A lot of comments are being repeated in the video, so to all who want to comment on the following: - Kirk and James not using traditional amps, but fractals - Lars using 4 drum kits - Subwoofers in the towers - The Munich documentary behind the scenes of the tour I am up to speed! 😂 To all of the people who are giving me crap about being late, since you all have never once been late to anything in your lives… 🙄 I live 20 minutes away from MetLife Stadium and have gone to this stadium and the old Giants stadium for football games, concerts, and other events for years. I live less than 25 miles away and left my house at 4:30 because I have something called a day job. I left as early as I could, knowing that I probably would miss WVH at the very least. I am not a salaried employee where I could just take a personal day. I’m a freelancer, meaning if I don’t work, I don’t get paid. I needed to work and my day job as a photographer requires me to be contracted for jobs that I cannot get out of. The point being, it should not have taken 3 1/2 hours to travel less than 25 miles when I have made the journey to MetLife countless times in less than an hour, even in rush-hour. I also want to make it perfectly clear that it’s not Metallicas fault for the traffic. Sure, there was plenty of additional traffic, but I drove on rt 3 on football Sunday with not even half of this severe traffic. The blame lies with MetLife’s horrendous parking facilities and how slow they processed the cars. I find it pretty amazing that the people who are just here to flame are saying dumb shit like "lol you got bad seats bro" or "haha you get what you paid for" can walk right into the point and still miss it. What do you think is the more logical line of thinking: Demanding that a band worth hundreds of millions of dollars with top of the line staff can make sure everyone can hear them in their concerts, or made pathetic attempts to troll and flame someone so you can get a 15 second dopamine rush to say you "got" a guy on KZfaq?

I'm so fortunate to have seen Metallica in 85 ,stood 2 feet away from James throughout the show which was in an old bowling alley turned into a bar,and It cost me $7.50 Armored Saint and Wasp also played, awesome show

Man that's so frustrating that people are paying nearly a grand for even higher level seats and the show sounds like this. Appreciate hearing your perspective as an audio engineer

I am a Metallica fan and this is the most constructive video review I have ever seen. Thanks a lot for your knowledge.

Pantera was shafted the most when it came to the sound. For an example, they played a song that I thought was “I’m broken” then literally right after I heard Phil say “This next one is called I’m Broken” I couldn’t hear damn near anything

I remember seeing Metallica for ~70 euros back in 2008. Standing ticket, came in nice and early, got to watch the show mid stage from right behind the little fan zone barrier. Even back then I thought it was quite the pretty penny 😅 holy crap have prices gotten insane.

The sound wasn't too bad in section 115, but during the Summer Sanitarium tour at Veterans Stadium in 2003, I got a lot of that sound bouncing that you are talking about. We also missed Wolfgang and all but 3 songs of Pantera on Friday because of that crazy traffic.

Ive seen them 16 times and the sound was always good to excellent. Not going to any shows this year, prices have gotten way overpriced. Im not spending almost $2000 for 4 of us to need binoculars to see the stage.

I really agree with all the explanation you did and actually had the impression that there was something not quite right with the sound when I checked some videos posted from their latest concerts. Hope someone from their management team could see your video and probably get to fix that big issue. I am from Perú and we have seen Metallica twice here in Lima, both were really awesome shows. The second show in 2014 in Perú during the "By Request" tour is actually uploaded in the Metallica You Tube channel. That was a really freaking great setlist, you should check it out! Greetings! 🤘

Metallica has been my favourite band since I was about 15. I'm now 43. I've seen them 5 times. But recently ive got that annoyed with them I doubt I'll ever pay to see them again. No 1) the amount they charge for meet and greets is disgusting (and James now refuses to even go on them) no 2) the amount they charge for this tickets is just ludicrous. This is a band worth nearly 1 billion dollars. Its just greed!!!

