Review of Metallica’s concert at Letňany Airport
After a pandemic break, Prague is experiencing the return of large concerts at Letňany Airport. After the bands Rammstein, Imagine Dragons and Guns N’Roses, the American Metallica performed here on Wednesday. She played confidently, yet raised the question of whether she could still surprise with something.
The sun is slowly setting over the Letňany plain. If it hadn’t rained a few days ago, it would have been arid, much like the prairies of the American West. The first notes are majestic Ecstasy of gold from a less famous western Good, bad and ugly. When Metallica’s traditional inaugural song fades out and the large screens with a cut-out of the film go out, four elderly men run on the stage, who were at the birth of the thrash metal genre and behind its penetration into the mainstream and radio.
After all, the name of the western opus could also sum up the band’s career – even on their toughest records such as Ride the Lightning or Master of Puppets, she was not afraid to work at a slow tempo and strong melodies in some songs (Good). 80’s (Bad) and since the mid-90’s her studio recordings and other decisions arouse embarrassing feelings rather than enthusiasm (Ugly). As in this film, however, the combination of all the elements brings the wealth involved at the same time.
The last time Metallica played in the Czech Republic was in the same place three years ago. In the meantime, the world has changed with a pandemic and, like many other musicians, American metalheads have been known to enjoy being on stage.
The first three songs – Whiplashfamous Creeping death and probably the biggest hit Enter Sandman – played on the pier, which wrapped around a typical snake pit, a cauldron for the most loyal fans. Unsurprisingly, the latter audience was boiling, the floors of the stands with the onslaught of stomping feet and otherwise moving bodies swaying to the beat of the metal hit. This was repeated in other songs, the band reached almost the entire discography for them.
The fame of some riffs – from those that sounded at the concert, at random Whom the Bell Tolls, Sad but true or Seek & Destroy – not only for the metal fan, it proves how important the band is for its genre. She can’t escape it, even if one is not interested in hard music. If so, he must inadvertently come across it as part of his discovery.
The Metallica logo is given generous space on the covers of most records, as if it spread as far as – both the band and the brand. Composition Puppet master from the album of the same name, which closed the concert, she is rightly ranked among the best in the genre.
The song Enter Sandman, as Metallica played it yesterday in Letňany, Prague. | Video: Petr Těšina
The addiction he discusses is a major issue for Metallica. For singer and guitarist James Hetfield, current performances at summer festivals are a return to the stage after he had to embark on several alcohol addiction treatments. A month ago in the Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte at the same time he admittedthat before entering the scene she suffered from uncertainty as to whether she could still play. According to him, these feelings helped him to overcome, who hugged him before the performance, which they eventually repeated at Koncitfield’s speech
The Prague concert had a similarly emotional moment when, before the break and the outbreak of a guitar storm in the song Fade to black the singer noted that this song is about suicide. He then challenged anyone with such thoughts to look around and see that he was not alone, that Metallica was “covering his back.” Because “things will get better again,” Hetfield concluded.
It was, of course, a nice and important gesture. “Overcoming anxiety, trauma and unhealthily low self-esteem for me for many years, but I owe that powerful band to the first real glimmer of inspiration,” recalls at Metallica’s first concert by journalist Matt Mills in the Guardian newspaper. However, Hetfield’s statement seemed strange in this context, reminding him of the importance of forgetting everything and enjoying the evening as one family.
In the end, it seems like a simple acronym that mental problems are simply solved when there are a lot of people around you and a reminder that sometimes you can feel better. Metallica seemed like a child of its time at the time – the 1980s, the rise of US President Ronald Reagan and the emphasis on individualism. That’s why Hetfield might ask why even the world’s most successful musicians are collapsing due to pressure to perform when there’s no need to prove anything to anyone. Sometimes, however, a hug is not enough. Admittedly, there is a problem somewhere. In the case of metal dinosaurs, it may also be the fact that the best times are over (and it’s so okay) that it’s not necessary to crush tiring guitar solos outside of the songs themselves, as was the case at the Prague concert.
The song One, as played by Metallica in Letňany yesterday. | Video: Martin Dybala
The band Five Finger Death Punch, which played in front of Metallica as part of this one-day festival called the Prague Rocks, is the best way for the gestures of an empty metal riot – you have to start the program early in the afternoon because it was a weekday.
Five Finger Death Punch work with groove and nu-metal subgenres, they just make everything seem worse and easier. When such Korns, as their typical microphone stand, have a sculpture by artist HR Giger in the form of a futuristic female figurine, Five Finger Death Punch only needs an obligatory depiction of a skull and bones. And so their work could be described. They act as a band of common sense in the pejorative sense of the word, with all the phrases being “eye for an eye” or “inside is a demon”. Like Metallica, Five Finger Death Punch reminded that it’s best to forget about everything and enjoy live music.
In a way, Metallica acted as a naive band, which is enough to forget about the surrounding problems. And if there are problems, they can be solved in the most straightforward way. The impression of the party of boys, who became famous and old, was finally confirmed a bit by the final, in the core nice greetings of the musicians into the microphone at the end of the evening. Bassist Robert Trujillo limited himself to chanting hey, hey, hey. Drummer Lars Ulrich has again promised that the band will return to Prague soon.
We probably don’t have to doubt that. The question is whether he has an exception biggest hits and historical significance yet to add.
Concert
Prague rocks
(Organized by Live Nation)
Cast: The Hardkiss, S8NT Electric, Red Fang, Steel Panther, Five Finger Death Punch
Letňany Airport, Prague, June 22.