Metallica is back!!!

The Four Horseman has returned to the shores of Singapore, they Seek & Destroyed while us fans continued to Ride the Lightning!!! The 20 year wait was over: it was no doubt the biggest anticipation concert in Singapore this year. 

Some fans were lucky to see them in their prime rocking out with their long hair and head-banging back in 1993 at the Indoor Stadium, but I was among the unlucky fans as I was still on pampers then. It's pretty obvious that the Indoor Stadium wouldn't be a good venue to host the Heavy Metal Gods due to limited capacity under one roof, instead it was held at the Changi Exhibition Centre, a rather alien place to most of us and it was rather inconvenient if you do not possess a transport. Lucky for us fans, shuttle buses were chartered by the sponsor (LAMC) at the cost of $10/pax. Ray and I didn't take the shuttle bus though as we had a ride home on his parent's car after the concert, instead we took a taxi in and the price was rather reasonable at $14. The area was rather spacious, windy with a serene panoramic view of the sea though we could barely feel like when the concert started with the sound systems blasting through our ears but it was in fact a suitable location for a band with a huge status.

We arrived at the area at 6.30pm just in time to see the opening band perform, which to our surprise was 1970's band Anvil, an extra token given by LAMC, and they got us pumped and all hyped up for the big thing. After waiting impatiently for over an hour after Anvil ended their set, the lights went out and a familiar video played with the song "The Ecstacy of Gold" kicking in, everyone began screaming as we all knew that they were about to come out. The screams got louder and insane when Lars stormed the stage, followed up by the rest of the band. I couldn't believe it, finally after all these years my wish has come true, seeing James, Kirk, Robert, and Lars in person! To kick start the show, they started with "Hit the Lights" followed with a familiar tune which every Metallica fans MUST know, "Master of Puppets". The crowd went insane chanting "MASTER! MASTER!" following up with a mosh-pit beside me (I didn't join in though). Familiar materials from their golden era followed, with fans chanting songs such as "One", "Blackened", and "Enter Sandman". The concert was awesome not because of the songs, but the solos played especially by Kirk Hammett ripping his guitar. When "Enter Sandman" ended, fans chanted "We Want More!" because we NEED more as said by James. Three songs were played for the encore, "Creeping Death", "Battery", and finally what everyone anticipated, the song which was their first breakthrough and it was from their first album, Kill Em' All, and it's "Seek and Destroy"!

Saturday, 24th August was no doubt one of my best nights of 2013. It was glad to finally see them and I do hope that they will return again sooner than 20 years. Lars you kept your promise back in 1993, do keep your promise once again as you said that you guys will be back. 

"Singapore, you kicked our ass tonight" as said by James Hetfield.

Somebody just got to ruin it...