Metallica Slays records the Syracuse crowd with intensity, tubes (review review, photos, setlist)

It has been almost 30 years since Metallica occurred in Syracuse, but the concert on Saturday evening was well worth the wait.

The legends Thrash / Heavy Metal killed an almost sold crowd at the JMA Wireless Dome, offering successes like “Enter Sandman”, “For whom the bell”, “Nothing other account” and “Master of Puppets”. The singer and guitarist James Hetfield was joined by drummer Lars Ulrich, bassist Robert Trujillo and guitarist Kirk Hammett.

The final frequentation figures were not available from Sunday morning, but an official of the University of Syracuse confirmed that it was more than 47,319 – the previous frequentation record of all time in the former Dome carrier, established by WHO in 1982.

Metallica was able to pack the dome thanks to the configuration of the circular scene of the group on the line of the 50 yards of the orange football field. The fans filled the seats around the whole stadium, and thousands of others stood on the ground around the stage and inside the “snake pit”.

The configuration was also physically huge with 79 trucks (almost four times more than the Bruce Springsteen dome concert last year) required for video, sound, lighting and more. The big curved screens assured that distant fans could see the action, as well as the colors and effects that added to each song, such as images of Bells Tolling, privileged soldiers or even Tickets from the latest Metallica performance in Syracuse with Lollapalooza at the New York State Fair in 1996.

Hetfield, who also referred to Metallica’s performance in 1986 in War Memorial, thanked fans for supporting them for four decades.

“You make us feel so well and so proud,” Hetfield told the crowd, calling them the family. “We are grateful for what we can do.”

Metallica counts at JMA Wireless Dome — Metallica broke the attendance records on Saturday April 19, 2025 at the JMA Wireless Dome that yes, they are still wild. Pantera and suicidal trends started the concert by pumping blood in the present. N. Scott Trimble | STRIMP @ syracuse.comN. Scott Trimble | stimulate@syracuse.com

Syracuse was the first stop of the new stage of the Metallica “M72” world tour, which previously struck other cities with two -night performance without rehearsal.

They could not integrate everything into the two -hour concert, but still managed to include new music with at least one song from each of the first seven Metallica studio albums. It is incredible to see how “Lux æterna” and “Screaming suicide”, of their latest version, “72 Seasons”, are consistent with the sound of older favorites like “Creeping Death”, “Sad but true” and “One”.

Even more impressive was the quantity of intensity that Hetfield, 61, brought on stage, still screaming passionately on “Hit The Lights” of the Metallica demonstration band in 1982 (and the first album of 1983, “Kill ‘Em All”, recorded in Rochester). The new documentary, “Metallica saved My Life‚ “which was presented to Destiny USA Friday evening, credited Metalheads for having triggered the popularity of the group by sharing Bootleg’s copies of cassettes.

Ulrich, 61, still plays with the unlimited energy of an 18 -year -old drummer (or 72 seasons). He jumps, slams his sticks and smiles constantly, sings or draws his tongue.

Trujillo, 60, and Hammett, 64 also maintain their love for the game, including a brief Duo Jam session featuring “Broken, Beat & Scarred”. It was one of the many moments that allowed the crew members to move the Ulrich battery kit in several places around the stage so that the public (which went from teenagers to the elderly) could all enjoy the show.

It is not so impressive, of course, the acoustics of the concrete dome. It was particularly difficult for suicidal trends, which opened the concert at 6 p.m. with what looked like 40 minutes of noise. The voice of the Punk / Thrash group was so difficult to hear, it was difficult to discern between “subliminal” from 1983 and the live debut of their new song “Adrenaline Addict” (with Nisha Star).

The sound improved with Pantera, who played a tribute of one hour to the co-founding brothers of the end Dimbag Darrell and Vinnie Paul. They were on the sound level, led by singer Phil Anselmo and the god of the shredding guitar Zakk Wylde, and made good use of the big scene. The protruding facts included “Walk”, “Mouth for War” and many instrumental leading grooves, but it was disappointing not to hear “Cowboys of Hell”.

Metallica was almost impeccable, inspiring innumerable High-Fives and fist pumps. The “fuel” focused on testosterone was accentuated by a fresh pyrotechnics, while large black and yellow beach balls added to the pleasure of “Seek & Detrère”.

Parking and traffic are never easy with a huge dome crowd, but Metallica delivered a good night. They showed why the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group is one of the best -selling music acts of all time with more than 125 million albums sold worldwide.

We will obey you, master. Don’t make us wait another 29 years to return to Syracuse.