Twelve years ago on this day, May 14th, metal rock legends Metallica played their first show of 2008 at the intimate Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles. The show preluded their 26-date North American and European Tour that took place that summer. It was their first time performing at the historic LA venue, and their first time performing in Southern California since 2004. The concert was in honor of the Hullabaloo Benefit for The Silverlake Conservatory of Music, founded by Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers.
At that point in Metallica's career, their last album had dropped in 2003, St. Anger, and they were gearing up to release their ninth studio album Death Magnetic. The 15-song set, however, focused on their older material.
They fired off the night with "Creeping Death" and played a slew of classics like "For Whom the Bell Tolls," "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)," "...And Justice For All," "One," and "Master of Puppets." They performed "...And Justice For All" that night for the first time in the US in 19 years! After 10 songs, they ended the main set with "Battery" before surprising fans with TWO encores.
The encores carried more rare gems, kicking off with a cover of Misfits' "Last Caress" and preceding the song with a jam of "Invaders," "Phantom of the Opera" and "Run to the Hills." Then they performed "No Remorse" for the first time since 2004, before ending the first encore with "Enter Sandman."
The second encore was extra special because Flea himself appeared to perform "Fight Fire With Fire" with the band. The last time Metallica played that song prior was in 2004. It's worth noting Flea was responsible for putting the whole concert together.
The set ended on "Seek & Destroy" with a "Let There Be Rock" outro. Check out the full setlist below!
Make sure to tune into Metallica Mondays for a new archival concert stream you can watch for free every week during the COVID-19 pandemic.
