Kings of Metal Hold Their Throne

By Samuel Mattei

Washed up? Too old? Lost their touch? All of which were reasonable questions after Metallica's 2003 release "St. Anger." An album that cut out certain criteria which Metallica was known for, heavy drums and long shredding guitar solos.

All of these questions were let loose after the 2008 release of "Death Magnetic." Their new studio album that came out in stores on September 12, 2008. The album to date is still on the Billboard Top 100 chart in several countries including The United States, Australia, and many parts of Europe.

On January 17th Metallica made one of their favorite stops on tour, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. With Machine Head opening this promised to be one hell of a show.

In an interview in early 2009 with James Hetfield (lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist), he stated that the stage is the center of the show. With nowhere for the band to hide they must rely on their pure skills.

The show started out like every rock show. All the lights turned down to the point where you cant see the hand in front of your face. Your heart pounding with excitement. The opening music slowly starts up. Out of the darkness come lazers pointing in every direction. Then comes what the sold out crowd was waiting for. The kings of metal themselves, Metallica.

The crowd was able to see that their favorite band had not lost the power they had in the eighties and nineties. If anything that had grown as musicians and as people throughout all of these years.

After the first song James Hetfeild wanted to be clear on what the crowd was going to receive. Going to the microphone he stated "Tonight we are going to play some new stuff, but what goes good with new stuff is?" OLD STUFF the crowd roared in response.

The show started off with a classic rendition of "That was Just Your Life" and going into their new singles "The Day That Never Comes" and "Cyanide".

Hetfield showed that he is not just a symbol of metal or a kick ass guitarist, but a family man. He stated "Tonight is a very special night, well every night is very special but this night especially." James went on to explain that it was his daughter Marcella Francesca Hetfields seventh birthday, and since tonight was her birthday she got to watch her dad and his friends play.

Marcella was escorted to the stage by her rock star dad in front of the sold out Wachovia Center and was greeted with a round of applause along with 60,000 people singing Happy Birthday. Afterwords she leaned into the mic with a shy "thank you."

Metallica has proven through their new album "Death Magnetic" and their new tour which leaves fans screaming "I CAN NOW DIE HAPPY!" that they are still one of the greatest rock bands to ever walk the face of the earth. With over one hundred million albums sold Metallica holds their throne as the kings of metal.