Metal crashed into Syracuse this past Saturday night as Metallica brought their M72 tour to the central NY area. This was the first time since 1996 that the band has played the area. So its been a long time coming and the fans couldn’t wait. That was obvious in that the band surpassed the record for the most fans in attendance with 47,500 (passing The Who’s 47,319 set back in 1982). For this tour, Metallica haven been playing two nights in most cities with a no repeat song and no repeat openers. For Syracuse, that wasn’t the case as only one night was booked. Opening the show were Pantera and Suicidal Tendencies.
First up was Suicidal Tendencies. The California based band is still led by original member and vocalist Mike Muir. The band blasted their way through a 7 song 40 minute set. The band’s opened with “You Can’t Bring Me Down” off of 1990’s “Lights…Camera,…Revolution!’ What was interesting to see is that for the last 4 years, bass duties have been handled by Tye Trujillo. Tye is the son of Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo also played bass in Suicidal Tendencies from 1986 through 1995. It was cool to see the family name back inside the Tendencies. Another recent addition was former Slipknot drummer Jay Weinberg. Even though there was a good crowd for the band, the sound was a little muddy due to the way though acoustics travel inside the JMA dome. The set may have been short but within that time frame, I felt the band defiantly made their mark.
Next up was Pantera. Pantera have been reunited with original members Phil Anselmo (vocals) and Rex Brown (bass). They are joined by guitarist Zakk Wylde and drummer Charlie Benante. This version of the band has now been performing under the Pantera name for about 2 and half years. So they were tight and ready to go. Pantera played for an hour and they unleashed 10 tracks including some fan favorites; “Mouth for War” and “Walk.” Anselmo did address the Syracuse crowd throughout the set. Benante paid homage to original drummer Vinnie Paul (died in 2018 of a heart issue) by having a photo of him on his bass head. He also switched kits halfway through their set to play on the opposite side of the stage. One song that wasn’t in the setlist due to time constraints was “Cowboys From Hell.” Rumor has it that this version of the band will record new music. If and when that remains a mystery for now but one thing is for certain, this version of Pantera live are fantastic! If it does happen lets hope that translates over to tape.
Headlining the show was Metallica. The setup was massive with a 120-foot wide, in-the-round stage which included 8 various towers that projected video screens. They walked to the stage while AC/DC’s “Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock and Roll) played.” Then while getting their gear on, a clip of the song the song “The Ecstasy of Gold” from the movie “The Good, the Bad and The Ugly” played. This has been the warm up tradition for Metallica for quite some time now. With a new album in tow called ’72 Seasons,’ the possibilities of the setlist were endless. The band has such of an extensive catalog they constantly change up the set list. They all took to different parts of the stage simultaneously. Then the first few riffs to “Creeping Death” played. Vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield, guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo all moved about and never stayed in one spot too long working every inch of the stage. Drummer Lars Ulrich had 4 drum kits set up in different parts of the stage. Ulrich was up on his kit revving up the crowd for the beginning of “Whom the Bell Tolls.” Hammett and Trujillo did what they called a “jammy thing” and it turned out to be rendition of “Broken, Beaten and Scared” from ‘Death Magnetic.’ Hetfield took a seat and plucked his way through the first few chords of the track “The Day Never Comes.” I was happy to see that song make it back into the setlist. The band played “Orion’ and dedicated it to the memory of their former bassist Cliff Burton (who died in a bus accidentally while the band was on tour in Europe in 1986). Fans held up their phones for the ballad “Nothing Else Matters.” Hetfield asked if the crowd wanted heavy? An overwhelming yes brought out “Sad But True.” The first song that put the band on the map in “One” followed. A sleuth of fist pumping tracks closed out which included “Seek and Destroy,” in which a barrage of balloons with the Metallica M72 logo dropped from the towers. Metallica ended with might be the song that is most affiliated with them in “Enter Sandman.” There was no encores as the band played for about 2 hours.
Even though this is the first date of 2025 (and first full show in almost 7 months), it seemed like it was smack dab in the middle of a weeks worth of shows. Metallica were locked in and loaded right form teh get go and didn’t let up for 2 hours. Ulrich and Trujillo’s rhythm section had the low end in check all night. Hammett dished out some tasty licks while Hetfield’s vocals still remains gravelly and powerful after all of these years. It was a triumphant return to the Syracuse area and let’s hope its not that long for a wait for Metallica to return.
Metallica setlist:
Creeping Death
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Hit the Lights
King Nothing
Lux Æterna
Screaming Suicide
Kirk & Rob doodle (Broken, Beaten & Scarred with drum track)
The Day That Never Comes
Fuel
Orion
Nothing Else Matters
Sad But True
One
Seek & Destroy
Master of Puppets
Enter Sandman
We would like to thank Tim Tobin from Live Nation and Jillian Condran from Nasty Little Man for the credentials to review the show.
