Being a fan of bands like Metallica can make you want to go back in time, whether because you never saw them during their old albums or because you want to relive those glorious times, but the band's show in São Paulo last Tuesday, the 10th, shows that the best time is always now.
With a 40-year career, the band is the biggest thrash metal band in the world and has won over a legion of loyal followers, called by James Hetfield the "Metallica family," who packed the Morumbi stadium on a weekday to finally reunite with the group, which should have done this tour in 2020 but was interrupted by the pandemic.
The band's relationship with Brazil is consistent and long-lasting: they first came in 1989 and haven't stopped since, with their last visit in 2017 at the Lollapalooza . After so much time, there's little new to say for Metallica fans on yet another tour of the country, and even those who had never seen the band live seemed to know what to expect when AC/DC started playing, signaling the approaching start of the show.
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Anyone who thinks this makes Metallica's show any less incendiary is mistaken. On the contrary, there's a powerful connection between the band and the fans, from the frenetic start in "Whiplash" to the farewell in "Enter Sandman," complete with a joke from the frontman before playing "Dirty Window" from the controversial album St. Anger (2003). Twice, Hetfield asked, "St. Anger?", with some fans shaking their heads negatively in response.
The stage setup guarantees an audiovisual spectacle: with gigantic screens, impressive flames, light cannons that cut through the night sky, and pyrotechnics, the intensity of the devotion to the band is amplified and reaches the entire stadium. At no point do the band's classics, released decades ago, seem like a last gasp of nostalgia. They are vibrant songs, imprinted on the audience, renewed with each headbanging, and Brazilians are far from tiring of this experience.
“It’s been too long [since our last meeting], hasn’t it? It’s wonderful to see the Metallica family reunited,” the vocalist celebrated. “There’s no other place in the world we’d rather be, we live for this.” The displays of satisfaction, mere protocol formalities for so many bands, seemed genuine judging by Kirk Hammett Lars Ulrich ’s evident comfort, Robert Trujillo ’s impromptu performance of the chorus of “Paixão do Brasil” at the end, in addition to James’ contagious good humor.
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Watching Metallica perform with so much experience, far removed from the dramas and abuses typical of successful bands, with such great chemistry and a magnificent structure, is invaluable, even if some insist on calling the band "tacky" in an attempt to portray themselves as admirers of music outside the mainstream. Thankfully, they've made it and can deliver such a spectacle to their ever-growing fanbase.
When the show came to its inevitable end, the band lingered on stage for several more minutes, throwing guitar picks, greeting the audience, and simply enjoying the moment. On the left side of the stage, Hetfield placed his hands over his heart and bowed in gratitude, opening his arms to absorb the energy of the deafening screams from that family, as if he didn't want to leave or was already thinking of returning. Judging by the audience's reaction, he wasn't the only one.
See below a gallery of photos taken by our colleague Marta Ayora .
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