Metallica @ Manchester Arena (Manchester, UK) on October 28, 2017 [Photos & Show Review]

Bay Area metal titans Metallica don’t do things by half. From promo surprise gigs in 500 capacity venues to massive arena flatting headliner shows, the metal veterans may split the opinion of the metal community right down the middle but as they stride out onto the Manchester Arena stage and slam into opener “Hardwired”, they show they are still an unstoppable force.

Delivering over two hours of career-spanning metal, the band roared through classics like “Seek & Destroy”, “Creeping Death” and “For Whom The Bell Tolls” while peppering the set with modern-era Metallica offerings like “Atlas Rise”, “Halo on Fire” and “Moth Into Flame”, the latter seeing the band incorporate synchronized mini-drones into the show for a truly hypnotic visual display to match the equally flawless performance the band were putting on.

Elsewhere Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo’s solos blended effortlessly into the unofficial Manchester anthem “Don’t Look Back In Anger” while a thunderous “Sad But True”, an epic “One” and glorious “Master of Puppets” saw the band cruising a mile ahead of the chasing pack as the night headed to the kind of conclusion which saw the band rubber stamp their position as undisputed Kings of Metal.