I was at the Phoenix show and had pretty much the same issue. Nosebleed seats and a lot of echoing going on as well. It wasn’t until the next show when we were upgraded to the bottom level that I can finally hear everything clearly.

Wow I enjoyed watching this because your experience was just like mine. I also missed most of Pantera waiting to park and making my way up to the 300 section. I don’t have any experience setting up sound for venues like this but i immediately realized the problem with the circular centered stage and PA speakers pointed 360 degrees at all the stadium walls. The sound seemed marginally better on Sunday. But I’m not sure if it actually was or if my brain just learned to discern the intended sound from the echo by then. They sounded much better on their previous Hardwired tour. But this setup allows them to sell more tickets to more available seats. I downloaded the soundboard recordings and the echo problem is even evident on that. 😮

The best stage setup in my opinion was the “world magnetic tour” when promoting death magnetic. That was epic.

at least you dont have to worry about this video getting copyright flagged lol

Yup. We were there in the 200 section Friday and all 3 bands sounded terrible. Very muddy and challenging to make out discernible frequencies. We didn’t have the severe echoes like your were experiencing. That’s wild! And don’t get me started in trying to get an Uber out of there after the show.

its funny cause i watched this whole video of them breaking down the audio saying it was perfection, and it was crafted so that every seat in the house had perfect audio experience, hahaha but yes i was at the rammstein tour and that show is pure perfection! nothing can touch a rammstein show when it comes to visual or audio!

Thanks for the explanation. I was in Section 410 2 or 3 rows from the very top at Cowboy stadium this past weekend. First time seeing Metallica. Cost me over $250 for both nights. I was trying to be that guy rocking out but i lost them many times. After over 30 years listening to Metallica, albums and live recordings, I know every note in my soul and i couldn't keep up with what they were playing. Figured that was just the nature of being in the nosebleeds. Still an amazing experience but sucks to know it could've been better.

I was recently at an audio system calibration workshop. I had the chance to listen to and talk with Bob McCarthy. He mentioned that there were some issues in certain venues, but overall, the tour was successful for the sound system. Additionally, 90% of the audience was able to hear a stereo mix, whereas typically this percentage listens to concerts in mono. I'm really sorry that your experience was bad, and I hope you have a better experience soon.

Saw Metallica several times between the ages of 16-25, Im now 48. I never paid more than $40-65 for tickets. I wanted to catch them here in San Antonio a few years back w/ Hardwired to Self Destruct and the cheapest tickets were $500 and at the very back. I can get a better experience watching it on my home theater system for pennies to the dollar on my electric bill. I love Metallica but the cost for concerts are ridiculous. I'd be fine paying $200-300 at most for mid range seats but thats not even an option.

i was lucky enough to see them at download this year, where they used half of the ringed stage with the traditional stage design. the pillars were spaced out much much more and that combined with the sound coming from literally everywhere made for an amazing experience. I’m sorry your experience wasn’t what you paid for :(

i want to go with my dad but we can’t do both days. which day would you say was your favorite in terms of setlist?

The Metallica stage set up reminds me of U2's Claw stage back in 2008-2009. It was in the round. Very busy stage and seating was a mix of general admission and reserved seating.

For the Arlington show I originally had a 300 section ticket like you but went online Friday afternoon and the box office put up a bunch of 100 section tickets, so I got front row for $140. The sound was great from down front man, I really lucked out. What I'm hearing in your video is night and day different from how it sounded near the floor.

Damn I didn’t even think about this. I was very lucky and was sitting at 103 in the first row but I can’t imagine how frustrating the whole experience must have been. And you are spot on with the traffic as someone who has to travel on route 3 almost everyday I wanted to die being stuck in the parking lot for hours 💀

Agree with everything you said. I took all this into consideration before deciding on going or not. But live performances are always hit and miss. But I do agree a show/label as big as Metallica, they should get the best sound engineers. Hopefully they come back and do another tour soon and do better.

This would be infuriating! My girlfriend and I saw U2 in Indianapolis for their Joshua Tree anniversary tour and we were in the nosebleeds dead center of the stage. They had line arrays near the back of the floor by the sound engineer facing up and around the backend of the stadium towards us and it sounded great. Crystal clear.

I’ve been to many Metallica shows. I’ve even met them four times. Some of the most amazing experiences of my life. The last one I was at was on the Death Magnetic tour. It was in an arena like the one you’re in here. There wasn’t echo issues, but the sound was horrendous. I couldn’t make out anything being played. It was just a wall of mud. The only chance I would ever go to a concert again is if it’s outdoors and I am close to the stage. That will never happen though because the price would be way too high now. I can afford it, but on principle, I’ll never pay those kind of prices.

I feel your pain. I’ve had a very similar experience at an outdoor show before. I was angry, but many around me seemed like the show was find to them.

Thanks for making this video. I was in Arlington and it was so bad. I was in the 400's. I was a minute plus into some songs before I realized what they were playing and I know the catalog well. SoFi attendees will understand after this weekend

I had the same issue in their show in sofi stadium Los Angeles what made it worse was the giant screen was blocking the sounds so i didn’t hear much of the songs Friday :( but Sunday I moved locations to the lower levels and it was way better

It’s a damned shame to hear about the sound issues. I have seen Metallica 3 times, once in the mid 90’s and a couple of times in the early 2000’s two in amphitheater and one inside a arena, and they sounded great all times. Sound aside, it seems to me at least that their stage production and pyro game has really fallen off in the last few years. They used to known for crazy stage shows, and hella pyro, even after James got cooked and now its screens and limited pyro. They are still one of my favorite bands ever,but I think I’m done watching gigantic shows, I really prefer club and small theatre shows anymore.

You would think that a band such as that would have a top notch production that utilizes audio analysis software to predict the best possible speaker placement to get the best possible sound for their audience and I'm sure they do but it's unfortunate that concert goers are still subjected to a subpar live audio experience. I'm sure there are tons of variables that go into achieving this and I understand that not every venue will sound as good as others do. It's all really pretty fascinating stuff if you ask me thanks for giving your take on it 😊

Great video thanks for the info ! , do you think the 200 section would have bad audio ? Im tryina go to the show in mass

Yeah man, I’m sorry for the experience you had. I was in section 128 row 4 and it sounded like the the pro footage. I had no idea it was THAT bad for those up there. I just always make sure I’m in a good seat when it come to metallica, it was my 9/10th time seeing them.

The show at SoFi had similar echoes but if you wear ear plugs it makes it a lot better. It's probably due to the fact that they will dampen the reflections. Still as you mention, the issue is primarily a flaw with the stage design. The mix sounded great even in the 500s at SoFi when I had my plugs in. Kind of like listening to Active Noise Cancelling ear buds though it does have an isolating effect from the crowd. After going to a Ghost/Maiden concert years back that left me feeling deaf, I always bring ear plugs.

We had the same issues in Amsterdam back in April. Now the Johan Cruijf (Amsterdam) Arena is notorious for being an "echo chamber". Back in 2019 for Metallica's summer tour even when they used a more traditional stage, you couldn't hear a single thing, only echoes. As for their gear, Kirk & James and I believe Rob as well, all use Fractal amp modelers. The signal is split so 1 signal goes directly to FOH, and the other signal goes to some speaker cabs and their in-ear monitors for monitoring. Kirk & James both have guitar techs backstage that switch between the different patches during the set. Kirk only uses remote wah's spread throughout the stage. However if kirk can't get to a wah pedal in time, his guitar tech has him covered.

Omg your videos are exactly how it sounded for me on night 2 and your right it literally sounded better coming of off the speakers we weren’t even meant to be listening to! I think the main issue was the overhang speakers (I was in section 310) themselves were also just off by a good second so no matter what we had extra echo to add into other issues

I saw Metallica in 2009 on their tour for the Death Magnetic record. They also had a "stage in the center" setup with speakers on every corner of the rectangular setup. Sound was amazing and massive and we were in the upper rows as well. But that was in a 12k seats arena and not a massive stadium. That "punch in the gut" from Lars's drums you talked about was stunning. Kickdrums and both floor toms had so damn much low end, it was such a great experience. But I think the best sounding concert I have ever experienced was Rammstein last summer. So massive, yet so clear. The band itself tight as hell. BTW: There is this video from Metallica's visit to Hamburg here in Germany where they go into detail about the stage design, sound and setup. Thought this might be interesting for you, Chris. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/oJaGgcieubbMe2w.html

Thanks so much for the insight. Glad I convinced my cousin to spend a little more & not get the rafter seat tickets. My only gripe with the footage I've seen from this tour is the circular stage setup & the fact that All Nightmare Long isn't on the setlist. Don't want to complain too much though. I've been a fan since I was in middle school so I'm still super stoked to see them live 🤘

I’m sitting up top for the St. Louis show. I’m worried now lol you think it being inside of a dome instead of a outside stadium would make any difference?

Very informative video, thank you for the review. I'm seeing them up in Boston at Gillette stadium in August for the Friday night show, I got tickets in the 100s but directly behind the end zone, you think I'll have these same echo issues ??

I'm just an audio enthusiastic and when I saw that stage design I was like: "I think there's a problem with that...". And now you describe it very well! I hope some of the Metallica crew watches this video and take feedback for everyone's comments. Also I hope you have a better experience for your next Metallica concert. I have attended to one of their concerts (with regular setup) and I had A BLAST! I can say it was better that Rammstein's setup (HUGE Rammstein fan here, have attended to bunch of their concerts). Thanks for uploading this!

Kirk, James, and Rob all have techs who run their effects on the side of the stage. Kirk does have wah pedals though on stage in several places so he can modulate the wah effect when needed. I was at Montreal in the 400 section and Pantera was nearly unlistenable, very bad echo. Metallica cleaned it up a lot and didn't sound bad to me. I've been to 13 shows and this was middle of the road probably sound wise.

Was elated to see them coming to St. Louis. Was DASHED when I got the pricing profiles. I realize that "things aren't what they used to be" but my Gawd - having to shell out the money that's half a year of mortgage payments to see people who's music I revere? I hate that the "real world" has caught up with me but alas - here it is. What a GREAT breakdown on a breakdown of technological perspectives. With the pricing in the higher ranges, this will be dealt with eventually, but what it takes - are VIDEOS LIKE THIS ONE - where there's a clear, cogent, series of facts and showcasing of the problem. I look forward to your future videos and dude - I was so with you here when you mentioned that BLACKENED's fuse was lit. THANKS!

I had a similar issue at the Georgia Dome for Guns ‘n Roses’ Not in This Lifetime tour. I was in the upper deck at about the near side 40-yard line to the end zone stage. All I heard was echo. I just chalked it up to the Dome being designed to amplify crowd noise for football games through echoes off the stadium surfaces instead of being designed for concert acoustics. I didn’t even think to blame GnR’s sound crew.

I went when they were in Arlington, TX and I sat on the first level. And all I gotta say is wow, it was the best sounding concert I’ve ever been to both night. Could hear every single note from every instrument

They still have a lot of time to refine the stage set and make the necessary changes. Most big bands on long world tours do that. They throw everything they can think of at a production in the beginning, then they realise what works and what doesn't and they streamline it.

Thank you for this video. As a sound engineer, I have been curious about how this would work out… The entire set up of this stage has been intriguing since I first saw it in videos. I will be seeing them in Detroit in November, now I’m curious if I will have line arrays facing me or the opposite direction. I do have a seat down near the floor though.

