Metallica opened their Life Burns Faster residency at Sphere in Las Vegas with a set that reached beyond the obvious staples. The headline return was ...And Justice for All, performed for the first time since 2014. The opening night gave longtime listeners a reason to watch the song choices as closely as the venue's enormous screens.
eLyrics original concert-themed illustration; this is not a photograph of Metallica's Sphere residency.
An opening night with several catalogue surprises
The residency began with Battery, while Now That We're Dead also returned after several years away from the set. The Call of Ktulu was dedicated to late bassist Cliff Burton. Master of Puppets closed the performance, connecting the less frequently played material with one of the band's most familiar live songs.
The return of ...And Justice for All is especially notable because of its long absence. Still, one opening-night selection does not establish a fixed residency setlist. Fans attending later dates should treat this show as an indication of the possibilities, not a promise that every song will recur.
The room is part of the arrangement
The Sphere venue surrounds an audience with a large immersive display, creating a different setting from a conventional arena. That changes the visual canvas available to a band, although the songs and playing remain central to the experience. A venue's technical capacity alone cannot tell a reader what it felt like to be at the show.
Life Burns Faster moves from announcement to performance
Our earlier coverage of Metallica's Sphere residency announcement laid out the plan before the opening performance. Now there is a first show to discuss, with further dates extending through the remainder of the year and into the next.
For anyone considering a visit, current official listings are the place to confirm ticket availability and performance dates. Social clips can offer a glimpse of the presentation, but a short recording usually shows only one part of an evening.
Las Vegas is also drawing attention through other forms of live-music coverage, including Jennifer Lopez's planned concert-film broadcast. Metallica's contribution is a residency that has started with a deep-catalogue return, leaving plenty of room for curiosity about what follows.
