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| Metallica @ Levi's Stadium (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
The mighty Metallica roared back to Santa Clara this weekend with their M72 Tour bringing a Bay Area Takeover weekend that saw concerts at Levi’s Stadium on Friday and Sunday with a variety of event occurring across the Bay Area on the Saturday between. Friday’s night one saw the band supported by Ice Nine Kills and Limp Bizkit while Sunday’s concert had Suicidal Tendencies open and Pantera filling in the feature slot.
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| James Hetfield of Metallica @ Levi's Stadium (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
The weekend was a triumphant homecoming for the Bay Area’s belove metal masters who hadn’t been here since the M40 Takeover Weekend at Chase Center and San Francisco that celebrated their 40th Anniversary. Since that weekend, the band has crisscrossed the globe on their M72 Tour – with almost all stops taking on the same format of shows on Friday and Sunday and celebrations in the host area on the day between.
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| Lars Ulrich of Metallica @ Levi's Stadium (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
The concerts were performed in the center of Stadium Floor on a huge circular stage that featured multiple elevations and angles, at least a dozen microphones spread throughout and four different drum kits that rose from below the stage surface. The stage also surrounded the VIP “Snake Pit” – an area that housed about 1,000 fans within the stage. Finally, the stage was surrounded by eight giant towers that housed both the video and sound systems for the evening.
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| Metallica's James Hetfield @ Levi's Stadium (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Friday’s night one was proceeded by the traditional video intro of AC/DC’s “It’s A Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna’ Rock ‘n’ Roll)” and then the orchestral build-up of “The Ecstasy of Gold” as the crowd roared in anticipation and wide searchlights passed around the entire stadium. The band then exploded with “Creeping Death” with guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo mainly staying close to Drummer Lars Ulrich’s home base while Hetfield remained apart singing at a microphone on an elevated tier about 25 feet away. Hetfield encouraged the crowd to sing along with the chorus and Ulrich brought the song to a thunderous close as the houselights shot on.
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| Kirk Hammett & James Hetfield of Metallica @ Levi's Stadium (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
A pounding “Harvester of Sorrow” followed and led into a blitzkrieg version of “Hit the Lights” that many in the crowd sang along with. The song – from the band’s 1983 debut album “Kill ‘Em All” still seems to have both an original sound and classic familiarity. During “Hit the Lights” the band ventured further around the stage with Hetfield and Hammett teaming up on guitar and Ulrich jumping off his stool at the end to come physically
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| Robert Trujillo & Kirk Hammett of Metallica @ Levi's Stadium (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
“Welcome to the first night of the Metallica Bay Area Takeover,” Hetfield told the crowd as the band took their first gasp of air after the three-song assault. “We are amazed at how many people are here. After forty-some-odd years, thanks for showing up for us and yourselves to celebrate live music.”
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| A young Metallica fan & James Hetfield @ Levi's Stadium (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
A seemingly timely “King Nothing” followed and was delivered without any expressed political sentiment - though I’m sure many of the Bay Area and indeed worldwide fans thought of the current events as they screamed along with “Where’s your crown, King Nothing?!” The band spread over the entire stage during the song. “Great singing Santa Clara – thank you!” Hetfield told the audience.
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| James Hetfield of Metallica @ Levi's Stadium (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
After a brief video and audio interlude, the second drum set appeared on the eastern side of the stage and the band went into “72 Seasons” - the tour’s namesake and title song off their most recent, 2023 album and then “If Darkness Had a Sun” for the only two songs from the newest album. As the band spread further across the stage, it exposed both the positive and negative of the setup as wherever you were positioned in the audience, the band members were directly facing toward you and at other times you were staring at someone’s back or blocked by one of the giant towers from seeing the band member. The non-traditional video approach on the towers interspersed graphic accents to the songs along with shots of band members. The screens added emphasis to keep focus on what was going on the stage and the band successfully connect with the audience through an overall closer proximity in a giant stadium. Indeed, the center-stage lay out allowed for approximately 75,000 people to attend each night.
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| James Hetfield & Kirk Hammett of Metallica @ Levi's Stadium (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
“Are you having fun. Well, you’re just in luck. You’re lucky you are. Speak good tonight, I am,” joked a tongue-tied Hetfield as he introduced Trujillo and Hammett’s unique strings composition they had titled “Primo.”
“Welcome to the party! So great to be back in the Bay Area where it all happens,” Trujillo told the crowd.
“Man, I love the Bay Area goddammit,” Hammet followed. “The Bay Area is so, soooo metal. The best metal comes from the Bay Area, right? I heard a term “RBAS” – Real Bay Area S@#t!”
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| Kirk Hammett of Metallica @ Levi's Stadium (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
The duo then crushed their composition before another brief interlude brought forth the third location of Ulrich’s drum kit. Hetfield sat on a stool under a bright solo spotlight strumming the intro to “The Day That Never Comes” before the full band delivered a truly memorable version of a song that has always been a live highlight on any night it makes the concert setlist. Spotlights shot up out of the stage as Hetfield jumped off his stool and the crowd roared to one of its loudest levels of the night.
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| James Hetfield of Metallica @ Levi's Stadium (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
“Cyanide” off Death Magnetic followed and has been in regular rotation in 2025 after rarely seeing a performance in 2023 and 2024. A very extended version of the classic instrumental “Orion” off 1986’s “Master of Puppets” was played with depth and emotion evident throughout. The band brought the song to a close gathered tightly around the drum kit. “That is ‘Orion” for you and for our fallen brother, Mr. Clifford Lee Burton. We miss you and love you so much,” Hetfield told the audience and then looked skyward.
