Photo credit: Justin White @rebelrebelgig – Metallica, Evanescence, and Suicidal Tendencies and socials
“Woah man, hold on a second. Look at all the love Adelaide has for us and HEAVY METAL!” – James Hetfield, Metallica, Adelaide Oval 2025.
After a painfully lengthy 12-year absence, one of the founding pioneers of Thrash Metal, San Francisco’s Metallica, finally returned to send Adelaide into a ‘Whiplash’. Undeniably on this night, for every attendee, and band involved in this sensational South Australian spectacle hosted within the Metalliverse, this was truly ‘Stone Cold Crazy’.
California’s crossover thrash trailblazers Suicidal Tendencies were presented with the honour of opening this entire Australian assault, and attacked the audience with a modus operandi of madness, and ‘Nothing To Lose’.
“Adelaide, ADELAIDE! What the fuck’s going on around here?” the fiery frontman Mike Muir asked enticingly, urging the early arriving concertgoers to engage in the quintet’s insanity. ‘You Can’t Bring Me Down’ enhanced this very sentiment, with The Dillinger Escape Plan’s guitarist Ben Weinman whirling around and stomping the stage in delightful derangement, to the point of falling, while Mr. Muir grooved and ninja-sliced along in his exemplary dancing ecstasy.
Mike soon joined the crowd off the stage, and on to the oval for Suicidal’s monstrous hit ‘Institutionalized’. Bassist Tye Trujillo transformed the platformed walkways into his playground in a joyous craze, while guitarist Dean Pleasants assisted the sizzling evening sunshine in blazing the audience with face-melting guitar solos. ‘Send Me Your Money’ then shone in punk rock spirit strikingly; “Welcome To The Church Of Suicidal!” Muir bellowed – Adelaide certainly felt like they belonged.
Newest single ‘Adrenaline Addict’ bolstered the frantic energy sublimely, with an electrifying guest appearance from Nisha STar, who charismatically counteracted Mike’s venomous shout with her lustrous punk croon. Although suffering a difficult mix, the songstress dazzled amongst the disorder.
‘Cyco Vision’ was marvellously mischievous, to the point that a skate ramp was practically required for this thrilling track. Truth be told, if one was present, this song probably would have had this writer join in with the antics, alongside countless other extreme sport enthusiasts.
To close, ‘Pledge You Allegiance’, which showcased the “family” element the five-piece incredibly incorporate into their show. These punk rockers don’t just perform to their crowd, they include them, they embrace them, they enrich them, and have done so for decades. Mr. Weinman decided that the growing audience were far too inviting, and affiliated with them by crowd-surfing excitedly while hammering his guitar. The enthused punters, with their fists in the air, then fervently repeated the iconic chant with the band: “S.T., S.T., S.T!”
This was only the opening to this extravaganza.
As the sun began to set, smoke suddenly filled the grandstand, and a deafening scream for the enchanting and soulful musician Amy Lee erupted from the arena. Arkansas’ Evanescence had returned, and South Australia was about to become ‘Lost In Paradise’.
The quintet’s magical mixture of theatrical goth pop rock is irrefutably, astounding. This scribe will now admit in all sincerity, that the five-piece in a live setting are, a fascinating act. The “pop rock” feature is spellbinding, but it’s the heaviness that the Grammy-award winning outfit deliver in a live-setting that is truly enrapturing. ‘Afterlife’ actually silenced the thousands in attendance, they were matter-of-factly, hypnotised in astonishment at the remarkable resplendence that the Little Rockers’ exhilaratingly exhibited.
‘Made Of Stone’ unveiled a cinematic nu-metal aura that brilliantly bewildered the onlookers; ‘Going Under’was literally ground-breaking (as in the earth shook) with its Djent-metal infusions.
“This next song is about taking your power back.” Ms. Lee powerfully stated before launching into the rock opera ‘Wasted On You’. Assuredly, her ethereal croon provoked an enthralling emotional wonderment to the quintet’s awe-struck devotees. A familiar “bell tolling” sound (not THAT one) then struck the audience triumphantly for the theatrical ‘The Game Is Over’ – drummer Will Hunt was above enlightening in his fantastic percussive force.
Amy then made her way to a piano located along the elevated walkway much to the delight of Adelaide, and ‘Let Me Go’ was indisputably, a mystical marvel of artistry. The single channelled Madonna’s Ray Of Light album; but, in actuality, it surpassed it. ‘Wasted On You’ transversed genres from classical ballad, to electro-pop, to majestic rock, above euphorically. ‘Better Without You’ unveiled a dynamic crunch that KoЯn would have adored, then ‘Call Me When Your Sober’ boasted a timelessness that many will find influential for years to come.
‘Imaginary’ featured a captivating synth infusion that seemed too distinguished for this universe, and this was heightened by the orchestration of each player of Evanescence. ‘My Immortal’ was fantastically, an enchanting coalescence of Chelsea Wolfe, Nick Cave, and Amy’s majestic radiance. The conclusion was predictably, ‘Bring Me To Life’ – but thankfully, not as a duet. Amy Lee is a captivating performer who delivers more than music and exquisite vocal prowess, she is an enigma of artistic empowerment and luminance who alters the world around her. All-in-all Evanescence posses a cohesion that is of dream-like atmosphere, and their exhibition is wondrously, entrancing.
