It’s the first weekend in July and The Metal has taken over Westfield Stratford. Friday evening shoppers mingle with sweaty black clad rockers, because Metallica have brought their No Repeat Weekend M72 tour to this corner of East London. Now into it’s fourth year, the final weekend of this tour will see the metal giants play two completely different sets over Friday and Sunday night at London Stadium — an immense treat for the diehards, and introducing some deeper cuts for the casuals, providing something for everyone.
Metallica @ London Stadium
Entering the standing area, you realise you are not at a normal stadium show — Metallica play ‘in the round’ on a central donut ring of a stage, with all four band members moving around and interacting with the crowd as they perform. Creeping Death is now an opening staple, but has lost none of its power as a retelling of the Book of Exodus, the crowd responding immediately with chants of ‘Die! Die! Die!’ and raising devil horns in the breakdown. We are up and running.
A pair of Metallica / Black Album tracks follow, prospective first single Holier Than Thou (until it was usurped by that Sandman one) and Of Wolf And Man are torn through by the band, giving a welcome airing to these deeper cuts from this wildly successful album. On this first evening, I would say that tracks from the new album 72 Seasons don’t really hit with the Friday crowd, but they soon perk up when a clearly emotional James Hetfield explains how ‘music saved my life’ before plucking the first notes of Fade To Black, immaculately performed by all.
The final run of songs from Orion (a fantastic tribute to the late, great Cliff Burton) match any band in the world. HardWired is slightly out of left field but very welcome; Fuel’s opening salvo, accompanied by massive pyro; and closers Seek And Destroy and Master Of Puppets blow us away as giant Metallica beach balls are released into the madness of the crowd.
Even after 45 years they still seem to be having a blast, each member playing their intricate parts and holding the vast audience in their collective palms. Guitarist Kirk Hammett sports his own ‘CIA Psyop’ tshirt – a nod to a Taylor Swift version he wore earlier in the tour (invoking the ire of Swifties worldwide). This iconic Kirk edition is sure to be a must-have merch item for the discerning metalhead.
After a restorative Saturday, Sunday brings Night 2 – and I have been lucky enough to acquire a ‘Snake Pit’ wristband. Do you remember the aforementioned donut stage? Well, a Snake Pit pass gets you into the centre of the donut and the heart of the action. This really is an incredible privilege – with no barriers or large gaps between the audience and the band, you are so close that you could reach out and touch them (even smell them, if you really wanted to).
For this vantage point, the band are bewilderingly close as the one-two punch of Whiplash and For Whom The Bell Tolls rings around London Stadium, the crowd bouncing to the beat of drummer Lars Ulrich.
Metallica @ London Stadium
It is exactly one year to the day that Metallica played the Back To The Beginning concert at Villa Park, a day marking Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne’s final shows. Bass player Robert Trujillo is wearing his Sabbath t-shirt for the occasion and tonight he dedicates his regular jam spot to Ozzy, taking up with Kirk H to bash out Electric Funeral. Rob’s Ozzy impression is remarkable and the crowd laps it up.
With our fantastic viewpoint resulting in some understandable shock and awe, the crowd in the Snake Pit has been relatively subdued, but that all changes in the second half of the set. Whiskey In The Jar gets the party started with a mass sing-along and pogo-ing, before a punishing version of Blackened leads the first circle pits to form, and suddenly we’re into complete, and very entertaining, carnage. Hairy veterans, wide-eyed teens and middle aged mums cheerfully bounce and thump into each other with abandon, ample consideration for each other and much sweat distributed and I’m reminded, once again, that metal fans are just the best.
Metallica @ London Stadium
A final run of Moth Into Flame – with actual flames – One, which I believe incurs the largest pit of the night, and the inevitable Enter Sandman wraps up this phenomenal weekend. I manage to grab a ‘fish and chips’ guitar pick thrown by Rob at the end, as each member thanks the crowd and soaks up the appreciation on this, the last night of their tour. The Snake Pit is an incredible experience – you can see the joy that this veteran band still feel from live performance, along with every bead of sweat on their brows as they work so hard to entertain their adoring crowd. With Hetfield and co all now in their 60s, it’s an enormous privilege to witness their passion and craftsmanship this up close and personal.
With the global tour wrapped up, the band will take the summer off before their next adventure – a ‘No Repeat Weekend’ residency at The Sphere in Las Vegas. 45 years in, Metallica are still pushing the boundaries and giving their fans different ways to experience them live. I hope the bell does not toll on their careers for some time yet.
Live review of Metallica @ London Stadium on 3rd & 5th July 2026 by Alex Kavanagh. Photography by Neil Lupin / neillupin.com.
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