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| Metallica's Lars Ulrich @ Levi's Stadium (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
From that point on, the band blasted out one mega metal hit after another. An intricate “Nothing Else Matters” was delivered beautifully as Levi’s Stadium was lit up by cellphones (I couldn’t help but think back to the ‘80s when lighters would have been used to create the effect for countless metal ballads).
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| Kirk Hammett & James Hetfield of Metallica @ Levi's Stadium (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
“Oh my God. I’ve got the best job in the whole world,” Hetfield said after bringing loud cheers out of the opposing sides of the stadium. ”With a show of hands, how many of you are here tonight for your first Metallica experience?” A larger than expected percentage raised their hands and cheered (my eyeball estimate was about 30% of the crowd). We are so glad you’re finally here and welcome to The Family.”
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| Kirk Hammett of Metallica @ Levi's Stadium (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
“Do you want heavy right now?” Hetfield asked the crowd. “Good, because ‘Tallica gives you heavy baby.” The band then delivered a pounding version of “Sad but True” that shaking vibrations through the stadium. During the song, Trujillo rode a raised disk through the Snake Pit while he played, and Hetfield brought the song to a close holding his guitar triumphantly aloft and then dropping to the ground for intense feedback.
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| Robert Trujillo & Lars Ulrich of Metallica @ Levi's Stadium (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Lars moved to the fourth and final drum set for the last four songs that formed a close any Metallica fan would have to envy. Absolutely burner versions of a breakneck “Battery” and pyro-filled “Fuel” led into “Seek & Destroy” featuring giant M72 ballons that on a blustery night had a very difficult time ever making their way up into the crowd. The finale of “Master of Puppets” brought the evening to a close just before the hard 11 pm Santa Clara curfew and sent Metallica fans home singing and amping up for Sunday’s night two.
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| Metallica's James Hetfield @ Levi's Stadium (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Earlier, Limp Bizkit performed in the feature role. The last time I had seen Limp Bizkit live was 1999 at Live 105’s BFD Concert – the once beloved annual summer showcase for both the year’s biggest and up and coming alternative bands. The lineup that day also included Blink 182, Cake, Sugar Ray, Live, Shinedown, Eve 6Smashmouth and a young Kid Rock and was headlined by Red Hot Chili Peppers!
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| Wes Borland & Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit @ Levi's Stadium (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
The current version of Limp Bizkit consisted of its core original members. Vocalist Fred Durst is still blasting out angry lyrics to the Nu Metal musical support of guitarist Wed Borland, bassist Sam Rivers, drummer John Otto and turntablist DJ Lethal. The quintet has been through a wide variety of ups and downs over the more than two decades since BFD as they fell in and out of public favor due to a blend of self-caused issues and changing musical tastes. Indeed, the band (minus Borland at the time) had played with Metallica on 2003’s Summer Sanitarium Tour in 2003 and stormed off the stage early at the Chicago stop at Hawthorne Racetrack as the crowd chanted “F#$k Fred Durst!”
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| Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit @ Levi's Stadium (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
But the 2025 version of the Bizkit is loads kinder and certainly softer-hearted while still carrying the same energy and power in their songs. Durst comes across as the uncle at the family picnic who everyone loves but can’t seem to avoid saying something that offends. On Friday, that moment was a strange homophobic comment that came after he talked about his time in the Bay Area.
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| Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit @ Levi's Stadium (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
“You guys are going to believe this,” he told the nearly full crowd. “But I was in the navy once, until I figured out how to trick my way to get out of the f@#king navy. And I was stationed right here in Alameda and Moffett Field in 1989. So, if you were around then, you probably saw me on Haight Street. You mighta’ saw me at The Warfield, The Fillmore, Cow Palace. But never saw me s@#king anybody’s d@#k. That was way before cell phones.” He then asked the crowd “How many people have been caught s@#king d@#k on a cell phone?”
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| Wes Borland of Limp Bizkit @ Levi's Stadium (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
That moment aside, Limp Bizkit still brought a lot of levity and good times to their featured slot. Borland teased Metallica and Pantera during “Hot Dog.” Durst announced “We’re gonna’ take this back to 1999 before “My Generation.”
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| Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit @ Levi's Stadium (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
“Ladies and gentlemen, Tom Cruise is in the house!” Durst announced as the band played the Mission Impossible theme song, and a not so-identical roadie was brought on stage before being revealed as a fraud when he attempted a Cruise-like Sprint around the stage. The band then launched into “Take A Look Around,” with Durst pleading with the lyrics “Why you wanna’ hate me?” An extended interlude of “Carless Whisper” with Durst encouraging the crowd to hug someone near them introduced their cover of George Michael’s “Faith” before the band finished with “Break Stuff.”
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| Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit @ Levi's Stadium (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Ice Nine Kills led off the night with a performance that presented as a modern take on Alice Cooper’s theatrical stage show presented by and for a generation that has grown up with horror and gore movies at the top of the movie charts. The band’s show would have been much better served up in a darkened venue with a more centered visual. The action felt spread throughout the vast stage and was a bit hard to follow as a first-time attendee of their concert.
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| Ice Nine Kills @ Levi's Stadium (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Prepping for the concert, I became a big fan of the band’s music, and their catalog is both impressive and fun (an Adele cover?). It would be an understatement to say that there was a lot happening on stage at any one time. Zombies crossed back and forth as zombie hunters pursued them. A Hannibal Lecter scene was acted out. Chainsaws and cleavers were used to bludgeon, murder and behead various victims. The band was highly entertaining and despite performing in bright daylight and a crazy spread-out stage, they dazzled the early arrivers.
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