Metallica/Osaka,Japan 2003

METALLICA returned to Japan in 2003 after overcoming the threat of disbanding. A masterpiece live album that records the scene is here. This work includes the performance “November 13, 2003: Osaka Castle Hall”. It is a superb audience recording. After their revival, the official download of livemetallica.com became common, but in 2003 it was before its establishment. This is a live album from an era when underground records were still important. First of all, let’s check the position of the show among the dates that were revisited after the longest break of 5 and a half years at the time. ・November 6th + 7th: National Yoyogi Stadium・November 9th: Makomanai Ice Arena・November 11th: Saitama Super Arena・November 13th: Osaka Castle Hall [This work]・November 14th: Nagoya Rainbow Hall A total of 6 performances. Despite being the first in 5 and a half years, they toured huge venues in various places. The Osaka performance in this work was the final concert of that. This work, which recorded such a show, is a superb audience recording that is extremely clear and realistic. It is not a close-contact type that can be mistaken for a sound board, but on the contrary, the clarity is unbelievable that it was recorded across a space. The core that reaches straight is strong all the way, and the details due to the transparent air are also super clear. While the guitar riffs surge with tremendous force, each one is clear to the vibe. Of course, the vocals are clear to every word of the lyrics, and the bass drum hits are also at the texture level up to each hit. Although the tone is definitely an audience recording, the vividness is a great recording that goes beyond the common sense of customer records. Even more wonderful is the audience noise. The cheers of joy at the revival of the monster are engraved in a super-realistic way, but it is extremely neat. In the intro of “Harvester Of Sorrow”, the shout of “Hey! hey!” shakes the huge space of Osaka Castle, and the roar like a mountain that suddenly rises during the song is also super spectacular. Despite this, there are almost no cheers or screams up close, and it does not interfere with the performance or singing at all. Countless shouts and screams gather into fine particles, which become a big swell. Thrash metal overpowers and cuts that huge and delicate mass…. The combination of this sense of scale and sound quality is miraculous. No matter how much livemetallica.com emits sound board sound sources, this spectacle can never be experienced unless it is an audience recording. And only the best ones. This work is a great recording that allows you to fully enjoy the pleasure of such a customer record. Such a sound depicts the great performance of the monster METALLICA, who has raised the signal of resurrection. At the time, it was a comeback after overcoming the crisis depicted in the movie “Some Kind of Monster,” but that wasn’t all. After the historic hit of “Black Album,” they pursued a heavy mid-tempo feel with a single-minded groove. At one point, they even went so far as to say, “Maybe we should change our name to Rocktalica,” though I don’t know how much of a joke that was. However, that all changed in 2003, and they returned to “fast metal.” They gave us a metal show that regained their aggression and explosive feeling. Their attitude was clear from the set. They completely eliminated the “Load” and “Reload” numbers that they had been so proud of (only “Fuel” was featured at other shows), and pushed forward with songs from before “Black Album” plus new songs. The refreshing feeling of speed is very comfortable. The “St. Anger” numbers are also valuable. METALLICA is a band that affirms their entire career, so they don’t seal it even now, but they still rarely play it. However, in this work, they performed three songs, “Frantic”, “The Unnamed Feeling” and “St. Anger”, just after the release. The most valuable of them all is “The Unnamed Feeling”. This song has not been revived in later years, and it is a rare number that was only performed a dozen times at the time. And even more than that is the RAMONES cover “Commando”. It is a very rare number that has only been played a few times on one hand, and of course it is only on this day in Japan. You can enjoy it with the best sound. In addition to the set, this work has plenty of real listening points. For example, “Harvester Of Sorrow” at the beginning. The super heavy sound pushes forward in the mids, but suddenly the PA blows up in the middle. The guitar is completely dead, and the song progresses with the swell of the bass and drumming. It takes less than 30 seconds to recover, but METALLICA themselves are unfazed as if nothing happened, while the venue is in an uproar over the sudden event. You can experience that mood in a super-realistic way. The opposite of the trouble is a pleasant surprise after the show. The enthusiastic performance in response to the three encores ends with “Breadfan”, but the members appear for the fourth time to the audience who are still excited. Of course, they don’t play any songs, but each member takes the microphone and greets them. This is the first time in five and a half years. The audience has been waiting for METALLICA’s return, and the words “Thank you” and “I’ll be back soon!” from the members, who were moved by the hospitality despite the blank, are also hot. This work is a superb recording that allows you to enjoy every word of it super clearly. It has been 16 years since the scene of this work. The last visit to Japan was in 2013, and six years have passed since this work. Moreover, there is no prospect of the next visit to Japan until now. Unlike SLAYER, they are not hinting at retirement, so I believe they will come again, but even so, I am still waiting for a long time. That is why I can’t help but imagine their next visit to Japan with the joy that flows from this work. Yes, this work is not only a masterpiece of a live album, but it is also a work that touches my heart now. Live at Osaka-Jo Hall, Osaka, Japan 13th November 2003 TRULY PERFECT SOUND(from Original Masters) Disc 1(67:46) 1. Ecstasy Of Gold 2. Blackened 3. The Four Horsemen 4. Harvester Of Sorrow ★PA ga Touki (2:15-2:41) 5. Sanitarium (Sanitarium) 6. Robert Trujillo Bass Solo 7. For Whom The Bell Tolls 8. Frantic 9. Sad But True 10. The Unnamed Feeling 11. Seek And Destroy Disc 2(70:35) 1. One 2. