Metallica - Hampden Park, Glasgow Thursday 25th June 2026
I should start this review with a disclaimer of sorts. Metallica is where it all started for me. I was 12 when I discovered the band following a recommendation from a slightly older “character” at the local youth club, when most peers were into the Britpop of Oasis, Blur, Manic Street Preachers etc. After hearing the Black Album for the first time and obsessing over every track for weeks, months and even years, I followed it up with purchases of Load and eventually Reload (much maligned, in my opinion!) when they were released before working my way back to the early days and the thrash of Kill ‘Em All, Ride the Lightning and the majestic Master of Puppets. My first band t-shirt was a Metallica one and my first music VHS (remember them?) was Cunning Stunts. I wore that tape out! I’ve seen them live twice before and, on both occasions, spoke about the shows to anyone who’d listen for weeks afterwards… whether they wanted to hear about it or not! Metallica started my journey into heavy music and have been a big part of my musical life for 33 years now. So, it’ll probably be difficult for me to write an objective review here!
Unfortunately, due to work commitments and Glasgow City Council’s decision to have temporary traffic lights (with no apparent work ongoing!) only a few hundred yards from a sold-out Hampden, I missed opening acts Knocked Loose and Gojira. I usually make a point of arriving in time for support slots, as it’s an opportunity to find new bands and music… but I’d be lying if I said I was gutted to enter the stadium as the last muffled but loud notes of Gojira’s set echoed around the national stadium. That meant I had time to grab a quick drink before settling into my seat, which provided an excellent view of proceedings. Having my wife with me to enjoy her first Metallica live experience was also special, as their music was something she constantly had to hear in the teenage part of our relationship and has been ongoing in the 21 years of marriage since!
There was something fitting about James Hetfield (vocals/guitar), Lars Ulrich (drums), Kirk Hammett (guitar) and Rob Trujillo (bass) entering the stadium to the strains of AC/DC’s ‘It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock N Roll)’, as the Young brothers were born and brought up in Glasgow before emigrating to Australia and becoming the rock legends we all know and love. That was enough to get the excitement levels up but it was nothing compared to the noise when Metallica’s now legendary intro music, Ennio Morricone’s iconic ‘The Ecstasy of Gold’ from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly boomed through the massive sound system as clips from the movie played on the 8 huge stanchions of screens situated around the circular stage. Metallica were in town… and it was going to be immense!
Opener ‘Creeping Death’ is 42 years old but in Glasgow, it sounded mightier and meatier than it ever did on the original recording, ageing in a live setting like a fine wine amped up to an ABV of 100%! Fists pumped in the air and fans young and old revelled as the metal masters commanded the audience from the outset. But that was nothing compared to the frenzy when the opening bars of ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’ boomed through the stadium, with Kirk Hammett’s song-defining intro ditty causing a flurry of air guitar activity in the seats and a rush towards the stage in the standing area. ‘Hit the Lights’ went back to the very beginning of the band’s career, meaning the first three songs were taken from the first two albums from the early 1980s. Loud. Proud. Ageless. Thrash!
‘King Nothing’ from the previously mentioned, much maligned Load album brought us back to the more modern-age Metallica sound… although even that was now 30 years ago! The setlist was brought right up to date with ’72 Seasons’ from the most recent album of the same name, ensuring the opening 5 songs pretty much covered the band’s whole career so far; beginning, middle, current. The reason for their continued longevity was crystal clear!
As stated in the opening paragraph, this writer cut his heavy metal teeth on The Black Album, so the intro to ‘The Unforgiven’ transported me straight back to my bedroom in my parent’s house, going through an always-dressed-in-black stage (which I’m now very much back into!) and trying desperately to grow my hair as long as I could without annoying my church choir singing mum too much (which I now can’t do due to baldness!). The guitar solo remains as sublime now as it did when I listened to it on my Sony Walkman. There may have been a slight lump in my throat, such is the power of music invoked memories. This was further compounded by the impressive, speaker shaking intro to ‘Fuel’, with accompanying flames and pyrotechnics. Wow! Just wow!
One thing I didn’t expect was Kirk and Rob playing a specially curated medley of music from Scottish bands, with Nazareth’s brilliant ‘Hair of the Dog’ and The Proclaimers’ annoyingly catchy little ditty ‘I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)’. The place was rocking; such is the Scottish proclivity for being overly enthusiastic for anything Scottish… particularly when it’s played and acknowledged by non-Scots! ‘The Day That Never Comes’ was another memory bank moment, reminding me of sitting my then one year old son on my knee whilst making him play air drums!
The show had already been more than I could’ve asked for but from this point on to the end of the show was everything I ever wanted from Metallica. A triple salvo of The Black Album with the magnificently moody ‘Wherever I May Roam’, the emotionally sublime ballad ‘Nothing Else Matters’ and the heaviest of heavy songs (“Do you want heavy?” asked Hetfield), ‘Sad But True’. For me, that trio was part of the Holy Grail of Metallica music. In fact, they’re part of the Holy Grail of metal music!
Flames, explosions and the sound of gunfire signalled the start of anti-war song ‘One’, the sole representative of the …And Justice For All album, starting softly and sadly before exploding into a cacophony of anger and disdain. Some fun was introduced with the release of massive Metallica-branded beach balls that were thrown around the crowd during ‘Seek and Destroy’, with one poor stagehand being responsible for batting them away when they got too close to Lars Ulrich’s drumkit. Despite some obvious deliberate attempts by fans to do just that, the stagehand was successful in his duty!
There’s no time for encores in a Metallica show. They don’t need the validation of a crowd screaming and stamping for their return to the stage. The final two songs could be the ones that define Metallica; the thrash majesty of ‘Master of Puppets’ and the more commercial-yet-heavy melody of ‘Enter Sandman’. Heads banged, fists flew into the air, some people even cried. Then, it was all over, as drumsticks and guitar picks were thrown into the crowd causing something reminiscent of a wedding scramble (remember them?). What a night!
Being a Metallica fan means being part of the Metallica family. They’re not the type of band you listen to and then grow out of. Oh no, once you’re in, you’re in for life. To people like me, Metallica are much more than just a band. They’re memories of youth and were harvesters of our sorrow when times were tough. They’re a reminder that being the uncool metalhead kid was the making of many a person. In fact, with age and hindsight, we really were the cool ones, unafraid to be different and refusing to go along with the trends! When it comes to metal music, nothing else matters! It may be another 9 years before we see Metallica back on Scottish shores. It may even be that they may never return, as after all, they’re now in their early 60s. Either way, the memories will remain of a legendary night that broke attendance records at Hampden Park in Glasgow.
Brutal, powerful, heavy, loud, metal… Metallica!