Metallica, Marley Park
Posted on 3rd Aug 09 by Jonathan Keane | 
6
This night was without flaw. There’s always a special feeling, an inexplicable atmosphere when Metallica come to Ireland. Before the show we knew there was only one guarantee; the night was going to be spectacular, we were right. The only Irish band on the bill were Glyder, a rock band who clearly praise the gods [...]
This night was without flaw. There’s always a special feeling, an inexplicable atmosphere when Metallica come to Ireland. Before the show we knew there was only one guarantee; the night was going to be spectacular, we were right.
The only Irish band on the bill were Glyder, a rock band who clearly praise the gods that are Thin Lizzy, Aerosmith et al. They bring a solid show, riling up the crowd appropriately.
Mastodon have been kicking a lot of ass lately. Crack The Skye released in March is undoubtedly their strongest release yet and their biggest foray into the progressive. Their latest material however may translate difficultly into this open air, festival-like setting. Those were my thoughts initially, oh how wrong I was.
Take everything from each band so far and turn it up a couple of hundred notches. Let’s make one thing clear when Metallica are playing live and are in the zone they are completely untouchable
Opening with Oblivion Mastodon simply slay. Every song fits perfectly from the bludgeoning bursts of Blood & Thunder and The Wolf Is Loose to the ethereal sways of the eleven minute The Czar or the accord between crowd (front row anyway) and band on Colony Of Birchmen, Mastodon absolutely blew us away. One thing was certain as they exited the stage Alice In Chains had their work cut out for them.
But AIC have never been ones to submit when challenged. Their set is heaving with classics. Them Bones and Would? can’t be described, they sound so HUGE! The riff lord that is Jerry Cantrell has everyone on hand drooling as he shreds relentless. Meanwhile William DuVall is an enigma, a truly unique front man and just plain cool, a breathtaking performance on his part.
Two new songs make the set, A Looking In View (released a month ago) is incredible and could qualify as a small state it sounds so vast. Unfortunately I didn’t catch the name of the second song but it sent the crowd into a frenzy as dozens ascended to crowd surf. Then, closer Rooster could not have been more fitting. Alice In Chains + Marlay Park 2009 = AMAZING.
I’ll make a confession, the last support act Avenged Sevenfold didn’t interest me in the slightest, which is why my expectations were kept nice and low. These guys may have a very one dimensional sound (at least that’s what I heard) and seem quite arrogant but damn they put on a good show. A7X keep up the energy, set by Mastodon and AIC but they don’t come close to topping it. The two massive circle pits were enough to win me over. The band also created a good time vibe bringing one kid on stage to sing Walk. Credit where credit’s due A7X brought it.
I screamed like a little girl upon hearing the epic Harvester Of Sorrow live for the first time
Now, take everything from each band so far and turn it up a couple of hundred notches. Let’s make one thing clear when Metallica are playing live and are in the zone they are completely untouchable. August 1st 2009 was one of those nights.
The set list is pure gold. Blackened opens the proceedings and the pit becomes a whirlwind only to lead into Creeping Death, where fists pump and thousands scream “DIE, DIE, DIE!” at the top of their lungs. We’re only two songs in.
The whole performance is a perfect balance of classics, not so revered gems and new songs from Death Magnetic. Speaking of the Death Magnetic, the new tracks are just awesome. There’s huge mosh action for All Nightmare Long, I think it was around here that really did my back in! Then, there’s the goosebumps inducer that is The Day That Never Comes and also the pounding Cyanide.
Of course it wouldn’t be a Metallica show without the likes of Master Of Puppets and Enter Sandman. Both of which do what they always do, they floor you and break a few bones for good measure.
The whole crowd return every lyric to frontman James Hetfield. The entire show is a sing along. Nothing Else Matters and One attest to this, the latter of which brings this fan to tears once again.
Sing alongs were plentiful for Whiskey In The Jar, an obligatory number when playing in Ireland and another cover, Sweet Savages’s Killing Time, even bringing out S.S main man Ray Haller for vocals.
