APOCALYPTICA, SAXON, DIAMOND HEAD Members Perform With METALLICA At 30th-Anniversary Kick-Off

December 6, 2011

Jason Newsted (METALLICA, VOIVOD, FLOTSAM AND JETSAM),John Marshall (METAL CHURCH, former METALLICA guitar tech and occasional James Hetfield fill-in),Sean Harris (DIAMOND HEAD),Brian Tatler (DIAMOND HEAD),Biff Byford (SAXON) and APOCALYPTICA joined METALLICA on stage last night (Monday, December 5) for the first of four intimate shows at the Fillmore in San Francisco as part of the week-long celebration of its 30th anniversary as a band for fan club members only.

After opening sets from THE SOUL REBELS brass band and Finnish cello rockers APOCALYPTICA, as well as a salute to Ray Burton, the 86-year-old father of late METALLICA bassist Cliff Burton, by the event's MC, Jim Breuer (comedian, SiriusXM host and diehard METALLICA fan),METALLICA rocked the capacity crowd with a 21-song set which featured selections from all periods of the band's career, including a previously unreleased track from the "Death Magnetic" sessions called "Hate Train".

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. The Call Of Ktulu
02. No Remorse (full version)
03. The Shortest Straw
04. Leper Messiah
05. The Day That Never Comes
06. Carpe Diem Baby (first time performed live)
07. Hate Train (previously unreleased song from "Death Magnetic" sessions)
08. Please Don't Judas Me (acoustic; NAZARETH cover)
09. Wherever I May Roam (with fan-club member John Dent)
10. Sad But True (with John Marshall)
11. (Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth (impromptu jam by Robert Trujillo)
12. No Leaf Clover (with APOCALYPTICA)
13. One (with APOCALYPTICA)
14. Harvester Of Sorrow (with Jason Newsted)
15. Damage, Inc. (with Jason Newsted)
16. Motorcycle Man (with Biff Byford)
17. The Prince (with Sean Harris, Brian Tatler)
18. It's Electric (with Sean Harris, Brian Tatler)
19. Helpess (with Sean Harris, Brian Tatler)
20. Am I Evil? (with Sean Harris, Brian Tatler)
21. Seek & Destroy (with everyone)

Fan-flmed video footage and photos can be seen below (more clips will be added later today)

Frontman James Hetfield told The Pulse Of Radio that METALLICA hoped to make the shows special for the people attending. "It is a fan celebration everyone who's come along the METALLICA ride for 30 years and we're constantly wanting to give to the fans what they don't normally get from some other band or some other connection," he said. "So these four shows at the Fillmore are something like that."

The other three shows will take place on December 7, December 9, and December 10, with special guests and events, rare songs, varied set lists and more.

Hetfield told The Pulse Of Radio that he hoped Ozzy Osbourne and MOTRHEAD bassist/singer Lemmy Kilmister would be among the guests at the shows.

METALLICA plans to begin work on its next studio album early in 2012. The group recently released its collaborative album with Lou Reed, called "Lulu", which flopped saleswise and earned the quartet the worst reviews of its career.

The band has booked several European shows next summer, including one at a venue in Denmark that used to be a prison, at which it will perform its self-titled 1991 effort, a.k.a. "the black album," in its entirety.

METALLICA was formed when Ulrich, who had moved to Los Angeles from Denmark, placed an ad in a local paper called The Recycler looking for other musicians to play with. The ad was answered by guitarists James Hetfield and Hugh Tanner of the band LEATHER CHARM.

METALLICA officially formed in October 1981 and the band's first recording was "Hit The Lights" for the compilation "Metal Massacre".

Bay Area DJ Ron Quintana came up with the group's name: he was debating between using "Metallica" and "Metal Mania" for the name of his radio show and Ulrich encouraged him to use "Metal Mania" so that he could use "Metallica" for his new band.

METALLICA's first full lineup featuring Hetfield, Ulrich, guitarist Dave Mustaine and bassist Ron McGovney played its first gig on March 14, 1982 at Radio City in Anaheim, California.

Photos below courtesy of METALLICA's Facebook page

Chris Jericho (FOZZY frontman and WWE wrestling superstar) with Ray Burton:

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