What kind of tickets are u buying, i got like 6 separate GA tickets (floor tickets) for like $1200 total

The sound issue was the same at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. I tried listening without and with Eargasm plugs. I haven’t seen them live since the Load tour. I was so excited but it was the worst concert I’ve attended due to that set design.

I saw Metallica play for 4 hours on the Black album tour for $18. I remember getting 3rd row Ozzfest tickets, for $55 maybe $65 tops, and that was to see 30 bands or something. My goodness times have changed.

Kudos to you , for being a long time Metallica fan , and also for explaining how sound works from a perspective of a sound engineer. I saw them in Orlando a couple of years ago over the July 4th weekend in a football stadium and I had the same experience as you , was sitting all the way at the end in a third level and the sound was bouncing off and the echo was terrible throughout the stadium

Is this the system that is compatible with ear buds? I heard that large stadium shows may move over to that so people could control their own volume. Did that happen? is this one of those systems? I noticed they don't have Big Mick or the Midas board.

I'm going to SoFi next week to see them and I hope to god it doesn't sound like this. This may be my last time seeing a band in a huge venue like this!

Fun fact, their live sound was already bad when they used a monodirectional stage. My first live gig was in the early 2000s, and I could not pound down enough beer to be able to ignore the absolute mush of noise that came out of the speakers that day. Needless to say I went home about halfway through the concert drunk as **** and went on a rant about their show for the rest of that year.

Great video, and great explanation. Planing to go to see them next year in Poland - standing tickets. I have very high expectations of metallica's live sound.I have seen them 4 times so far. 3 times in a traditional stage design and once in a rounded stage design, and they always blew me away with the awesome sound they had, balanced, very powerful and crystal clear in most cases. Ok normaly at the start of the gig, they twickle with the settings to find the optimal setting, and then when the 2nd or 3rd song hits, the sound is nearly perfect. Feeling the power of the kick drum and razorsharp massive guitars is essential, so you actually feel that you are witnessing metallica. The stage itself looks awesome, but gotta say I am more fan of a traditional stage design. The indoor stage design that they had from 2016 to 2018 with the cubes, was awesome so was the sound, but those were arenas up to 20k capacity, so much easier to get a great sound. Also I really hope that the ticket prices drop at some point in the future, because ticket prices since the end of covid are just insane, for all bands not just metallica. But I guess that the demand is there, and when the demand is there the prices are sick.

I saw Bassnectar's 360º show on NYE 2019/2020 - similar idea, just without the snake pit in the middle, and I was similarly near the top of the venue, but it honestly sounded great, I'm wondering what the difference is. The arena was a lot smaller than that stadium, does that make it better?

I was there for both arlington shows, like 3 or 4 people back from the stage. Sounded great, just thought kirk was mixed a little low. But overall had an incredible time

When I saw Rammstein at Soldier Field last year, I was very impressed with the clarity and lack of echo from my section. A friend of mine was sitting higher up and farther away from the stage, and he had a positive experience, too. This setup that Metallica is using is a lot like their 2000s arena setup, just a supersized version of it. Just a terrible way to do sound in that big of an environment. The arrays are just way too far away from the outer sections, for it not to echo around a football stadium.

We had 100 level seats and it was very hard to hear vocals and kirk’s solos for sure. We were slightly under the overhang in section 106 so I attributed it to the way the sound was bouncing off of the concrete etc. Thanks for sharing. This makes sense why we couldn’t hear that well.

Question tho. How does the atmosphere affect sound waves. Wind, humidity stuff like that?

I went to night 1 in Dallas and had the exact experience. First time seeing them and ended up being one of the worst concert experience I've ever had because of the terrible audio. Thank you for justifying my frustration.