Lately Metallica haven’t been afraid to delve into their back catalogue a little deeper. They bring the highly unexpected Turn The Page to the live arena, a Bob Segar number and a personal favourite of Hetfield’s. I screamed like a little girl upon hearing the epic Harvester Of Sorrow live for the first time. But the most memorable moment came when the intro of Fight Fire With Fire hit, when that monster riff came in the entire pit exploded. Never have I seen bodies flail around or be battered in such a way.
I’m running out of adjectives to describe this show, after they closed with the obvious Seek And Destroy each and every person was left in awe. I left Marlay Park with no voice and a soar throat, an aching neck, back and legs and bruised arms and I never felt better in my life.
Tags: A Looking In A View, A7X, Aerosmith, alice in chains, avenged sevenfold, marley park, Mastodon, metallica, sweet savage, Thin Lizzy
That very aptly sums up the entire night.
Glyder were quite good, they have good things ahead of them.
Mastodon were awesome, and I was disappointed they were so far down the card. The lack of crowd interaction pissed a few people around me off also.
Alice in Chains brought me to tears on occasion, the moments in my life they soundtracked being brought straight to mind, adding to it all.
I had no expectations for A7X either, and I thought they were flat for most of it, resorting to cheap tricks to garner a reaction. Didn’t help that all the assholes were at the barrier putting out fag butts on my back and such (I hate big Dublin gigs for this precise reason).
Metallica were absolutely unreal, the right setlist, crowd interaction, pyrotechnics, everything.
Just such an amazing night
Savage show alright, AIC were on top form, new guy is very good. Got in the pit for them on a borrowed pass. Jerry was on top form, a living legend. Immense joy to seem them still going.
Glyder did really well, got great crowd support.
Sound wasn’t perfect for Mastodon, they played well but the wind seemed to mess with the sound. I really hope they come back to do a headline show in Dublin.
Avenged Sevenfold are not my taste but they worked hard and their fans seemed to have a lot of fun. Gave us time to ingest calories and alcohol. The kid that got up to sing “Walk” was impressive (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_c-MbqT7sQ).
The Metallica set was the best I’ve seen them yet (4th show!). Your review is spot on. Think I had whiplash after “Blackened”‘s intro!
Crowd were hit and miss, mostly hit to be fair. Some people who seemed to be late arrivals to metal gigs just don’t understand moshpit etiquette, that’s all I’ll say.
First three songs blew my mind. Creeping Death’s “Die! Die! Die!” chant was louder than the band where I was, great fun! Whiskey is not a great tune but it is a nice nod to Philo.
Only one Ole chant, one per gig is fine with me! ha.
Spent most of the day smiling like a cartoon character.
Great day overall, (beer & food was overpriced yet again…need a system of getting drinks in to these gigs!). Getting in and out from/to city was easy.
Kudos (and lots and lots of money!) to the all the organisers.
were we at the same gig? What a letdown, I’ve been to more Metallica gigs than I can remember over the years & I will be giving them a miss after this showing for a long time to come.
Maybe if this was your first metal gig or first time seeing Metallica you’d be impressed but it was a passion-free performance, lacking any spark and very Spinal Tap. If you’ve seen them once in Dublin in the last ten years, this was pretty much the same show.
OMG I have been there, done that over the years, this was an incredible concert, I can’t believe anyone could possibly have anything negative to say. Hetfield looked and sounded like a 20 year old it was incredible. I loved all the solos, so old school!
Michelle, Het looked WRECKED and really gettin on in age, a sad sight but fuck it happens to us all, it was far from an “incredible” show, I am a hardcore Metallica fan but felt somewhat cheated leaving Marlay Park, 80 yoyo’s for a set list I could’ve predicted in the pub beforehand
[...] had seen them supporting Metallica in Marlay Park the previous week and it was a savage show, I had no doubts that this guy was part [...]