As old photos sprawled across the enormous screens, and the flywire camera moved around the venue, filming impassioned metal devotees, the tension was building for the thrash metal titans, Metallica. AC/DC’s ‘It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll)’ heightened the frenzy, inspiring an oval-wide Mexican wave. This was brought to a halt when a scene from the film The Good, The Bad, The Ugly lit up the backdrop screens – pandemonium, was about to commence.
After the introduction of Ennio Morricone’s ‘The Ecstacy Of Gold’, drummer Lars Ulrich, guitarist Kirk Hammett, bassist Robert Trujillo, and guitarist/vocalist James Hetfield presented themselves to over 50,000 Adelaide admirers for the first time since 2013. Somewhat ironically, ‘Creeping Death’ was to be the starting gunfire to this blitzkrieg of brutality. However, the track unmistakably set everyone ALIVE with craziness. Especially Trujillo and Hammett, who were already sprinting around the escalated platforms in metal mania.
‘For Whom The Bell Tolls’ blasted the stadium into another heavy stratosphere, the seminal bell ringing sound still incites lunacy in the best way possible after four decades.
Metallica concert gallery
“Adelaide, BEAUITFUL!” Mr. Hetfield shouted as spotlights lit up the people of the “metal city within the capital”. The San Franciscans welcomed the thousands into their historic home of thrash recklessness, ornamented with mesmerising guitar solos.
‘Leper Messiah’ thundered in a grooving stomp that had countless devil horns thrown into the air,‘King Nothing’ enhanced that metallic monsoon fantastically. ‘Fade To Black’ was a brutiful ballad, that ingeniously ebbed and flowed between tender and terroriffic poetically; Hetfield effortlessly switched between guitars during this amazing adventure, in a theatrical demonstration of musicianship.
James then used this opportunity to express the importance of mental health, his own struggles, encouraged open discussions for people who are suffering pain, then concluding with the all-powerful statement: “We don’t want to lose anyone else to suicide, alright?”
Always, talk first – we need to take care of ourselves.
Fire cannons exploded for ‘Fuel’ that erupted in an epic thrashing uproar, and Metallica allowed for the Adelaidean crazed choir to howl those notorious 10 words:
“Gimme fuel, gimme fire, gimme that which I desire, ooh!”
“Burn Adelaide, BURN!” JH yelled at the anthem’s conclusion. We were set alight and enraptured.
A small interlude was then performed by Trujillo and Hammett featuring INXS’ ‘Need You Tonight’, and The Angels’ ‘Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again’ – this was perhaps slightly odd, especially with the lack of percussion. Although, the resounding:
“No way, get fucked, fuck off!” deafening ensemble from South Australia was without doubt, intoxicating.
A darkness overtook the oval, and a Christopher Nolan inspired soundscape eerily enticed the punters into a spellbound oblivion, which was then vivaciously vitalised by ‘The Day That Never Comes’. More pyrotechnics illuminated the demonstration that was ‘Moth Into Flame’ – a song “about fame and what it does” as Hetfield exclaimed. Convincingly, Adelaide was ignited with exhilaration by the exhibition.
A tribute to Cody from the Make A Wish Foundation was broadcasted, with well wishes and love sent from the entire Metallica family, including all in attendance at Adelaide Oval.
“Do you want Heavy? Metallica gives you HEAVY, BABY!”
‘Sad But True’ was exactly that, and finished with James hoisting the guitar above his head, which he brought aggressively and upside down to the ground, hammering it. He then turned his weapon upright, to continue the thrashing in a scintillating spectacle of heavy cinema.
Kirk (thankfully) slowed the presentation down, with a near-flamenco and marvellously mellow solo, that excellently evolved into ‘Nothing Else Matters’. The sensational single could have been performed in pure darkness, as the venue was lit-up by smartphone flashlights in a idyllic display of splendour.
“You have all the albums? What’s the first one called? Kill ‘Em All. You are gonna love this!” JH smirked – the highlight of the show thus far, ‘Seek & Destroy’ was monumental. RT twirled around in a dizzying display of carelessness, and the gang vocal chant of the three famed and impassioned words was tremendously tumultuous.
“Adelaide you are fucking beautiful baby!”
Drummer Lars Ulrich was brought out from the stage area to the elevated platform shoehorn to enliven ‘Lux Æterna’, which was particularly fascinating as one of the quartet’s newer tracks.
“Are you still there Adelaide?”
We were, and ‘Master Of Puppets’ brought us to psychosis, gloriously. Hetfield simply held up his microphone in a unifying act, as the torchbearer of the metallic divinity that Metallica had assembled. This was simply, momentous.
‘One’ impossibly amplified everything, with multicoloured lasers and machine-gunfire thrash breakdowns. Then to close, rather predictably, and gratefully ‘Enter Sandman’. Fireworks, pyrotechnics, resounding sing-alongs, and a harmony of metal majesty without mathematical precision, but with mystifying empowerment, escalated this stunning showcase to a landmark event in South Australian musical history.
“ADELAIDE AND METALLICA TOGETHER AT LAST, METALLICA LOVES ADELAIDE!” James Hetfield roared into his microphone…
“…Look at all the love Adelaide has for us and HEAVY METAL!”
Undeniably, ‘The Memory Remains’.
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