Exact same experience in Dallas, 400s section couldn’t hear Pantera at all, then when I couldn’t hear Metallica during CREEPING DEATH I was pissed. Saw them in 2021 at the same venue with a normal stage and it was the best sound of my life. Tried to go to bar areas but everyone had already frolicked down because of the horrible sound. I was eventually able to sneak down for the last 6 songs and made it for Orion to a random 100s section and just stood and could see them perfectly and it sounded beautiful. Didn’t have Sunday ticket so went to the live movie and the movie was a better experience than those 5 mile away seats for sure

Thank God I bumped into this video. I live in Turkey so it is financially almost impossible to buy the pit ticket or the more expensive ones. And because they're getting old, I wanna see them live once before they don't tour anymore. So I was considering buying the most affordable tickets but if that's gonna be the experience, maybe I should wait. Thank you for this video.

What's up with all the empty space on the main floor? I hate in the round stage sets.

I was there friday, and you're right, the sound was horrible. The playing(minus kirk screwing up a lot), was top notch. Wvh and pantera had it worse than metallica soundwise, couldn't hear a note zakk played, so im excited to see them in va beach. I was in the nosebleeds with you. What i found strange was that on occasion i would get brief glimpses of clear audio.

The USD is in the tank. It’s too expensive to do anything.

Same thing happened to me in Stl over the weekend. Spent 2 hours trying to get to the dome and find parking which I never did, missed Pantera and just gave up and went home

Hey Chris, a layman of the subject here. Would you know if the acoustics of the stadium can influence this sound aspect? I read, for example, that the acoustics of the So-Fi Stadium are something "chronic"

Thank you for expressing so many of our sentiments about the sound of this show. Metallica is one of my fave bands, and it was disappointing to not hear them well. We sat in the 300s Friday and in the 200s Sunday. The 300s sucked indeed and even the 200s weren’t loud enough for me. This music needs to be loud enough to enjoy and feel. Let’s hope this feedback helps them make improvements for next time. No pun intended. 🤘🏼

Damn man that sucks. This is the first time I've heard of this happening. They use those fractal axe fx things now cause they are better for touring according to their techs. That echo would've been so annoying. You think they'd have the best people to figure out this problem. I agree btw about five finger death punch. I have no idea how they became so popular.

I stumbled upon your video today, as I ponder whether I want to see these shows in St. Louis. Here's my concern: It's the old, crappy dome where the Rams used to play. I've been eyeing what I can afford seat wise, and I've been maxing myself out basically at the upper end of the lower bowl, probably in the corner. With the stage design as it is here, will that be a safe bet, or should I just avoid altogether because of the dome? I've only seen football games there; never a concert. Thoughts?

Do you think it would sound better or worse for closed roof stadiums?

Rammstein have the perfect stadium stage design. It’s not in the round. It’s a monstrosity and there are towers in the middle of the floor with additional amps that also shoot flames into the sky. They have an amazing sound engineer because it is so loud, yet it’s absolutely crystal clear. The bass shakes you to the core. You can feel it in every cell of your body. You can hear them play 10 miles away & they’re even picked up on the Richter Scale. I’ve never experienced something so menacing yet beautiful. Front row at Rammstein was the most intense experience apart from taking DMT.

I was lucky, spent well under $400 for both nights to be on the floor. Sound was fantastic. I have been to more than a few Giants Stadium concerts and higher up they’ve always sucked. I would not go to that stadium unless I am low. I’ve learned from being there. Sorry it wasn’t great, was amazing from where I was.

I had a feeling the audio was going to be terrible in person just from the layout of the line arrays. If I’m not mistaken they’re running guitars DI via the Axe Efx III (multiple units per guy for seamless patch changes). They were running reference cabs onstage on the last tour cycle to fill the stage up, but it looks like they went back to straight DI. They have techs controlling their wahs (Zack doing the same also), and doing patch changes per song. The popping you heard could have possibly been wireless interference. Regardless, sorry you had a semi shitty experience. I’m a professional musician, always working, and much like yourself either don’t have the time or limited funds for the bigger budget shows. Thanks for posting an honest review of your experience, from both the fan and audio engineer perspective. Cheers bro!!

