METALLICA, MACHINE HEAD & THE SWORD
MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS ARENA – 26/02/09
Few bands have such a loyal following as Metallica, and that much is clear to even the most unenlightened onlooker that would happen to wander into the Walkabout before the gig. Today the pub has been taken over by an army of metalheads, all raking in a few beers before the time comes to saunter off up the road to the venue. It’s clear that a good segment of this black t-shirt brigade spend the remainder of their year cooped up in offices and come out only when someone major hits our shores, while an even bigger portion of them will be hitting at least 3 or 4 dates, determined to make the most out of this rare occurrence as the ‘Tallica boys do a full jaunt of our fair isle (one girl today is celebrating her 100th gig!)
Doors have already opened by the time I reach the venue and I find myself relieved to be able to walk straight in…and am overwhelmed with joy as I find a perfect spot on the floor to plonk my feet, getting the impression that tonight is going to a comfortable crowd experience compared to some in the past. The stage is set up in the centre of the arena, in a similar way that some tonight will remember from their last visit to Manchester in 1996. After settling down with a watered-down pint, my eyes and ears are accosted by the watered-down sounds of The Sword who initially confound me when I hear a voice, but see no singer (who I am later informed is situated round the other side of the stage). This is all fairly competent stuff in terms of playing, although there really is little excuse for fuck ups when your set is seemingly made up of one long riff on a loop. Their image is as 70’s retro as their Sabbath influenced sound, and while they certainly appear to give it their all on stage; flinging their guitars, flicking their fringes and slamming down their bodies in an oppressively doomish manner, I can’t help but think it has all been done before, only with 10x more élan.
Machine Head naturally garner a little more enthusiasm from the audience, and it has to be said that I wasn’t exactly as disappointed as some with the announcement of this tour support. Having seen this band once in an outdoor festival setting, they had seemingly had such little impact on me that I had forgotten all about it until it clicked about half way through their set. In my opinion, festivals bring out the worst in all bands and so tonight Rob Flynn and co. managed to leave a much more memorable impression on me. Opening with the melodic acoustic intro of ‘Clenching the Fists of Descent’ they launch into a set that seems to get the crowd ready for the headliners. As the opening bars of ‘Davidian’ rings out, the heads in the crowd begin to bang furiously and the energy on stage is electric, with Flynn barking out his lyrics with a heap of aggression. The stage set up, even for Machine Head, was already beginning to look quite impressive and the drum rise meant I had a perfect side-on view of Dave McLean, who pounded ten tons of crap out of the skins and just didn’t seem to tire. It is here where I notice exactly what an impressive drummer he is, and why he is an inspiration to so many. The foursome treat the crowd to a fair few numbers off their latest album The Blackening such as ‘The Aesthetics Of Hate,’ as well as enough oldies to keep the fans happy, with ‘Imperium’ being a firm highlight of their set. Despite the muddy sound (which is to be expected for support bands really) Machine Head put on a fine display and proved a worthy support for tonight.
By now the floor had begun to fill up quite nicely and as luck would have it, some dude tall enough to challenge Michael Jordan settles right in front of me (I seem to attract them at these kind of gigs!) After a bit of shuffling around and the obligatory trip to the bar to get one last one (ha!) in before the madness, the lights dim and a huge amount of suspense seems to mount as the ‘Tallica boys made their way up to the stage area to the staple ‘Ecstasy Of Gold’ theme tune before launching into two Death Magnetic tracks as a colourful array of laser beams shroud the band from the surrounding crowd. All seems quite an elaborate display and the lighting is nothing short of spectacular as we later see the steel DM coffins drop from the ceiling and cast a veil of low light across the band.
It is clear from the off that this tour is all about the new album; whereas the last time I caught the band they restricted the new shit to three or four songs while focussing on the classics (not that there was much demand for St Anger material) tonight I had been forewarned to expect a good six or seven DM tracks, and they transfer superbly into the live environment, sitting well amongst the older tracks. ‘Cyanide’ is certainly a highlight here as I can’t help but sing along to the chorus, while the monstrous thrash riff of ‘The Judas Kiss’ rolls along crushing all that cower in the process.
As the opening drum/guitar play off of ‘For Whom The Bell Tolls’ sounds out it reaffirms the feeling of being reunited with old friends, as the crowd begins to chant along in unison. The boys look to be in their element, with all of the same exuberance I remember and it is good to see that they haven’t lost it. Kirk struts from one corner to another soloing as though his Mummy guitar is simply an extension of his arms, while “new guy” Rob, who is not quite such a neophyte after his contributions on the latest album is equally as showy, as he stomps about like a man possessed by a crab while showing off his bass playing skills. As Lars disappears off the stage for the third time, it is suggested that he must have a weak bladder, and speaking of which I decide it is time to venture off to the can…via the bar so I can get a (ahem) final (promise, it is the last!) can, and as I squeeze my way through trying my damnedest not to spill my pint all over me I feel lucky that we have such a cushy spot in the crowd, as further towards the bar it is now absolute chaos!
‘Nothing Else Matters’ sees an absence of lighters, and is one of those moments where I genuinely do wish I hadn’t quit smoking! The best I could do was hold my phone in the air, but gave up when the light went off. It must be said that having seen Metallica a number of times (tonight being my tenth) it is always the rare tracks that excite the most, and ‘Turn The Page’ was a sure fired success, along with touring anthem ‘Wherever I May Roam.’ I thank the Lord for not being in the photo pit as the pyros are launched with a bang that mimics machine gun fire at the start of ‘One’ which is always a bit of a spectacle. The heat coming from the stage was intense and dread to think how much of my eyebrows I would have lost down by the stage. Lars bashes away as though he has just discovered Napster through the final blast as we are imprisoned by darkness, which naturally gets us all singing along and pounding our fists, before swinging hair about to the manic solos that race ahead to the final bang.
Of course it wouldn’t be a Metallica show without the staple songs of ‘Enter Sandman’ and ‘Sad But True’ which get the crowd singing along with religious accuracy; as James points out, tonight some people are experiencing Metallica for the first time, as he welcomes them into the family. I am left a little disappointed at the absence of the ultimate sing-along anthem of ‘Creeping Death’ as well as DM favourite ‘My Apocalypse’ but these are minor complaints. After teasing the crowd with the opening riff to ‘Frayed Ends Of Sanity’ they launch into an encore of ‘Blitzkreig’ which, given the crappy train service from Manchester, is a signal for us to skedaddle, rounding off an excellent night that leaves me wondering how I had come to forget how great a live band Metallica are.
Luci Herbert
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