TOUR ARCHIVE

Date: 1998-04-20
Location: Brisbane - Australia [7 shows here]
Venue: Brisbane Entertainment Centre [6 shows here]
Fan reviews: 1 - Add yours!
Author: s371566@student.uq.edu.au
Setlist: Yes

I got in late with getting a ticket to the show, but I secured a returnedticket due to the fact that the show was set back about a month becauseLars' mother died. Once I had bought the ticket,I couldn't believe how lucky I was, and I got a nice seat just to the rightof the stage in the second section. From here I could see everything, andI must say, it was a sight to behold! The supporting act was Horsehead,and they weren't too bad for a supporting act either. At the end of theirstint, they began removing pieces of their gear off the stage one by oneuntil all that remained was the drummer and his kit. He continued with thebeat and ended up doing one of the fastest drumming solos I've ever seen. But now to the business end of the night.....Metallica. They came ontostage in the darkness, and started to jam out a bit of "Bad Seed" towarmup. That sound setup was so freakin loud, I knew my ears were in for abelting treat.....the stage went completely dark.....the crowd got upscreaming for them.....Then they blew onto stage in a fury with "SoWhat".....what a way to start! I looked down on the front row of themoshpit, and every soul there was banging louder than you can a pot with awooden spoon!

They then proceeded to play out all the big ones...."Master Of Puppets","Enter Sandman" and so forth. The fireworks at the start of Fuel were justawesome....two huge flames from either side of the stage leapt up and intothe air, surprisingly missing giving the band member freshly-singedhaircuts. The beginning of "One" was an extended series of pyrotechnicsand war scene sounds.....in total about a minute in length before theopening riff was played. It was also perhaps the best song of thenight.....there were thousands of lighters up in the air in the stands, andeveryone screamed to words of one of the greatest songs to ever be played. It indeed was a privilege to see it live. To my surprise, I appeared to bethe only person banging in my row, and I was very curious as to what theother people in my row were there for. But no matter, I banged on into thenight...only to discover that Metallica were going to leave after a merehalf of the setlist had been played. They pretended to that they wereleaving by waving and saying goodbye, and leaving the crowd hanging formore. They pulled the stunt off about three times before they really didleave, but it certainly was a good way to build the suspense. After thesecond time they left, they came back to do "Low Man's Lyric" and a reallycool acoustic version of "Motorbreath" which just sent the entireentertainment centre into awe.

In spite of all the glitz and glamour, one of the clean cut favourites andthe most enraging song of the night was the live version of "CreepingDeath". At one stage during the song, the entire moshpit was banging incomplete sychronisation with the rest of the stands and all you could seefor hundreds of metres were locks of hair flying back and forth as if itwas being tossed around by the ocean. Between a couple of the songs, I canclearly remember the group hyping the crowd by throwing their arms in theair and wanting to obtain the loudest roar out of us as possible. At thisstage, I stood up, and metal saluted Jason who appeared to be looking overat my section. He immediately started nodding after I had got up, and thenproceeded to beat his chest, all the while looking directly at me!! Icould not believe it! His stare went straight through me.....it was thebest feeling of the whole night, being recognized as a loyal fan andfollower to those that bring us the greatest music in metal history. Andso, as the night ended, and I made my way home in the car, I was remindedof the historical night that had just taken place as every car that passedme along the constantly traffic-jammed road. You see, each car was doingtheir own salute, their own contribution to the band, by having Metallicaon the car stereo systems...every single car that passed was either playing"Enter Sandman" or "Master Of Puppets".....it truly was a night to behold,and one that I will never forget for the rest of my life.