TheZine Vol #01 | Page 8

I’ll be fair to Metallica the band indeed delivered. At 50 plus, playing intense, powerful music is something to be admired and respected. I’ll be fair also to some fans who came to watch who were entirely not metal, not rock and were just there because they could afford and wanted to be with the ‘in-thing of the weekend’, I always abhor that part, coz you just can’t dance to Master of Puppets. The term, “I’m just gonna head bang to Fade to Black, should I say, kinda improper. If you are headbanging towards the ending, then it makes sense. Well, att least those people could tolerate two hours of distortion guitar music unlike some weaklings in my ethnic group who fear the distortion like it is the sound of hell. and moving. Many generations come together and become young again, ready to head bang. All but not me, for me, it’s like coming home or just reminisce the days of youth, you see, you can’t play Hit the lights back in 1989, Nope! Authorities were uptight back then. If you just mention Rock music, they will interpreted it as the Devil music. Heavy Metal was then a dirty word in the Media. Maybe time & space is what we need, given and Bam!! Metallica is now a household name.. just like Bon Jovi or Ribena. letting us all know that the time has come (it has been their intro since 1981). And then it happened, James Hetfield’s iconic voiced took over our collective conscience. Hammett, with his long hair and fingers started to string magic. Ulrich’s drums was making our neck muscles strain. If that was not enough, Trujillo was pounding us to a pulp. HIT THE LIGHTS. the sky could have fallen. METALLICA, didn’t hold back either, they were belting out numbers which are rock anthems now; Ride The Lightning, Fade To Black, Welcome Home.. Ohhh It’s 1986 again. I saw a father egging on his son to sing along with him. I know that kid has a bright future, I just do. A scantily clad girl dancing to ‘Hit The Lights’. Can you? Seriously? Zeroed-In 7-9pg That’s a long segment for metal. Yeah initially i was apprehensive abt them giving their all, and i was terribly wrong. Due to that, despite post-Black album offerings, i kinda appreciate them even more. They honestly gave their all and more despite their age. (Unlike a band not so far from us) Changi Exhibition Centre is one of the better venues to hold a concert of this magnitude, or shall I say enormity. You see, whenever you head to a true blue (black) rock concert, you get a different vibe. It’s very powerful During the press conference, they struck to me just like what my uncles would be doing on a Saturday afternoon. Their answers to the questions being presented at the Press Con? Yeah it’s so so. There was no ‘fs’ or other swear words. Metalimaturity. Another M word is in play. Opening band Anvil played and I saw Heftfield watch them, just to catch up with some old friends. Slated to kick off at 8.30 pm, the band didn’t make the 40,000-strong crowd wait for long. The Ecstasy Of Gold soon started to play, Zeroed-In and back in front of screaming fans for hours. Strangely METALLICA does it effortlessly; and why am I surprised? (Pg2) 7-9pg The band signed off with Creeping Death, Battery and Seek & Destroy. We all stood numb; over-awed by it all. All those years of waiting, of idol worship and a singular dream to see them perform live. Setlist 1. Hit the Lights 2. Master of Puppets 3. The Shortest Straw 4. Ride the Lightning 5. Fade to Black 6. The Memory Remains Not many bands, and here I mean bands which are good three decades old; can keep the same intensity. Age is surely not just a number when you have to take your skills to hell 8 7. Broken, Beat & Scarred 8. Welcome Home (Sanitarium) 9. Sad but True 10. ...And Justice for All 11. One 12. For Whom the Bell Tolls 13. Blackened 14. Nothing Else Matters 15. Enter Sandman (Pg3) Encore: 16. Creeping Death 17. Battery 18.Seek & Destroy Adam Banner Ads 9