Metallica is one of my favorite bands, and they have been for nearly 25 years. I’ve seen them in concert at least ten times, including several times in Dallas, three times in Arlington, and once each in Las Vegas and San Francisco. Despite their age—band members range from 58 to 60 years old—they are still one of the most exciting, energetic, and voracious live bands out there, playing sold-out shows to enthusiastic audiences worldwide.
(Note: You should be able to click or tap for larger photos.)
M72 World Tour
Metallica announced their M72 World Tour in November 2022 to support their eleventh studio album, 72 Seasons, released in April 2023. Shortly thereafter, Metallica began the tour in Amsterdam, although with only 22 cities and 46 scheduled shows on the tour, it’s not as nearly extensive as some of their past tours (in their younger days) that crisscrossed the globe. The tour continues through September 2024 and concludes with four shows in Mexico City. Nonetheless, for each city on this tour, they’re doing a mini-residency where they’ll perform two shows amid a “no repeat weekend,” playing completely different setlists for each night that they’re in town. Over the course of both shows, they’ll play more than 30 different tracks, making a sizable dent in their catalog from over 40 years of music. Fans will hear Metallica’s greatest hits, of course, but also some deeper cuts that aren’t played as often. In addition, there is a different set of opening bands for both shows. They also have other festivities planned for when they’re in town, including film screenings, pop-up shops, and other exclusive events. Go big or go home, as they say.
Metallica at Cowboys Stadium
With such a limited world tour, fans in Texas—especially Arlington—were lucky to be one of the stops. After last playing at Cowboys Stadium in 2017, their first time playing in Arlington, Metallica returned for two unforgettable shows on August 18th and 20th. Both shows were also chosen to be live-streamed in movie theaters worldwide. Metallica’s shows in Arlington were their only stops in Texas (and the region) for this tour—St. Louis was the next-closest stop—so many fans may have traveled across the state and elsewhere to attend. Despite the 110-degree heat, an estimated 100,000 fans descended on Cowboys Stadium each night.
Metallica frontman James Hetfield often comments about the “Metallica family,” and indeed, it’s often a family affair. My aunt, brother, and I went to both shows. My brother’s in-laws joined us, with one going on Friday night and the other on Sunday night.
Friday night
Friday night’s show included opening acts Mammoth WVH and, notably, Pantera, whose surviving members recently reunited and begun their much-anticipate reunion tour.
Photos of us from Friday night.
Pantera
With Pantera being from Arlington, it was a homecoming and an emotional one at that. During their set, lead singer Phil Anselmo remarked that “this is a dream,” undoubtedly referring to playing for such a large and welcoming crowd in their hometown after all these years. After dominating metal music in the 1990s, Pantera bitterly broke up in 2003. A reunion seemed unlikely, especially with guitarist Dimebag Darrell being murdered in 2004, and his brother, drummer Vinnie Paul, passing away in 2018 due to heart disease. Yet, rumors of a semi-reunion eventually came to fruition, with surviving members Phil Anselmo and Rex Brown recruiting Zakk Wylde (Ozzy, Black Label Society) on guitar and Charlie Benante (Anthrax) on drums to join them. The reunion was considered a tribute, especially to Dimebag and Vinnie, with it being dubbed “For the Fans. For the Brothers. For Legacy.” For many in attendance, it was their first time seeing Pantera live. It was only my second time seeing them, as I saw them once in 2001 and never thought I’d get another chance. While many were initially skeptical of the reunion, fans have been mostly positive after seeing it for themselves.
Pantera’s set was “heavy” with the hits, with nine of their eleven songs from their acclaimed Vulgar Display of Power and Far Beyond Driven albums. They started their set with A New Level and played crowd (and personal) favorites such as Becoming, I’m Broken, 5 Minutes Alone, This Love, Fuckin’ Hostile, and Walk. Pantera ended with Cowboys From Hell, arguably their most iconic song and the only way to properly finish their set. Phil’s vocals sounded better than ever, and the whole band sounded tight, polished, and authentic. They took the opportunity seriously and gave the reunion the respect that it, the brothers, and the fans deserved. It was unbelievable to Pantera again, and one of the weekend’s highlights.
Metallica
Metallica came out guns a-blazing with Creeping Death, a fast and heavy beast from their 1984 album Ride the Lightning. It’s in my top 10 Metallica songs, although sometimes it’s hard to choose because they have so many that I like. Next, they pulled out some deep cuts and new songs. Harvester of Sorrow, Leper Messiah, King Nothing, and the new Lux Æterna were other early highlights of the first half. I liked the set’s second half better, though, especially Orion, Nothing Else Matters, The Day That Never Comes, and the pyro-packed Fuel. Metallica ended the set with Master of Puppets, one of their biggest hits and often a staple of their live shows. They played 16 songs from 10 albums, with five songs not played live in the Dallas area since at least 2009, and four other songs played live in Texas for the first time. It was my first time hearing the instrumental song Orion live, and one of the night’s many highlights.