Same thing happened to us at SOFI, I heard the roar of the crowd for Pantera from the car trying to get into a parking lot and pay 125 dollars… first time I see them also, but I loved every minute.

in the round works great in arenas, not in huge stadiums

I was also at the 310 section both days in row 7 and I heard everything very clear and very balanced. it seems that if the seats are located higher than row 15 the sounds becomes only echoes from the other noise bleeds. its a shame you had to experience this because metallica put an amazing performance those two days!

Mate it still sounded good to me even off your phone, just be grateful you got to see them live. Still waiting for them to come to Australia after they canned their tour

Man I feel you, I was at the show in SoFi stadium and I was supposed to be in the nosebleeds but was able to stand in the 300 section and even then I could hear James but there were still some gaps in terms of sound

I was in the 100 section and paid $90 for my tickets. The show was incredible and the sound was amazing. I’ve seen Metallica several times and every show was excellent. No complaints here. Also this was the first show of the North American tour. Whatever issues will be sorted out as the tour goes on. The set list was AMAZING. Battery, Master of Puppets, Creeping Death (opener) Orion, Harvester of Sorrow, Nothing else Matters. Wow 🔥🤘🖤💛

I was at that same show but I had tickets for seats in the 100 row. From where I was, there was barely any echo when they were playing. When they were just talking it was a little weird but when they played the songs it was almost perfect. I had a great time at both shows, sorry to hear you didn't on Friday.

Sitting lower at the Arlington Show in the South end zone behind the soundboard no issues. My only complaint was I felt like i was sitting to far away from the stage. great show and set list chers

...yes Chris...... This band was and still is all about Money ...... Nothing else ,,,, Lot's of great underground bands out there waiting for your support !..... Here in Amsterdam was the same issues ... I wasn't there !!!! ,,,,, i've seen Metalica 10 years ago after a Slipknot set .....is like 30minutes after Metallica i says ,,,, ok , Let's go , i'm out !.... Keep it up CHRIS .....

I couldn’t fathom seeing them now. I saw them 12 times between 1986-1998. The bookends were my favorite shows. First, opening for Ozzy on the Puppets tour about 15 feet away from Cliff. The last show, was a promo theater gig right before Garage Inc came out. An all covers set. So, that’s where I drew the line in seeing Metallica ever again. Absolutely impossible to top those two shows.

I wish I saw this video before our show in Los Angeles last night. We were also way up and the sound was horrible. Oh well, I guess I have to watch your stream to experience the show. Thank you for posting (even though you don't like 5FPD)

I'm glad I splurged for the 100 level at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. Metallica and Pantera sounded awesome. At least you heard the songs. TX Stadium around 2000 - in addition to James not performing due to a hurt back, there were NO extra speakers set up, just blasting from the stage area as far as I could tell. We had high seats and had to strain to hear distant sounding music. Still cool to see the rest of the band, Kid Rock, and Korn all playing together to try to save the day though. 2023 Arlington was my second opportunity to see my favorite band. Wasn't sure what the set up was so I didn't want to take chances. Was worth every penny. And yeah, James Hetfield must be in great shape.

Identical experience last night in Arlington, Texas at AT&T stadium, just a cavernous wash anywhere above level 3, I tried to hang around the hallways of the lower levels with binoculars bc the sound was better but security periodically would move me. The floor was not filled, those tickets cost way too much. The cheap seats were packed & got the worst audio. They were shooting this show and beaming it out to movie theaters, and of course they got a good mix, so I’ll have to watch that to understand what I saw. It’s like I was watching a Metallica show. Not at a Metallica show. Watching folks in a coliseum from a cloud aerial vantage point above the speakers up where I was disconnected from the shit. But hanging around the lower levels let me hear just how thunderous the $$$ tickets were getting. It’s too bad capitalism is the only system we can find that works, humanity is outrageous. Long live Metallica Short live shit audio

