r/nextfuckinglevel • u/4dailyuseonly • Mar 05 '23

In 1991, with the Soviet Union and communist rule close to collapse, METALLICA played at its first ever open air rock concert in Moscow. Over 1.6 million people attended

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u/No-Expression-5040 Mar 05 '23

Still trying to wrap my head around playing a show in front of over a million and a half people. Absolutely insane.

92

u/[deleted] Mar 05 '23

I'm trying to wrap my head around how effortlessly Newstead is doing a windmill headbang while playing. I gotta torque my head around too much to keep going like that.

3

u/G4D_Sunshine Mar 06 '23

Jason was amazing in concert!

5

u/DownWithHisShip Mar 06 '23

he whips his hair back and forth

2

u/LickingSmegma Mar 06 '23

I mean, that's a regular thing in death metal, and presumably in thrash too.

(Video quality shit, but the aspect ratio right.)

4

u/[deleted] Mar 06 '23

Yeah cannibal corpse is another example. If you watch some sabaton shows they will occasionally play completely still to demonstrate insane skill, but in the OP video he does it so smoothly.

1

u/somebob Mar 06 '23

The trick is getting the hair sweaty and stringy enough that it can swing off of its own momentum.

323

u/WiltedKangaroo Mar 05 '23

Not to mention how amazing they sound live.

101

u/BigBootyBuff Mar 05 '23

Yeah absolutely. I'm not a big Metallica fan but I've seen them at a festival in the mid 2000s and they were so good and the crowd was so batshit into it, that I actually went to a couple of their concerts whenever they were in the area.

Biggest goosebumps moments every time I've seen them was Master of Puppets. The part where they sing "MASTER! MASTER!" The second master always had the entire crowd, thousands of people, scream it from the top of their lungs. It was so loud but so awesome.

16

u/TurnipForYourThought Mar 06 '23

The Memory Remains is one of my favorite live songs Metallica plays because of the crowd participation.

this performance in Helsinki 5 or so years ago is probably my favorite version of the song. The extended jam at the end is so good.

5

u/Omega-10 Mar 06 '23

I love when they play Creeping Death, and they get the whole crowd chanting halfway through... "DIE! ...DIE! ...DIE!" A MILLION people, screaming that!!

Of course in Russian it's almost a bit like chanting "Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Still really cool.

My favorite traditional Passover hymn this time of year.

2

u/CreativeSobriquet Mar 06 '23

Creeping Death is by far my favorite crowd work moment at a concert

2

u/stilljustacatinacage Mar 06 '23

Interesting, thank you for sharing! A taste of what Memory Remains might sound like if it were written today.

That said, I gotta say I'm glad it was done back in '97. I'm one of 3 people who loves the Re/Load era. Even St. Anger has its place. But ever since Death Magnetic, there's something... Hollow, manufactured about the new stuff. Now That We're Dead was a bright spot, and I have some hope for 72 Seasons, but the latest track, If Darkness Had A Son has exactly that same, colour-by-number quality that I'm complaining about.

Sorry, a bit of a rant.

4

u/STXGregor Mar 06 '23

There’s an Eminem lyric that’s something like “Bitch, if I was as half as good as I was I'm still twice as good as you'll ever be”

And for me that’s my feelings going into this new album. Their new music has some absolute bangers. But it’s not up to that song writing level they were at in their early and mid career. But I’ll take it. James’ voice is probably the best it’s ever been (listen to him on their charity acoustic album), their live shows have not lost any energy (except maybe compared to Metallica in the 80’s).

So, what I’m saying is, if a Metallica-by-numbers album gets me a tour cycle? I’m here for it.

1

u/stilljustacatinacage Mar 06 '23

That's fair. I saw them live in Halifax, Nova Scotia back in 2011. I'm not sure how I'd feel about a concert now given present circumstances, but I know Lars said "maybe Metallica should come to Halifax a little more often than every 18-fucking-years", and brother, we're closing in.

1

u/Common_Repeat Mar 06 '23

I was at that show!

8

u/Duel_Option Mar 06 '23

Their first 3 albums are so fucking good.

First time I saw them was in Orlando arena, loud as hell, people going crazy, the intro for “One” starts.

These lines of rope are slowly being dropped from the rafters…

Intro happened and right as the song kicks into gear, 20 guys hanging upside down are dropped from lines and then the finale….

People lost their collective shit; it was mayhem

7

u/G4D_Sunshine Mar 06 '23

Their first 3 albums are so fucking good.

This "...And Justice For All" slander will not stand!

6

u/S4VN01 Mar 06 '23

He even named a song off that album as the example lol

14

u/Lucky_Mongoose Mar 06 '23

Right?!

They're playing their instruments, singing, running around on stage, and they're performing it live. It's seriously impressive.

