If you’ve been a Metallica fan since the start, this would’ve been the sickest gig to attend.
Metallica put on one hell of a show over the weekend, exclusively dedicated to the band’s first two albums, 1988’s Kill ‘Em All and 1984’s Ride the Lightning.
The gig wasn’t just a celebration of the band’s early days, but also a celebration of the life and legacy of the late Megaforce Records founder Jon “Jonny Z” Zazula and his wife Marsha Zazula, who passed away in 2022 and 2021 respectively.
In Lars Ulrich’s words, Jon and Marsha Zazula “are the reason Metallica exists today” - they were the pair who first heard the band’s demo tape, No Life ‘Til Leather, and took a chance on them for their first two albums.
Frontman James Hetfield said at the gig that the Zazula family “dedicated their lives to something exactly like this...live music, bringing music to the people..
"So we're super grateful to be hosting this thing and getting you all together to join in with us.”
The tribute gig, which went down at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, featured a 16-song setlist with eight songs from Kill ‘Em All and eight from Ride the Lightning.
I won’t lie, the setlist is pretty fucking unreal. Have a geeze at it below, and check out some fan-footage of the gig below that:
Metallica, November 6th, 2022:
Creeping Death
Ride the Lightning
Motorbreath
No Remorse
Trapped Under Ice
The Call of Ktulu
Phantom Lord
Am I Evil? (Diamond Head cover)
Metal Militia
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Whiplash
Fade to Black
Seek & Destroy
Encore:
Fight Fire With Fire
Blitzkrieg (Blitzkrieg cover)
Hit the Lights
Setlist thanks to Setlist.fm
