Metallica rocked Lane Stadium for two hours Wednesday night, nearing the conclusion of its M72 World Tour set with an electric rendition of “Master of Puppets,” after which lead singer James Hetfield gave the least convincing good night in rock show history.
“Good night,” he announced, drawing a smattering of “Noooos” in the crowd.
“I said good night,” he repeated two more times at different microphone stands, with the fans in attendance pushing back with an even louder response.
“Are we missing something?” Hetfield asked. “I think we might be missing something.”
He followed by starting a “Let’s Go, Hokies” call-and-response chant three times before Metallica finally launched into “Enter Sandman” — the band’s signature song that Virginia Tech football has embraced as its own — in front of the largest crowd to see a performance in the history of Lane Stadium.
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It capped a one-of-a-kind, pyrotechnic-filled, ear-splitting night in Blacksburg, a concert 25 years in the making, going back to when the Hokies first synced their football team’s entrance out of the Lane Stadium tunnel to the band’s rousing 1991 smash hit.
The concert was the culmination of years of talks and negotiations, at last finalized in the fall and put in motion in earnest when the first semi-trucks began bringing in supplies to Blacksburg over the weekend, turning Lane Stadium into a different world with a massive and elaborate stage setup.
“What can I say? We have been waiting so long to come here and play in the Terror Dome,” Hetfield announced to the crowd early in the set, adding: “We are so grateful to be the first real band to be playing in your house.”
A few hours before the show, Virginia Tech coach Brent Pry met with the members of Metallica, presenting each of them with two Hokies jerseys — one with No. 25 and their name on the back and one with No. 72 for their M72 World Tour.
Pry, who got a shoutout from Hetfield during the concert, and his wife went to watch the show from his suite, with the coach noting, “I’ve never been up there before!”
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Suicidal Tendencies and Pantera served as opening acts before Metallica staged for its entrance shortly before 9 p.m., with its customary intro, “It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)” by AC/DC, playing as a collage of pictures graced the videoboards.
The band came out to an “Enter Sandman” entrance of its own, with a pre-recorded introduction to the song kicking off Metallica's portion of the concert as Virginia Tech logos flashed on the eight giant towers surrounding the stage.
It was just a tease, though. Once the band started playing, it veered into a 16-song set list that pulled from all parts of its catalog, both old and new, with a few selections in the middle from its latest album, 72 Seasons.
The latter half of the set featured some of the group’s more well-known hits like “Fuel,” “Nothing Else Matters,” “Sad But True,” “One” and “Seek & Destroy.”
Throughout the show, Hetfield addressed the crowd, which had a wide range of ages and appeared to be a mix of tried-and-true Metallica fans and those sporting Virginia Tech gear — with a good deal of crossover between the groups.
At one point, Hetfield asked fans to raise their hands if this was their first Metallica show. A large portion of the stadium obliged.
“What took you so long?” he joked. “We’re so glad you’re here. We are officially in the Metallica family, right? The only stipulation is you can never leave.”
Not long after, the band broke out “Enter Sandman” as its closer in a raucous stadium that was still packed to the top and produced a seismic sound.
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Once finished, all the band members gave extended good nights to the crowd, with Lars Ulrich tossing out drumsticks and the rest throwing guitar picks to fans on the floor level and in the “Snake Pit.”
Hetfield closed with one more thought.
“Can we move here and be the house band?”
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