Live Shots: Metallica’s hometown stop on mega-tour left Bay metal fans thrashed

Was Metallica tapping into the zeitgeist? Thrashing fans—several mosh pits broke out across Levi’s Stadium at the first of the hometown band’s two-night run on June 20—could be excused for thinking about the recent No Kings protests when the group delivered 1997 Load track “King Nothing”: “Are you satisfied?/Dig for gold, dig for fame, you dig to make your name/Are you pacified?” Or maybe it was just high-octane metal antics.

Despite its 44-year history, it’s hard to deny that the group isn’t still getting it—they’ve been on the road for this tour since April 2023 and won’t finish until next year. Members live in San Francisco, though, so this had to have been a special night. Despite chilly temps, the faithful were feeling the two-night “no repeats” format and innovative rotating stage set that saw even Lars Ulrich’s drum kit transported to different spots in the stadium by the sheer power of production value. Local news interviewed fans who had come direct from Dublin to catch the homecoming shows, surely they weren’t disappointed. — text by Caitlin Donohue