Metallica Birmingham 5/10/1996

Here we are my first ever Metallica gig. We set off for Birmingham not knowing quite what to expect. I remember we wanted to get there really early incase of a queue, so like you might not expect we get there at about 10 in the morning, when the show starts in the evening. We met up with a few people there from the local chapter Bletchley Beholders Of Justice including Akam Hetfield (Chapter head). I remember not knowing what to expect as load was a definite change of pace for the boys and I wondered how much old shit they would play.

Corrosion came on first as we bundled our way to the first few rows. They were good but got a mixed response. I remember thinking that they were a little bit lost on such a big figure of eight stage. Then the change over for the boys and I was pleased to see Lars was still using a 7 piece kit. The band came on with cheers from the other side of the venue, soon we realised they were running round the fukin barrier in front of our faces, close enough to touch. They make the stage and warm the crowd up with a bit of jamming then straight into so what! With the house lights on it seemed odd but they soon flipped and by Creeping Death the atmosphere was 100%. The set was great I remember Kirk fucking up the intro to nothing so bad he had to stop and start again!!! The dramatic ending was really cool and the intimate bit with the garage style jam was great cos we were close to where they were. A great gig but the figure of eight stage I think, comes second to the straight forward set up they've used since, but what a baptism for myself into the world of Metallica live.

Review by Ed Glenn