METALLICA's 'mtvICON': A Night To Remember

Hundreds of photos taken at last night's taping of MTV's "mtvICON" special dedicated to METALLICA have been posted online. Check out pictures from Film Magic (show, arrivals, rehearsals, post party),Wire Image (show, arrivals, rehearsals, backstage),Getty Images (13 pages' worth of pictures available),LFI, Celebrity Photo, Big Pictures USA, and Metallica.com.

The following report from last night's taping was originally posted on the METALLICA fan site AllMetallica.com:

"The night started out with a brief performance by SUM 41. They began to jam 'For Whom the Bell Tolls' and quickly transitioned to 'Enter Sandman'. During their performance, METALLICA made their way through the crowd and into their seats behind the general admission, where they remained until their performance at the end of the show.

"After everyone settled down, Lisa Marie Presley hit the stage to introduce a video covering a condensed history of METALLICA and Jason Newsted. In the video, Jason stated that he KNEW the band's VH1 performance of 'Fade to Black' would be their last gig together. Jason also mentioned he will still go to METALLICA tours and cheer them on.

"After a 'Beavis and Butthead' cartoon, STAIND hit the right stage with a condensed version of 'Nothing Else Matters'. It ran around 3 or 4 minutes and stopped before the solo. The vocals by Aaron of STAIND were exceptional but the guitars could have been more accurate. The next cover, which raised many questions, was Avril Lavigne on 'Fuel'. Surprisingly, the performance wasn't half bad since the band members accurately played the notes. Avril's voice didn't blend well with the heavy guitars and loud drums but for a pop-teenager singer, it was decent.

"The next cover and the most humorous featured Snoop Dogg, who walked through the crowd onto the stage to begin his cover of 'Sad But True' The smell of marijuana was in the air, and judging by his performance, Snoop Dogg was high on it, but that's expected of him. He sang the chorus and the verse at the wrong time but somehow managed to receive a positive reaction from the crowd.

"A short video high-lighted the history of METALLICA and James' past issues with alcohol and how he overcame it.

"Quickly after the video, Chester from LINKIN PARK and Travis from BLINK 182 introduced KORN, who covered 'One'. The guitars were right on, but the vocals were very muffled and distorted by the loud riffing and drumming. The cover ran for about 4-5 minutes and didn't include the one solo. The important point is the song was condensed, along with the rest of the covers at 'Icon'.

"Michelle Branch came out and introduced 4 marines who were stationed in Iraq. The crowd began chanting 'USA' and they made a little speech about how METALLICA and other music in general influenced their life. Shortly after, another video hit the jumbo screen high-lighting METALLICA's 'Black Album'.

"Ex-'Saturday Night Live' star Jim Breuer stumbled out on stage and did a joke song called 'If you are happy and you know it' with a METALLICA sound to it. Very funny I must admit — the boys were cracking up

"Next, a row of fans hit the stage and they were asked to describe METALLICA in a few words. Some words I heard were 'kick ass, influential, orgasmic, loyalty, adrenaline, and rebellion.'

"LIMP BIZKIT hit the stage and was greeted with some boo's and hissing in the crowd. They were soon silenced by a cover of 'Sanitarium', which was surprisingly one of the better covers on 'Icon'. The vocals were solid for the most part but the screaming became a little overbearing at climactic points of the song. In the line 'saves us from our hell' Fred Durst screamed 'hell' over and over. Durst later asked everyone to stand up in the seating section and attempted to hype the crowd up

"STAIND re-did 'Nothing Else Matters' because something went wrong the first time. Not sure what but it seemed just as good the second time around.

"FINALLY, they began setting up for METALLICA! They brought out loads of amps on the main floor and then began BUILDING A SNAKEPIT! I was right in front of the snakepit where James and Kirk eventually stood! The snakepit took 20 minutes to set up, and now the moment we all have been waiting for: METALLICA! [After being introduced by actor Sean Penn], the band started up the gig with a little bit of 'Hit the Lights', and rushed into a medley including '…Sandman', 'Blackened', 'Creeping Death', and 'Battery'. Then the band stopped and they debuted 'Frantic' from 'St. Anger'! The first thought that came to mind was heavy, and there were many tempo changes. Some lyrics included 'Frantic-tic-toc-tic-toc' and 'The Search Goes On' All in all, an awesome and heavy METALLICA song that fans will surely be pleased with. After they finished 'Frantic' the band actually played it a SECOND time (Just in case it didn't hit us hard enough the first time around). As the song ended, so did the night. Thanks MTV!"

MTV's "mtvICON" special dedicated to METALLICA will be broadcast by the music network on Tuesday, May 6 at 9:00 p.m. (ET/PT).