Power Trip Festival 2023 Recap: Judas Priest’s album revelation, AC/DC’s victorious stage comeback, Metallica’s spectacular finale, and beyond

Sunday, October 8:

Tool

As the youngest band on the Power Trip bill, Tool’s performance may not have been the best suited for the festival, or perhaps more like the misunderstood legendary progressive outcasts. Against massive screens, guitarist Adam Jones, bassist Justin Chancellor, and drummer Danny Carey shined on the stage. At the same time, singer Maynard James Keenan continued to do what he does at a Tool show, lurking in the shadows where if you look hard enough, you may catch a silhouette of a mohawk. Despite following AC/DC’s electric show and preceding Metallica’s closing act, Tool’s Sunday set, while less memorable, exhibited strength, mainly geared towards an audience more suited for progressive entrapments. The group did execute a stellar performance with a somewhat mixed setlist, including tracks from 10,000 Days.

Setlist:

Jambi

The Pot

Fear Inoculum

Rosetta Stoned

Pushit

Forty Six & 2

Pneuma

The Grudge

Invincible

Stinkfist

Swamp Song

Ænema

Metallica

Metallica concluded Power Trip on Sunday night (8th) at the festival in Indio, California, delivering sixteen songs spanning their entire career. The show began with “Whiplash” from the 1983 album Kill ‘Em All, followed by “Creeping Death” and “For Whom The Bell Tolls” from 1984’s Ride The Lightning. “Enter Sandman” appeared earlier in the set, just before tracks from their latest album, 72 Seasons, tuned in with “Lux Æterna” and “Too Far Gone?” Bringing things back to the sophomore record, they went into “Fade To Black,” a powerful song James Hetfield has expressed he rarely gets tired of playing live. For the special pyro treatment, Metallica performed “Fuel,” a song the group has been trading the pyrotechnics between the Reload track and the 2016 single “Moth Into Flame” throughout their M72 tour. The Cliff Burton tribute was presented during “Orion,” from 1986’s Master Of Puppets. Guitarist Kirk Hammett experienced a hiccup with the intro to “Nothing Else Matters,” apologizing and replaying it for the audience, attributing the mistake to the desert heat. Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo also showcased a jam titled “Funk In The Desert,” specially written for Power Trip. The setlist continued to combine selections from their no-repeat weekend sets, featuring fan-favorite tracks across their discography. Despite skipping “Dirty Window” from 2003’s St. Anger, they retained “Hardwired” from 2016’s Hardwired…to Self-Destruct. A photo capturing Kirk Hammett and James Hetfield rocking out to Judas Priest before their own performance was a separate Metallica highlight, distinct from their onstage presence. Overall, Metallica continues to prove they are legends and masters in heavy metal, showcasing their mastery by closing out the festival. However, this also highlighted their humanity, as they made a few mistakes along the way, just like the rest of us. Check out Metallica’s highlights here.