment. Zakk and Charlie were playing with razor sharp precision. It’s a tall order to fill some of the biggest shoes in music history – drummer Vinnie Paul and guitarist Dimebag Darrell. Wylde himself has said in interviews that replicating Dime’s tone and style is essentially impossible, but that he would do his best to stay true to late guitarist’s legendary riffs. He’s doing an excellent job so far.
When the first batch of shows was announced, Wylde was no surprise. Ever since Dime’s untimely passing, fans have always made it known that Zakk would be the perfect choice to play Pantera songs should the occasion ever arise. There was very little talk of who would sit behind the kit for Vinnie, however. Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante seemed like a bit of a random choice, but it turns out he fits like a glove. I wouldn’t call myself a musician. I noodle on the guitar a bit, but I know nothing about drums. Describing it is hard, but they way Charlie hits just feels like Vinnie. Even the tone of his kit (if that’s even a thing) sounds like Paul’s in Pantera and Hellyeah. I suppose choosing Charlie wasn’t so random after all.
Tributes to the Abbott brothers have been abound on this tour. The some of the merchandise has the tour’s tagline, “For the Fans. For the Brothers. For Legacy.” Known for his battle vests, Zakk Wylde is donning one on this tour with leather “St. Vinnie” and “St. Dime” patches. The band’s name and iconic “Cowboys from Hell” logo are emblazoned on the back. Beautiful paintings of Dime and Vinnie grace two of Charlie’s bass drumheads.
After “Becoming” and the bone-crushing “I’m Broken,” the studio version of “Cemetery Gates” over the speakers as a heartbreaking tribute video to the Abbot brothers played on the big screens. It was tough to take, and there were a lot of misty eyes in the crowd. Looking at everything Pantera accomplished in their career, it’s crazy to think about where they would be now if tragedy hadn’t struck. Music aside, though, fans and family, especially, would just be happy to still have them here on earth.
No complaints about the setlist, but tracks like “Drag the Waters,” “War Nerve,” “Psycho Holiday,” “I’ll Cast a Shadow,” “Goddamn Electric,” “Slaughtered” or “Revolution Is My Name,” the crown jewel of their final album Reinventing The Steel.
The final stretch included the monstrous “Walk,” their classic “Domination/Hollow” mash-up, and the seminal “Cowboys from Hell” to close out the set.
After years of speculation, this Pantera reunion of sorts has been trekking around the globe for awhile now. When it was first confirmed, it was met with a fair amount of backlash. In the minds of many, Pantera is no longer Pantera without the Abbott brothers. While the may have been the backbone of the band, it’s fair to say that there would be no Pantera without Phil and Rex, either. They put in the same amount of sweat and blood on the band’s five incredible classic albums that would come to define their legacy, not to mention the arena tours and massive festival appearances.
Last October, Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor mounted another tour without bassist John Deacon, and frontman Freddie Mercury, who passed away in 1991. Led Zeppelin have played shows with Jason Bonham, the son of founding drummer John Bonham who died in 1980. Hell, Foreigner and Quiet Riot are still touring with no original members. And, I’m fairly certain that if Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr decided to hit the road again together and call it The Beatles, no one would bat an eye.
For some reason, though, Phil and Rex wanting to resurrect Pantera was met with significant negativity. Are they not entitled to play their songs under the Pantera moniker? They absolutely are, and if you’re thinking this is a cash grab – you’re right, and there’s not a damn thing wrong with that. They’re entitled to profit off the music they made. You know who else benefits from this? The estates of Dime and Vinny. No amount of money will every bring them back or make the pain of losing them go away, but if a new tour can churn out a profit for the Pantera entity, it’s wonderful for their loved ones to be taken care of this many years on, not to mention the crew and techs that are getting a paycheck. It’s a win across the board. Everyone is getting paid, and the fans get to once again hear these incredible songs in some capacity. Most importantly, Phil, Rex, Zakk, and Charlie are doing it right with this Pantribute, acknowledging the Abbott brothers every step of the way and celebrating their legacy the best way possible.
The anticipation of Metallica taking any stage is an experience in and of itself. Before their actual intro, AC/DC’s poignant “It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘N’ Roll) blasts through the speakers with a highlight reel of photos from across Metallica’s storied career. Then you know it’s really time to roll when “The Ecstasy of Gold” begins to play.
Metallica opened with one of their more high-profile hits – “Creeping Death.” A fantastic choice to start things off, especially when the choice is such an impossible one. Not giving the capacity crowd one second to breathe, the immediately launched into “Harvester of Sorrow.” The song feels like more of a deep cut, but it was actually the lead single from their eight-times platinum outing, …And Justice for All. That says a lot about Metallica’s catalog as a whole.
