Every once in a while, there is an event that’s just bigger than others. The event of the summer came as mammoths Metallica presented their No Repeat Weekend at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. A two-night event featuring two Metallica shows with two different openers each night. We had the privilege to attend Sunday night, and let me tell you about my experience.
I arrived at the Big O early to take it all in. Everywhere I looked, I saw metalheads of all ages with their favourite band tees and let’s say Metallica dominated them. Merch tables were full of people waiting to spend their hard-earned dollars on a piece of history; food trucks were selling grub, and even local metal band Anonymous were rocking out on the outdoor stage. How huge was this event? 127,500 fans piled in over the two shows in the former home of the Montreal Expos.
As I entered his old relic I immediately felt nostalgic about all the times I visited to watch some baseball. I went to my seats and buckled up for what would surely be a night to remember. First to the stage was Boston’s own Ice Nine Kills, I’m a huge INK fan and this is the second time I’ve seen them open a big stadium gig for the metal behemoths, and I have to admit I’m not a fan of their set on such a big stage. I find the theatrics kinda get lost in translation, but they sounded amazing, squashing any rumours of horrible sound in the building for me. They played a tight 8-song set that included “Rainy Days,” “Hip to be Scared,” “Welcome to Horrorwood,” and “The Shower Scene.” The only real complaint I had was with the lighting for this show, only Spencer was followed by a spotlight, and it was hard to see the musicians do their thing.
With O’Canada playing in the PA, Five Finger Death Punch came to the stage with their usual bravado and started the night with “Lift Me Up” and “Trouble.” Ivan was in a particularly great mood, and the band whipped through their twelve-song set in no time. The band sounded great, but yet again, we did not see them as the lighting had to be some of the worst I’ve seen. My favourite songs of the night were “Bad Company” and “Welcome to the Circus.”
It was finally that time for metalheads to rejoice as their favourite Bay Area band were about to hit the stage. As the light went off, AC/DC’s “It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll)” started roaring on the PA followed by the mandatory Ennio Morricone “The Ecstasy of Gold” song with visuals from The Good, Bad and Ugly. At this point, we are all pumped and ready to explode, and Metallica delivers a most powerful rendition of Whiplash for the first time in over 30 years in Montreal. I was blown away and the fun didn’t stop there. We got classics “For Whom The Bell Tolls” and “Ride The Lightning” next. They went on to play a 16-song set, with Lars playing four sets of drums; after 4 songs, he would move to a different corner of the oval stage. Pretty wild and great for fans, especially those who were in the snake pit. During “Moth into Flame,” we were treated to some great pyro and during “Whiskey in a Jar,” we had a beach party with 72 beach balls launched onto fans on the floor. It was fun to see Kirk, James and Rob kicking the balls back towards the fans; good old hectic fun.
They also played three new songs for the Montreal crowd of their new 72 Seasons album: “Lux Eterna”, “Too Far Gone” and “You Must Burn!” and they also surprised us with the deep cut “The Call of Kutulu” from the Ride The Lightning album. All that to say, we had an awesome time, and to finish it off the night they gave us “One” and “Enter Sandman.”
A truly epic night with Metallica and a very successful weekend! We can’t wait for the boys to come back.
Review – Eric Brisson
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