Metallica went back to the beginning on Monday night (Sept. 20) during an intimate club show at Chicago’s 1,100-capacity Metro that included a surprise 16-song set for fans. Just days after ripping through a similar way-underplay gig at The Independent in San Francisco, the band returned to the storied Wrigleyville venue for the first time since 1983 for a show that included such classics as “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” “Master of Puppets,” “Fuel” and “Seek & Destroy.”
The group had not performed at Metro since the summer of 1983, when they were touring in support of their debut Kill ‘Em All album. And fans were ready for it, with a line around the block forming after the venue announced the 7 p.m. show at 1:30 p.m. on Monday, according to Rolling Stone. The $20 tickets — which were limited to one per person — reportedly sold out in less than 90 minutes at the club that is requiring full proof of COVID-19 vaccination.
According to the band, the show featured 16 songs from nine different albums, with a handful — “Harvester of Sorrow,” “Cyanide,” “Through the Never,” “Welcome Home (Sanitarium),” “Whiskey in the Jar” and “Hardwired” all making their 2021 debuts at the gig.
Earlier this month, the band released a remastered, expanded 30th anniversary version of their 1991 self-titled No. 1 album, which surged back into the top 10 on the Billboard 200 chart for the first time in 29 years. The former chart-topper jumped from No. 158 to No. 9 on the Sept. 25-dated chart, earning 37,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending Sept. 16 (up 397%) according to MRC Data.
Check out the full setlist from the Metro show below and some fan videos:
“Whiplash”
“Ride the Lightning”
“Harvester of Sorrow”
“Cyanide”
“Through the Never”
“One”
“Sad But True”
“Moth Into Flame”
“Welcome Home (Sanitarium)”
“For Whom the Bell Tolls”
“Whiskey in the Jar”
“Fade to Black”
“Master of Puppets”
Encore:
“Hardwired”
“Fuel”
“Seek and Destroy”