Metallica Setlist – August 18, 2023 | Cowboys Stadium – Arlington, Texas
- Creeping Death
- Harvester of Sorrow (first time played live in the Dallas area since 2008)
- Leper Messiah (first time played live in the Dallas area since 1989)
- King Nothing (first time played live in the Dallas area since 2000)
- Lux Æterna (first time played live in Texas)
- Too Far Gone? (first time played live in Texas)
- Welcome Home (Sanitarium) (first time played live in the Dallas area since 2008)
- Shadows Follow (first time played live in Texas)
- Orion (first time played live in Texas)
- Nothing Else Matters
- Sad but True
- The Day That Never Comes (first time played live in the Dallas area since 2009)
- Hardwired
- Fuel
- Seek & Destroy
- Master of Puppets
Sunday night
Sunday night’s show included opening acts Ice Nine Kills and Five Finger Death Punch. Admittedly, while I was less excited about the opening acts on Sunday, they were both entertaining. I liked Five Finger Death Punch’s cover of “Bad Company,” one of the only songs of theirs that I recognized.
Photos from Sunday night.
Metallica
Metallica opened the second night with Whiplash, a frenzied thrasher from their 1983 album Kill ‘Em All. The introspective Fade to Black was a highlight, but again, I liked the second half of the set better. They ended the show by frantically tearing through No Leaf Clover, Wherever I May Roam, Moth Into Flame, Battery, Whiskey in the Jar, One, and Enter Sandman—that’s seven songs in a row that I really like, with each one seemingly getting better than the one before it. They again played 16 songs from 10 albums, with five songs played live in the Dallas area for the first time. It was my first time hearing the instrumental song The Call of Ktulu live. It was also my first time hearing Whiskey in the Jar live, one of the weekend’s highlights.
Metallica Setlist – August 20, 2023 | Cowboys Stadium – Arlington, Texas
- Whiplash
- For Whom the Bell Tolls
- Ride the Lightning
- Dirty Window (first time played live in the Dallas area)
- 72 Seasons (first time played live in the Dallas area)
- If Darkness Had a Son (first time played live in the Dallas area)
- Fade to Black
- You Must Burn! (first time played live in the Dallas area)
- The Call of Ktulu (first time played live in the Dallas area)
- No Leaf Clover (first time played live in the Dallas area since 2004)
- Wherever I May Roam
- Moth Into Flame
- Battery
- Whiskey in the Jar
- One
- Enter Sandman
A few shots from the show.
While both nights were awesome—and two Metallica concerts in a weekend will likely never happen again—I think overall, I liked Friday night slightly better as getting to hear Pantera again was a bucket list item for me. The setlist for both nights was nearly perfect—the new songs paired well with the old favorites—and the run of songs in Sunday night’s second half might be impossible for any band to beat.
During the weekend, they played at least 10 songs that I had never heard live before and some deeper cuts that you don’t hear as often. It was an unforgettable weekend and may be the best Metallica shows I’ve ever seen. What a great weekend!
Throughout the weekend, I thought of my friend, Scott, who passed away in 2000. We bonded over our love of music, especially Metallica. He was a huge Metallica fan and would have loved the concerts, especially hearing Creeping Death, Welcome Home (Sanitarium), Orion, Nothing Else Matters, Sad but True, Fade to Black, The Call of Ktulu, One, and so many others.
As the M72 World Tour takes Metallica through September 2024, and they’ll likely take time off after that—possibly to record a new album, who knows—so it may be a while before I see them again. It was six years since they last played Arlington, and it could be another six years (or more) before they return.
Metallica: one of the best live bands…ever
Not too many bands or artists have the qualifications or fanbase to play at Cowboys Stadium—especially twice in one weekend—and a heavy metal band who released their first album over 40 years ago wouldn’t seem a likely candidate. Yet, Metallica isn’t your average band and could fill an even larger venue in North Texas if it existed. For many, it was their first time to see Metallica live. For others, there’s a reason they keep seeing them in concert. It was at least my tenth time to see Metallica, maybe more, and I’d go see them again at the next stop on their tour if I could. For some of their really diehard fans, only ten times is still rookie status, with notches in their Metallica belt being dozens deep. There’s nothing like a Metallica concert and seeing them live. They play a physical, two-hour set with an incredible stage show—professionally done with HD screens, lights, and pyrotechnics—and they do it better than bands half their age. They’re one of the best live bands. Ever.
Videos & More
Metallica uploaded four videos from the weekend to their YouTube channel. Here’s Creeping Death, Orion, For Whom the Bell Tolls, and Moth Into Flame live from Arlington!
Metallica has an awesome tour archive on their website, including setlists, professional photos, videos, trivia, and more. Check it out!
- www.metallica.com/tour/2023-08-18-arlington-texas.html
- www.metallica.com/tour/2023-08-20-arlington-texas.html
Blog post by Jason S. Sullivan, 08-31-23; updated 09-16-23
Jason S. Sullivan 