Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, welcomed heavy metal royalty Metallica and their M72 World Tour to town on Tuesday night. Out on the road generally still marketing their eleventh studio album 72 Seasons (released April 2023), Metallica had supporting metal acts Suicidal Tendencies and Pantera in tow. Home to the Atlanta Falcons and the Atlanta United FC, the Mercedes-Benz Stadium was opened as recently as 2017, and in fact hosted Metallica previously back in November 2021. Pent up fan demand from a three-plus-year absence was on full display early Tuesday, as dedicated Metallica t-shirt-wearing fans were lined up for doors in the mid-80s afternoon heat hours before the venue was even scheduled to open.
When the stadium gates finally opened, the audience that trickled in early was treated to legacy thrash metal band Suicidal Tendencies kicking off the tour’s night at around 6:00pm. However, the band did not approve media coverage, so I have nothing more to share other than they performed a six-song set that started with “You Can’t Bring Me Down” and ended with “Pledge Your Allegiance.”
Suicidal Tendencies
Mike Muir – Lead vocals
Dean Pleasants – Lead guitar, vocals
Ben Weinman – Guitar, vocals
Tye Trujillo – Bass
Jay Weinberg – Drums
Photography was not approved by Suicidal Tendencies
Setlist:
1.) You Can’t Bring Me Down
2.) Institutionalized
3.) Subliminal
4.) Send Me Your Money
5.) Adrenaline Addict (with Nisha STar)
6.) Pledge Your Allegiance
Next up was Pantera, whose members collectively appeared on stage and prepped for their performance around the drum riser at approximately 7:00pm. For those unaware, Pantera’s touring lineup continues to feature legacy members Phil Anselmo (vocals) and Rex Brown (bass), along with highly respected drummer Charlie Benante (Anthrax) and guitarist Zakk Wylde (Ozzy Osbourne, Black Label Society) performing in place of (and honoring) the late, great Abbott brothers, “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott (guitar) and Vincent “Vinnie Paul” Abbott (drums).
Similar to when they last performed in Atlanta back in September 2023 during their headlining tour appearance at Ameris Bank Amphitheatre, Pantera began their hour-long night with the aggressive tune “A New Level” pulled from the band’s 1992 release, Vulgar Display of Power. As a matter of fact, the majority of Pantera’s setlist remained consistently predictable (and in the same play order) from their 2023 tour. However, while the stadium’s echoing indoor acoustics weren’t the best for this type of music nor Anselmo’s distinctive vocal delivery, I would never turn down the opportunity to hear “Walk” and “Cowboys From Hell” live.
While it was certainly entertaining watching Anselmo, Brown and Wylde each stalk the circular stage while engaging with the general admission floor crowd (well, really a doughnut stage if you consider the “Snake Pit” standing room only area in the circle’s center), Pantera fans will likely be treated with the more traditional set up when the band hits the road on their summer headlining tour starting Tuesday, July 15th, in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, at The Pavilion at Star Lake.
Pantera
Phil Anselmo – Lead vocals
Charlie Benante – Drums (touring)
Rex Brown – Bass
Zakk Wylde – Lead guitar (touring)
Setlist:
1.) A New Level
2.) Mouth for War
3.) Strength Beyond Strength
4.) Becoming
5.) I’m Broken
6.) 5 Minutes Alone
7.) This Love
8.) Fucking Hostile
9.) Walk
10.) Domination / Hollow
11.) Cowboys From Hell
Following equipment preparations, the stadium went dark to the headliner’s entrance music around 8:45pm, with the venue now only illuminated by the multiple large video towers that surrounded the stage. Then with those familiar Ulrich cymbal slaps, Metallica loudly launched into their Atlanta evening with the tune “Creeping Death” off their Ride the Lightning (1984) album.
Let’s be honest, after 40-plus years and eleven studio albums, Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Metallica (inducted back in 2009) need no introduction. They are one of the most decorated heavy metal bands in history, having received 104 awards to date from 187 nominations, including nine Grammy Awards. Even your grandmother has heard of Metallica.
