At the Racino Ebreichsdorf

Metallica

Like good wine: James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett are still rocking like there's no tomorrow with Metallica, even at 60.

(Bild: Andreas Graf)

Around 60,000 fans attended the "Racino Rocks" with Metallica in Ebreichsdorf on Saturday. The metal highlight of the year began in a surprisingly orderly fashion, impressing with a strong performance before descending into chaos late on. But the ground has been prepared for future events.

The first major concert highlight of the summer was the one with the biggest question mark. 16 years after a largely unsuccessful attempt to organize a concert at Racino Ebreichsdorf (Bon Jovi), a comeback was attempted with a completely new concept. The "Racino Rocks" brought the thrash metal heroes Metallica back to the country after a five-year break and many people feared the realization of the event due to past experiences. Thanks to the good distribution of public transport, trains and shuttle buses, there was no travel chaos. We were also lucky with the weather gods. After two days of rain, the clouds opened up for admission and the sun shone over the site. The rubber boot alarm didn't sound because the ground was halfway dry and bark mulch provided a stable surface in precarious places.

James Hetfield had a lot of fun on stage in "Vienna"-Ebreichsdorf.

(Bild: Andreas Graf)

No room for fine blades
The two opening acts Ice Nine Kills and Five Finger Death Punch attracted an impressive number of concertgoers. The former took to the stage in fine attire and celebrated their metalcore with plenty of motivation, but without any major highlights. Controversial for various reasons, Five Finger Death Punch are already live veterans on Austrian soil after numerous festival appearances and indoor concerts. In the evening sun and under threatening storm clouds, Ivan Moody and co. invoke the collective powers of the "metal family", grab the audience's cell phones to film themselves and blast uncompromisingly and bluntly through the sound botany. You'll look in vain for a delicate touch from the collective from Las Vegas. When they do let off the gas pedal, the frontman's thin voice cuts annoyingly across the terrain. The sound is often shifted by the wind and sometimes seems thin and crashy - but we know: Open air is not an indoor concert.

Blunt is trump: Five Finger Death Punch don't leave much room for sensitivity in their songwriting.

(Bild: Andreas Graf)

With the headliners Metallica, there is always something to criticize about the sound, but the overall sound is much more powerful and balanced. James Hetfield and co. entered the stage 20 minutes late, with AC/DC's "It's A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock'n'Roll)" and Ennio Morricone's cult piece "Ecstasy Of Gold" playing as intros. A large number of LED video screens are located in the center of the stage and on the sides, and the euphoric hardcore fans have their special place in the "snakepit". While the Californians usually play twice a year in soccer stadiums on a circular stage, they have to make do with a normal setting in Ebreichsdorf. Whereby Ebreichsdorf is not just Ebreichsdorf - at least not for Metallica. The band always advertised the gig as "Vienna" on all posters and social media posts in the run-up to the show and Hetfield also feels at home there during the concert. He repeatedly chanted the capital city when interacting with the audience, prompting many a local to shout "Oida, wir san in Ebreichsdorf".

Rob Trujillo and Kirk Hammett performed an instrumental jam of Falco's "Der Kommissar" during "Racino Rocks".

(Bild: Andreas Graf)

The sky remains conciliatory
With the sun setting and under a threatening carpet of clouds, Metallica got the evening off to a brilliant start with an old-school set. "Whiplash", "Creeping Death" and "For Whom The Bell Tolls" immediately set the mood soaring, the first volleys of fire shot into the sky and the seven-euro beers (without deposit) flew through the Golden Circle areas. During the classic "Enter Sandman", a firework display caused a cheer before the band increasingly focused on new song material from the current album "72 Seasons". Bassist Rob Trujillo and boss James Hetfield like to jam together at the front of the stage, while drummer Lars Ulrich tries hard but doesn't always hit the skins in time. During "Whiplash", he was already badly off the mark at the beginning, but as the evening progressed, the timing improved and the prophets of doom could calm down. While the hit-smiths sang from their more than 40-year oeuvre, the weather remained forgiving and the ever-present threat of rain passed.

Lars Ulrich set the rhythm on the drums. Not always 100 percent in time, but with enormous passion.

(Bild: Andreas Graf)

The thunderstorm only comes from the bass and guitar strings, which also exude Austrian local color just before the halfway point of the concert. Hammett and Trujillo set off on their traditional jam session and this time put their spin on the Falco hit "Der Kommissar". It has become a cherished tradition for the band to include a local hit in their setlist. At the last Vienna gig in 2019, Trujillo sang Wolfgang Ambros' "Schifoan" in a sympathetically wry manner - this time they left it at a humorous instrumental. Then they reached deep into the hit drawer again. The rare instrumental "Orion" will make long-time hardcore fans in particular go crazy, while "Sad But True" and the inevitable "Nothing Else Matters" will win over the masses. With "Seek And Destroy", the brilliant "One" and a hearty "Master Of Puppets", Metallica fired from all guns once again at the end, but unfortunately there was no encore during the almost two-hour show.

Like small children - the joy of playing together and improvising is still very important to Metallica.

(Bild: Andreas Graf)

Future ground is prepared
Despite all the successful points, the organizers' concept for "Racino Rocks" still missed the mark in some areas. The toilet facilities on the site were inadequate for the number of visitors, and the waiting times at the beer stands were up to an hour long, which didn't necessarily make the thirsty metalheads jump for joy. As expected by many, the departure was more chaotic. Despite the offer of a party tent, around 60,000 fans wanted to leave the site at the same time and were first stuck standing at the exits and then sitting in their cars. The coordination system worked quite well for an extended arrival, but with a simultaneous departure with overcrowded shuttle buses and a narrow country road system for cars, the initial concept quickly reached its limits. However, the ground has been prepared for a concert future. Whether Ebreichsdorf or Vienna - the main thing is heavy metal!