A classic performance
So Metallica's 'Sick of the Studio' tour made its way to Wembley Stadium, with the band making their second appearance at the new venue in the space of a weekend.
Having had their set at Live Earth cut short from four songs to three, they made up for it on their own turf with an epic set which ran for well over two hours.
Backed by a banner announcing that they were 'sick' of their studio, on what was a simple stage set, Metallica played a show made up entirely of classics, with those hoping for a taster of what they've been working on ahead of a new album having to wait for another day.
They began with 'Ride the Lightning' tracks 'Creeping Death' and 'For Whom the Bell Tolls', with one of 'Metallica' singles 'Sad But True' following.
The band took their setlist mainly from the albums 'Ride the Lightning', '...And Justice For All', 'Kill 'Em All', 'Master of Puppets' and 'Metallica', with anthem after anthem blasting out across a crowd that was loving every moment.
Everyone in the stadium will have their own highlights, for me 'The Unforgiven', '...And Justice for All', 'One' and 'Master of Puppets' were the stand out moments.
The most recent track on show, 'The Memory Remains' created one of a number of massive sing-along moments, but the same could be said for virtually every song that was played. 'Orion', 'Fade to Black' and 'Battery' were all there, the latter the final song before the first of two encores.
'Four Leaf Clover' and 'Nothing Else Matters' opened the first encore, with the pyrotechnics coming out for 'One' and 'Enter Sandman'.
'Whiplash' and 'Seek and Destroy' rounded off the night, with the Metallica faithful left to squeeze their way onto tube trains back into Central London, reflecting on what was one of the great Metallica UK shows.
Now that they've got the studio sickness out of their system, Metallica will return to the States to continue creating a new album, expected to arrive in 2008. Given that in the eyes of many this Wembley show was a classic because they hardly touched on post 1991 material, how their new LP is regarded will be very interesting to see.
The full setlist from 'Sick of the Studio' at Wembley Stadium was:
'Creeping Death'
'For Whom the Bell Tolls'
'Sad But True'
'Disposable Heroes'
'The Unforgiven'
'...And Justice for All'
'The Memory Remains'
'The Four Horsemen'
'Orion'
'Fade to Black'
'Master of Puppets'
'Battery'
'Four Leaf Clover'
'Nothing Else Matters'
'One'
'Enter Sandman'
'Whiplash'
'Seek and Destroy'