Metallica Concert Review - State College PA 10/20/18

Finally got a few mins to write this up

Metallica Concert in State College PA (Penn State Campus - Bruce Jordan Center) on October 20th, 2018.

Well Crew, this was freakin' amazing. It's been 30 years since I had seen the Met boyz live (1988 for the Justice tour in downtown Balto.). and I actually had my 1988 tour shirt on that I bought at that last show 30 years ago. Metallica did not disappoint!
They started a little later than scheduled because an early day game at the center went overtime, but only about 1/2 hour later.
They came in full blast right into the new album title track (Hardwired) and just hammered it hard! The sound was spot on; not so loud that it was muffled, but enough to be in your face, even up where we were on the second level. The set list was a nice mix of new songs and some of the classics (Master, Bell, Creeping, etc) as well some gems from Black and the earlier albums. They slightly change their set each show and was a little bummed we did not get to hear Spit Out the Bone (they played that in Pitt a few days earlier) and nothing from Magnetic, which was odd because they usually throw at least one if from that. But over all; wow!
I like that they play new tunes, I'm not interested in seeing just "greatest hits" sets; mix it up, and they do that for sure. The stage in the center of the arena makes almost any seat a good spot and they have an amazing set that has boxes that travel up and down with images, vids and so on that acents the theme of the songs. And they even had some of the require pyrotechnics!
They also do some envelope pushing with Kirk And Robert playing a little solo set of odd tunes and they did a 4 man electronic drum solo during Halo of Fire. Something different and that's refreshing to see instead of just sing, break, sing, gab,etc.
If you like these guys and like the newer material, go see them for sure, you will not be disappointed!
Here is the set list and a pro-shot vid of Holier Than Thou from the show (was cool to hear that live, was a nice surprise!). Oh and I'll be loading the official live show to the FTP soon!

Hardwired, Atlas, Rise!, Seek and Destroy, Holier Than Thou, Fade to Black, Now That We're Dead, Creeping Death, For Whom The Bell Tolls, Halo On Fire, Kirk And Rob Doodle, Hit The Lights, Fuel, Moth Into Flame, Sad But True, One, Master Of Puppets, Blackened, Nothing Else Matters, Enter Sandman.

Too bad there wasn't any beer 'Skulls.

If there had been, you can be sure there would've been a little more


Great set list from a vast catalog, although nothing from Magnetic is a hiccup...


Nice 30 year reunion for you amigo!


CrankitUP

Great review Skulls. Don´t have much time to get mine in but here it goes:
Knotfest is owned by Slipknot and it seems they make one festival each year in a different country. Very well organized and a superb sound for an outdoor venue.
Archemeny, if you're into the heavier side and don't know them please check them out. It's a real who's who of metal, Jeff Loomis from Nevermore, Sharlee D'Angelo from King Diamond and Mercyful Fate, etc, Michael Ammot one of my favorite guitar players out there, and Alissa White Gluz, man, she´s got the throat and the looks.
Kreator: mostly sang from their last albums, always fun and thrashy. Surprised almost nobody new "Pleasure to Kill" as metalheads down here tend to the heavier side of metal.
Helloween: what can I say? They´re the best. Just having the three incarnations in 1.5 hours is a dream come true for any pumpkin head. A downer was "Are You Metal?" Deris era has tons of amazing songs but they had to play this one. "Power" was the other only Deris era song . Kiske's voice sounds as fresh as 30 years ago. Keeper 1 and 2 had most share of the set list, Hansen did a medley of about five songs from "Walls…"
Judas: kind of a dissapointment. As Skulls said is nice to listen to new songs, five from Firepower, but a couple of ballads, and then "Grinder"...don't know. Not what I expected. "New" guitarist is a fair replacement to Downing / Tipton, has the Judas look and attitude, Great to see Andy Sneap on guitars, I like his guitar playing and think he is one of the best producers out there, responsible for resurrecting Accept, among others.
Well that's it. Back to work.