I was there both nights and yes that traffic was absolutely horrendous..I grew up in north jersey now down south and I can tell you I hate going back up there. Besides that I sat in section 218 the first night and the sound was muddy some songs came in clearer than others but it did sound like the Soundwaves were riding over each other..sunday I did sit at the tippy top back against the concrete section 314..and it was worse..I don't remember it choing that bad tho. The worst part was the hour and 20 trying to get out of the lot both nights. Overall they put on a hell of a show and give it their all for the fans..don't know where they get the energy to go non-stop no breaks..only wish they did encores.

I saw them in Gothenburg back in mid June this year, and that was AMAZING sound there, though I was sitting on a fairly low level. It was ca 70k first night, and ca 60k second night, despite fewer people the second night was far more energetic. Another note is that the second night in Gothenburg was probably my best ever (if not second best after a Saxon show) concert experience. As for the setlist in Gothenburg night 2 which was better than night 1, I gotta say that Whiplash is a perfect opener, and as well as I was in tears when No Leaf Clover played because it's my shared favourite Metallica with The Outlaw Torn. The Call of Ktulu for that matter is the second most mesmerizing song to hear live, though I prefer to listen to Orion, in this case Ktulu was an (almost)unbeatable track to experience live, except for The Bard's Song by Blind Guardian.

Hey Chris, excellent review and explanation of what was going on. I was at the Arlington, TX show on 08/20 and, like you, was unfortunate enough to be sitting between two line arrays close to the center of the field about 1/4 of the way up from the floor. Audio wasn't great at all and it took a bit to hear / comprehend what was being played. My additional complaint is about the use of the screens during the shows. Why, when you have so many cameras focused on the band, would you spend SO MUCH time displaying ridiculous graphics rather than shots of the band performing?!?!?! I still had a pretty decent view of the band when they were on my side of the donut. But when they were on the opposite side and, for those in the nose-bleed seats, we came to see the band...not random graphics. I've been a huge Metallica fan since the late '80s and would have really liked to hear more from their earlier years vs all the new stuff. I was paying attention to the crowd and the difference in excitement / movement / participation between something from Master of Puppets, Ride the Lightning, And Justice for All and their newer stuff...it was crazy!! Almost the entire crowd just stood there like "is this song almost over?" I know they need to promote their new material...but read the audience and change things up so they get what they paid for!

Going to see them in Seattle next year. Already got the time off approved. I was able to to get 100 level for about $300 for my single ticket. Most I have ever spent on a ticket.

Well, as an Aussie, I personally think you're lucky to be seeing them live! We'll never see them down here again. They postponed their last tour here when James went to rehab last time... we're STILL waiting for the rescheduled dates

Man thanks for making this video I was in level 306 and the sound was very disappointing and yes Friday night was bad it was a little better Sunday but it still had issues! So I’m downloading the concert on there website!lol

In the round setup needs a specific sound arrangement.i was at sofi stadium last night. Section 347 in middle way up. Sound was not the clearest.

Is there no roof on the stadium? Im glad i went with the single night ticket for Friday so i could get lower bowl. Two night tickets were outrageous for lower bowl. I got 20 rows back from the floor for $199 on Friday night in Detroit.

I remember seeing Foo Fighters at Wembley Stadium in 2008/9 the reverberant sound was awful in the higher tiers. Vowed to avoid stadium gigs from then on, unless i could get standing tickets in front of the arrays. Like someone said, i'll always take plugs now, 1, to keep my hearing a bit longer, 2, to make the gig sound better. You do feel a bit more detached depending on the severity of attenuation, but things sound so much better!

It's interesting that the floor seems to have a LOT of open space while the stands are full. Is that the case?

I was in Amsterdam and had the best experience ever for a concerts. I had regular standingtickets with no early entry and literally got to stand on the second row 1meter from the stage!