No real words can describe what it felt like to be inside The Opera House last night. It was a historic night that only about 950 people got to witness and luckily enough, I was one of them.

This was a different kind of experience for me, one that I don’t have too often anymore. There was no bypassing the line, photo pass/pit access or VIP for me. I was in the thick of it along with every other die-hard Metallica fan. Last night was about the music and only that.

I lucked out with Ticketmaster getting my hands on one single ticket to see rock music’s biggest band! I’ve seen them a few times prior to this but nothing could prepare any of us for such an epic night of music. When James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett, Lars Ulrich and Robert Trujillo stepped onto that stage, the sheer volume of screams from all walks of life roared like no show I’ve ever seen at The Opera House. James stepped to the mic and asked “Are you alive Toronto? How does it feel to be alive!?” He proceeded to ask “Toronto! Do you like it heavy?!” which had the entire audience erupt with even louder cheers and voice crackingly METAAAAALLLICA shrieks.

From the minute they started to the end, the show did not lose its energy and “heavy” was definitely on trend throughout the set. It was fitting since their brand new studio album Hardwired… To Self-Destruct harks back to their golden years of thrash metal.

They played aggressive and fast bringing us songs like “Battery”,  “Moth Into Flames”, “Master of Puppets” and “Hardwired”. They were a force to be reckoned with and to top it all off they closed out the night with Kill ‘Em All’s “Seek & Destroy”. It was top notch.

It’s sad that only a limited amount of people got to be there but I’m stoked I could be one of them. These dudes are legends. Can’t wait until I get to see them again (which sounds like it will be in the Summer).

Check out some of my photos from the night below:

Metallica at The Opera House Setlist:

1. Breadfan
2. Creeping Death
3. Battery
4. Sad But True
5. Fade to Black
6. Atlas, Rise!
7. Harvester of Sorrow
8. Moth Into Flame
9. One
10. Master of Puppets
11. For Whom the Bell Tolls
12. Enter Sandman

Encore:
Whiskey in the Jar
Hardwired
Seek & Destroy

Words / Photography by: Steve St. Jean