Travelling thousands of kilometers, neglecting tasks at work in middle of the most effective field season, spending thousands of kroner. Everything just to see the Big Four: Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax. The bands which started the act named trash metal.
This might all sound crazy, but it was easily worth it.
90 000 people had packed into an old airport in Warsaw to witness the most significant occasion in history of American heavy metal: after 25 years of squabble Metallica and Megadeth could finally fit their rather large egos on one stage. Not only that, but the bands had managed to unite all of the Big Four into one concert. "The greatest show on Earth" as James Hetfield put it. I don't know if it was that, but certainly it remains as the greatest heavy metal show I have ever seen.
There was no excuse. No work, no private reason, no cost could stop me. I just had to see it. And I am so happy that I did.
Anthrax started the show in a bright sun shine at five o'clock afternoon. Classical 80's heavy metal singer Joey Belladonna had reunited the band for this occasion. The sound was just like that. Classical. It was like Iron Maiden playing Anthrax hits (sorry for this classification, I really haven't been listening the band before. On tape they just sound different). The show was cool, though. The band was clearly impressed by the mass of people.
Medadeth, instead, was acting rather spiritless. Dunno, if it was the bright sun light (metal should be faced in pitch dark) or my rather low alcohol level (getting a beer required half an hour battle in the crowd, half a kilometer outside the stage), but they just did not find the crowd. Apart from four last songs, which were the classics such as Peace sells and Symphony of Destruction.
No matter the light of darkening evening. No matter the bad beer arrangement. Crowd just went berserk when Slayer started their set. Slayer is one of those bands, you won't really get before you see their far too loud life performance. Easily the best performance during the whole exceptional day. Awesome feeling to jump, push and being pushed in the mosh pit just front of the stage.
Night had finally fallen when Metallica started their two hours show. A decade of listening to the band almost every day and I hadn't seen them before. It all was close to mass hysteria. People weren't acting rationally. There wasn't that normal taking care of the fallen. If someone fell, people almost crushed them to death. Everyone wanted their share of the most popular metal band in the history. However, hearing them live was an unforgettable moment. The professionalism that band has is just above any other. They just know how to make people crazy. Two hours felt like two minutes. I have never seen anything like the video technique and pyrotechnics Metallica used.
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