Metallica
February 1, 1989
Convention Center Arena
Opening act: Queensrÿche
Oh, what a hard-rockin' metalfest this was. As the Pistolero might say, Nothin' but WIN!
This was the tour supporting the ... And Justice for All album, which just happens to be my favorite from the band. In my estimation this was Metallica at the band's finest; they were peaking with their fire and energy, and they held that intensity through their next, self-titled album that launched them into true superstardom. With ... And Justice for All the band was still a raw thrash act and still very much a denizen of the metal world. With the next album, they became popular, and after that they were the property of the masses. And I don't think they were the better for it. But this album was great, and the live show was wonderful.
And how much better could Metallica-at-its-finest get than to have Queensrÿche as an opening act? Not very damn much at all! Operation: Mindcrime had just come out the year before, and Queensrÿche, too, was putting out some of their best work. Geoff Tate and crew put on a great opening set, and the only disappointment I felt with this concert was the fact that they didn't have a stage of their own that they could have set up with their own lights and effects. And I thought it was a mild tragedy that Operation: Mindcrime couldn't be performed in its entirety, from beginning to end, as it should have been.
But, more on that later!
1 comment:
But, more on that later!
Dude, you are such a tease! But yeah, Mindcrime is one of those albums that's meant to be played in its entirety. I am glad Sirius played individual cuts from it, though; that's the first place I ever heard anything from the band besides "Silent Lucidity" and "Jet City Woman."
Geoff Tate sounded damn good live back then, judging from the live cuts I've heard from the Building Empires tour the band embarked upon three years later.
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