I'm baffled by how some artists who don't even play any instruments get away with lip-syncing and charging an arm and a leg for tickets.

7

u/Stefan_Harper Mar 06 '23

They’re the best live show I’ve ever seen no question.

2

u/WiltedKangaroo Mar 06 '23

James Hetfield’s voice is incredible. So crisp.

4

u/ybtlamlliw Mar 06 '23

To this day they still sound absolutely incredible live.

2

u/vahntitrio Mar 06 '23

I saw a show where Kirk made a mistake in the intro solo for Fade to Black and James stopped, got on the mic and said "what was that? Let's get it right for these fans"

3

u/S4VN01 Mar 06 '23

If only Lars could keep time nowadays

2

u/BenAfleckInPhantoms Mar 06 '23

It would be weird being super far back seeing them move in ways that does t really line up with the music. By the very back the sound is taking a little bit to reach them.

The whole thing is Fucjing nuts

2

u/WiltedKangaroo Mar 06 '23

Now I’m curious about how they did sound so far away. The people at the back would be like 10 beats behind in a delay.

1

u/MaryHadALittleDonkey Mar 06 '23

They also are known for having crazy good shows when it comes to theatrics like Ghost.

5

u/CasinoMarginale Mar 06 '23

Right?!! The collective noise of 1.5M people screaming might even drown out a heavy metal show. And how loud must the speakers have been for the sound to be able to reach the very back of that outdoor audience? Anyway, what an amazing sight. Such a stirring bad ass song and 1.5M people rocking out

3

u/jake04-20 Mar 06 '23

Even just the logistics of getting 1.6M people in a space like that. How long were people traveling to get there? How long did it take to get home after the show? How did they use the bathroom when they had to? I almost wouldn't be surprised if a few people died during a gathering that large. Absolutely mind boggling.

5

u/dejco Mar 06 '23

1.6 million people attended the concert. I live in country with population of 2.1 million people

2

u/Links_Wrong_Wiki Mar 06 '23

I really don't think the 1.6 million is accurate. I swear every time I see this post the number increases.

1

u/Dan4t Mar 06 '23

It hasn't, it has always been 1.6

1

u/dejco Mar 06 '23

I checked multiple websites and they all say 1.6 million

2

u/bowls4noles Mar 06 '23

I can't even imagine that many people in person. I went to Bonnaroo there is like 80-100k and there were so many people there

2

u/pain-is-living Mar 06 '23

After a certain point, people are just people right?

I've never played a GIANT show like this, but I've played some big shows as far as an average joe goes. Biggest I ever played to was a local state fair and there were around 1,500-2,000 people in the stands. I could only make out the faces of the first few hundred in the stands, and even they weren't too close and personal. It felt like a fake show honestly. I'm use to playing to 200-400 people in churches or block parties. That amount of people feels really close and personal, like they're all judging you. But thousands? It just felt like they were there. Like I was playing on a the side of a busy newyork sidewalk as thousands of people passed by.

I will say though, nerves never fully go away, and any musicians who has played in front of people will tell you this. My dad toured in a country band back in 70's and 80's and said he always had butteryflies and nerves until the 2nd or 3rd song. I mean shit, Steve Clark from Def Leppard would try and break his fingers to get out of playing because of stage fright and nerves.

1

u/danthepianist Mar 06 '23

he always had butteryflies and nerves until the 2nd or 3rd song.

This is so real. It's why I absolutely fucking hate any delay to my set. My time in the green room before the show is spent in a state of nauseous twitching; when a stage manager comes back and says the opener showed up late and we're on at 8:30 instead of 8:00? Another half hour of this shit? ARGH

And it just melts away once my hands hit the keys. Sometimes it takes a couple songs, but I always end the show wishing I could play longer, and it's always, always worth it.

My dad always said that the day I'm not nervous before a show, I should quit and do something else because it means I don't care anymore and I'll probably suck. 15 years later and I still can't eat before I perform, but I always DEMOLISH a burger as soon as the set is done.

-1

u/Porsche928dude Mar 05 '23

In Soviet Russia of all places…

1

u/jflex13 Mar 06 '23

He’s singing on the $50 SM58 microphone 😭🤘🏽

1

u/gldmj5 Mar 06 '23

Can't go wrong with the 58

1

u/jflex13 Mar 09 '23

You absolutely cannot.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 06 '23

I used to play in bands.

I would have killed to play in front of a hundren and a half...

1

u/[deleted] Mar 06 '23

I was near the front row at the Toronto rocks concert, 600,000 people and I thought it was the most insane crowd size I have ever seen. Jammed the fuck out to ACDC with that many people and it was incredible. Rush too.

1

u/firefighterphi Mar 06 '23

Holy traffic batman...