As a metal fan, you know what to expect from a Metallica show – an in-your-face, gut-punching, headbanging, mosh-pitting musical experience, all anchored by a 61-year-old Hetfield’s evil grin, vocal growl, and signature guitar. Having just recently come off my emotional high from attending their Lane Stadium show (as I am a Virginia Tech alum) on May 7th in Blacksburg, Virginia, my best approach here is to provide a comparison of these two recent shows.
If you are attending a future stop along the M72 World Tour, know that the first half of their setlist has some variances (and even more so when there are multiple dates in the same city, similar to Pearl Jam’s approach). Blacksburg and Atlanta were both single show destinations, so while we had “Ride the Lightning” and “Screaming Suicide” in Virginia, Georgia fans on Tuesday were treated to “Cyanide” and “If Darkness Had a Son” early in the set. Amazingly, Landover, Maryland fans at Northwest Stadium on May 28th had “Leper Messiah” in the third song setlist slot. Call me jealous.
The back half of Metallica’s setlist seems to have stayed consistent during this tour, with classics like “Nothing Else Matters,” “Sad but True,” and “One” played in the same running order. This lead into Hetfield teasing the crowd with recounting his dream of “an album cover with blood and a hammer on it,” to which he then enticed the audience to shout back the “and destroy” chant to his prompting of yelling “seek.” While blasting through “Seek & Destroy,” the band’s crew tossed enormous inflatable M72 beachballs into the audience, many of which were rolled off into the corners of the stadium floor by kids so they could deflate them for souvenirs.
Metallica then rolled into fan favorite “Master of Puppets,” of which I just learned the full Master of Puppets album (released in 1986) became the first metal recording to be selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry (back in 2015). How is that for a career accomplishment to go along with all the awards?
As expected and like the Blacksburg show, the band then put an exclamation point on their energetic night with the commercially successful 1991 single “Enter Sandman” from their self-titled (also commonly known as The Black Album) fifth studio release. I do love this song, but I am now forever spoiled with it being performed in Lane Stadium, echoing deeply into the Virginia night sky, so really nothing can compare – other than maybe Metallica playing it live in my backyard.
This current leg of Metallica’s M72 World Tour wraps up in Denver, Colorado, on Sunday, June 29th, at Empower Field at Mile High.
Bonus Tips:
1. If you are interested in obtaining Metallica’s city-specific, limited edition poster (typically 300ish available, it seems) from their pop-up store, get in line hours early; I arrived at 6:30am for the 10:00am opening, and was still like 50th in line (and got the poster). Same goes for the venue-only show poster – I missed the one in Atlanta by showing up at 3:30pm when the merchandise trailers opened at 2:00pm. I think they are sold inside as well (like 900ish total made available), but unless you are in line early, you will be out of luck.
They also hand out cards with QR codes for those in line early at the pop-up store where you can register on the spot for a chance at “Snake Pit” ticket upgrades; fans do win – the guy directly behind me did, lucky for him.
2. Register for Metallica’s free Fifth Member Fan Club and sign up for the “Meet & Greet” and “Snake Pit” sweepstakes options; I didn’t win those either, but ironically the guy directly in front of me in line at the pop-up store won the “Snake Pit” tickets, so lucky for him, too.
Metallica
James Hetfield – Lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Kirk Hammett – Lead guitar, backing vocals
Robert Trujillo – Bass, backing vocals
Lars Ulrich – Drums
Setlist:
1.) Creeping Death
2.) For Whom the Bell Tolls
3.) Cyanide
4.) King Nothing
5.) Lux Aeterna
6.) If Darkness Had a Son
7.) Kirk and Rob Doodle
8.) The Day That Never Comes
9.) Fuel
10.) Orion
11.) Nothing Else Matters
12.) Sad but True
13.) One
14.) Seek & Destroy
15.) Master of Puppets
16.) Enter Sandman
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Elliott is a music photographer covering shows in Atlanta, Georgia, and the surrounding area. The highlight of his photography career was back in the early ’90s, when he sold Neil Diamond the rights to his negatives from a show and then purchased a set of tires for his 1979 280ZX during college with the money.