Never a band that uses their back catalog as a crutch, Metallica pulled three tracks from their new album, 72 Seasons. They tore through the title track, as well as “If Darkness Had a Son” and “Shadows Follow.” Arguably, they are the three best songs off the record, which definitely holds its own fighting in the heavyweight class with the rest of Metallica’s best efforts. When 72 Seasons arrived, it was pretty much everything fans expected – a solid 77 minutes of pure heavy metal, continuing their “return-to-form” streak since 2003’s experimental St. Anger. Speaking of the album which shall not be spoken of, this needs to be shouted for the folks in the back – it ain’t a bad record, it’s just being held to the Metallica Standard. Since 1988, every Metallica album has been met with a certain amount of, “well, it’s good – but it’s not [insert classic album title here].” If you think about it, any number of popular hard rock acts put out Load, Reload, or St. Anger, they would have received immense praise. For whatever reason(s), starting with 1991’s monumental Black Album, Metallica have felt the need to adjust their creative course and stray from their classic thrash path. They needed to make these albums in order to keep on being Metallica, especially St. Anger, which was a massive catharsis for the band. Who knows, if they would have stuck to the same exact formula, Metallica may have imploded on themselves a long time ago. It is remarkable, that after over four decades, that this band is still churning out high-quality albums and touring on them at this level.
The rest of the set didn’t contain any massive surprises. If you had to use labels, I suppose you could call “Leper Messiah” and “King Nothing” ‘deep cuts.’ A great rendition of the highly regarded instrumental “Orion” was followed directly by a beautiful rendition of “Nothing Else Matters” which is always a keystone if included in a Metallica set. From there, they cranked the amps back up and unleashed a barrage of their biggest anthems to close out the night, beginning with the ultra-heavy “Sad but True.” Following were “Hardwired” and “Fuel,” then “Seek and Destroy.” There was plenty of singing along from the crowd throughout the entire evening, with frontman James Hetfield even lifting his mic stand up over his head encouraging the crowd to accompany him, but the three-word chorus – “seek and destroy” – may have been the loudest of the night.
Actually, I take it back.
That moment may very well have come on the grand finale, with the entire stadium screaming, “MASTER! MASTER!”
While the setlist changes every night, seeing Metallica close out with perhaps their most finely-crafted song “Master of Puppets” is always treat, especially for younger and newer fans.
The concept of this tour is a cool one, and has given the band a lot of range to mix things up. With two completely different sets every night, it has allowed the metal veterans to expose fans to a lot more of their storied catalog. However, with so many hits and fan favorites, plus a new record to push, those pre-show meetings where the setlist is decided on must be a real bitch at this point in the game. There are some tremendous tunes like “Spit Out the Bone,” “Dirty Window,” “Fixxxer,” and many more that we wish would see the lights of a stage more. Hell, ripping through the shortened single version of “Some Kind of Monster” would be killer. Oh, and whatever happened to “- Human”? Let’s give that one another shot. But, hey – overall, there’s not much room to complain at all.
When this tour was announced, we thought for a second that maybe Metallica might try and replicate the album cover. A massive charred crib in the middle of the round, burnt up instruments and toys scattered about the stage. But, the days of a giant Lady Justice or huge white crosses seem to be behind them. The band seems to be focused on a sleeker, more stylish production. They simply walk on stage, and start playing – and that’s not a bad thing at all. Another great thing to see is that Metallica have aged gracefully, and it’s great to see because it’s relatable for a majority of their fan base. Sure, the hair is a little more gray. But, they’re still the same for dudes who come on stage and let it fuckin’ rip. Their music has reflected it, too. Themes of death pulling you closer and closer, to the impending doom of total self-destruction. In fact, after Death Magnetic when the album title Hardwired… to Self-Destruct was announced, part of me thought that it was Metallica’s way of telling us they were done after this. Thankfully, they have a lot more gas left in the tank.
Just a few hours before Metallica were set to hit the stage in Foxborough, rock icons Aerosmith announced that their reschedule final tour was definitely canceled for good. The band released a statement announcing their retirement from touring, another heartbreaking moment that furthers the fact that our rock heroes are getting older. Given the physicality needed to perform most of Metallica’s behemoth songs, it’s unclear just how long they’ll be able to keep this train rolling. For now, though, the band is still performing at peak levels with new music to tour behind. They’re still an absolute force to be reckoned with, and they won’t be passing the torch on to anyone else just yet.
Metallica’s M72 World Tour is slated to wrap up with four shows at Foro Sol in Mexico City at the end of September. There’s nothing on their docket for the foreseeable future, however the band skipped a lot of major markets in the U.S., and the skipped the UK entirely on this run. Surely, some time off has been accrued, and after that – we’ll see what they have in store for us next.
