B: And finally, the band that everyone waited for (even if they got to see Dehann the previous day). Metallica are a well-oiled machine at this point in time, but it’s still exciting to see them play. And after their ridiculously-long opening (AC/DC’s “It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll)” into Ennio Morricone’s “The Estacy of Gold”), the band took the stage to the guitar intro of “Blackened.” In fact, the opening volley of that song, “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” “Disposable Heroes” and “Harvester of Sorrow” started things off on a strong note.
Of course the Metallica fans that flew from around the world to see the show wanted more, and they got it in the form of a few rarely-played songs in the middle of the set. Whether the casual Metallica fan wanted to hear Reload‘s “Carpe Diem Baby” or their theme for Mission: Impossible II, “I Disappear,” is up for debate. While die-hard fans might have been happy with it, those two songs, preceded by Death Magnetic’s “The Day That Never Comes,” made the middle portion of the show seem a bit flabby to this reviewer. Of course, the band rebounded with “One” and “Master of Puppets,” which included pyro, lazers, and the high production values that the band’s known for.
After “Enter Sandman,” the band came out for an encore, and started up their cover of Bob Seger’s “Sad But True.” Were they paying tribute to Detroit, or was Seger himself going to come out and sing? Sadly, that didn’t happen (nor did Kid Rock come out and rap “American Badass” when the band played “Sad But True”). Yet as the band ripped into “Seek and Destroy” for the second time in two days to end their set, the crowd left happy and satisfied, having enjoyed a weekend of music. And while Orion still feels like it has yet to truly coalesce, it’s definitely slightly off kilter in the best possible way.
