How is it that it took the band twenty long years for them to return to our shores? Unbelievable, considering that S'pore has a huge heavy metal following. Drummer Lars Ulrich expressed his disbelief towards the end of the 2hrs-plus show. Last night the fans welcomed back Metallica with wide open arms, and all throughout there was a constant feeding of energy off each other, between the crowd and the band. I think this is the first (local) rock concert I've been to where the audience actually sang out in gusto the non-vocal melodies to many of the hits, including Kirk Hammett's signature guitar solos on songs like Fade To Black and Nothing Else Matters. To say the band was on fire is an understatement. They played their hearts out, at whiplash intensity, and they were 100% tight as hell. James Hetfield engaged the crowd often and he looked genuinely happy to be on that stage. Apart from the performance, what also blew me away was how perfect the sound was. The volume was very very loud obviously (every single kick drumbeat made your hair on your skin jump up), even for a big outdoor show, but it was 'good and nice' loud, not 'overly-distorted and painful' loud. Now we can relive this earth-shattering gig over and over again with the upcoming official bootleg, soon to be released.
1. Hit The Lights
2. Master Of Puppets
3. The Shortest Straw
4. Ride The Lightning
5. Fade To Black
6. The Memory Remains
7. Broken, Beat & Scarred
8. Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
9. Sad But True
10. ...And Justice for All
11. One
12. For Whom The Bell Tolls
13. Blackened
14. Nothing Else Matters
15. Enter Sandman
16. Creeping Death
17. Battery
18. Seek & Destroy
