"Krone" at the start of the tour

Metallica: Religious lesson in the wild rain

He was still dry then, but when the heavens opened their floodgates, new life came into James Hetfield's body.

(Bild: Martin Hangen/hangenfoto)

On Friday evening, the thrash metal legends opened the European leg of their "M72" tour in front of around 75,000 fans in Munich's Olympic Stadium. The "Krone" was there live when the weather changed and the band suddenly turned up the heat. On June 1, Metallica come to Ebreichsdorf for "Racino Rocks".

The madness begins on the way from Munich airport to the city center. The cab driver looks me over briefly, makes small talk and laughs with both ears. "You're my fifth guest today. Are you going to this festival too?" Well, a Metallica concert on this scale can almost be described as a small festival. The two concerts this weekend keep my driver on his toes. He has of course noticed that his passengers mostly have longer hair and almost exclusively wear black. The only thing he's still struggling with is the subtlety. "What is this Metallica? A religion?" For some, sure, at least their gods are flesh and blood and theoretically tangible. But my driver doesn't really care that much. With the horrendous prices, the most important thing for him is that the cash register rings and that he has a pleasant day.

Worthy supporting program
Metallica and Germany have a relationship that goes back almost 40 years. Over the decades, James Hetfield and co. have played many a memorable show in Munich's time-honored Olympic Stadium, so their return after a five-year absence was eagerly awaited. For Metallica, the two shows in the Weißwurst metropolis are also the prelude to the final chapter of their grandiose "M72" tour, which will also take the metal express from California to "Racino Rocks" in Ebreichsdorf, Lower Austria, on June 1. The Metallica-crazy Munich fans were offered a worthy supporting program around the concert. The Metallica pop-up store, which had already opened on Wednesday, was stormed to get exclusive products and special editions. The Backstage cultural center focused on tribute bands, cigar tasting and a "beer athlon" and today, Saturday, Metallica's house and court photographer Ross Halfin will present himself and his book "Metallica: The Black Album In Black & White" in the Alte Kongresshalle.

The impressive LED video water towers created an audiovisual spectacle in Munich's Olympic Stadium.

(Bild: Martin Hangen/hangenfoto)

The proportion of Austrian travelers is also high, as Munich is just around the corner for the country's western wing. The hardcore fans get in the mood hours before the concert. Leaden thrash riffs emanate from boomboxes in the Olympiapark, there are incessant comparisons of cowls and the beer flows in torrents, even at crisp prices. This weekend is to metalheads what carnival is to the people of Cologne. Despite the difficult forecast, the heavens do not open their gates at the beginning and the opening acts Mammoth WVH (the project of Eddie Van Halen's son Wolfgang) and Architects are able to heat things up properly. That's not so easy with a Metallica audience, because no matter how hard you work and give it your all - in the end, the only thing that matters is what Messrs Hetfield, Ulrich, Hammett and Trujillo have come up with.

Simple and effective
On the face of it, it's not even that much, but it's quite a lot. Little has changed in the basic corset of last year's tour. The 360-degree stage sits enthroned in the middle of the Olympic Stadium, on which the musicians weave around incessantly. Eight brilliant LED video towers reminiscent of "War of the Worlds" broadcast the concert to the very back rows and right in the center of the action, the so-called "Snakepit", are the most loyal, longest-serving and also financially strongest fans, who not only get Ulrich's drumsticks as a reward, but can also get up close and personal with Hetfield and Co. on one or two occasions. The concept is as simple as it is effective. The Californians split their set into four parts of four songs each - easily recognizable by the fact that Ulrich's drum set is moved to the next section of the stage after each part. The three others march through the area, briefly giving each visitor the feeling of being the center of the attention economy.

A rare moment of community. Usually, the individual Metallica members scurry across the entire stage.

(Bild: Martin Hangen/hangenfoto)

In addition to the usual intros by AC/DC and Ennio Morricone, Metallica come out with heavy artillery right from the start. "Whiplash", "For Whom The Bell Tolls" and "Of Wolf And Man", played for the first time ever on this tour, set the tone. The first break only comes with the famous "The Memory Remains", while the current album "72 Seasons" appears at least three times with "Lux Aeterna", "Too Far Gone?" and the powerful "Shadows Follow". A few words of thanks to the people of Munich and the invocation of the Metallica family are among the highlights of Hetfield's interlude announcements, but he only really thaws out towards the middle of the set, when the heavens open their floodgates. During the inevitable "Nothing Else Matters" it starts to drizzle slightly, the following "Sad But True" then becomes a serious water battle. The musicians deal with this in different ways. Trujillo puts on a cap, Hammett relies on a jacket, Hetfield on a raincoat and Ulrich carries on playing topless. In between, Trujillo and Hammett start the "Hofbräuhaus Fuck Jam" - well ...

Ride The Lightning- literally
As the rain began to fall, the last of the musicians' barricades came down and the final third of the set should finally show Metallica to be as euphoric and positively youthful as they had been on the last big tour in 2019. This was also ensured by the fantastic setlist, which was met with thunderous enthusiasm at the end. A rumbling "Hardwired" leads directly into "Fuel", before the cult hit "Seek & Destroy" gets everyone out of their seats once again amid squalls and a veritable wall of rain. "What's the matter, it's just water?" the frontman animates, before lightning actually lights up the sky at the end of the congenial "Master Of Puppets". If only the honorable gentlemen had kept "Ride The Lightning" in reserve for this unexpected event... But you can't have everything. Experiencing Metallica once again in such youthful top form at around 60 years of age also has a special charm.

Shinji, a Metallica fan from Tokyo, is able to multitask: he films with two cell phones and still catches every detail.

(Bild: Robert Fröwein)

This has also lured many an established fan out of his shell. For example, 52-year-old Japanese Shinji, who, dressed in a mustard yellow Metallica outfit and filming mostly through two cell phone cameras (once the whole setting, once with a zoom on the musicians), was absolutely thrilled. He saw his first Metallica show in 1989 as a 17-year-old in his home city of Tokyo, and the Munich show is his 34th concert. No distance is too far for the owner of a metal bar. He has also been to Detroit and Mexico for his heroes. On Monday, he will temporarily return home, and in just over two weeks' time he will go to the two concerts in Copenhagen. How does that work out in terms of costs as a bar owner? "I basically only work for Metallica. I also get a lot of miles from the many long-haul flights, which makes my life a little easier again. I can't stop thinking about my Indian taxi driver during the conversation. If I were to introduce him to Shinji now, he would have been absolutely right - because Metallica really is a religion here.

Live at Racino Ebreichsdorf
On June 1, Metallica and a whole armada of support acts will be coming to the "Krone" concert at "Racino Rocks" in Ebreichsdorf, Lower Austria. Around 60,000 fans are expected to attend the Californians' first appearance in Austria after a five-year absence. Unfortunately, for technical production reasons, the show will not feature the brilliant 360-degree stage, but a classic version. Tickets and all other important information about this summer's metal event can still be found at www.ticketmaster.at.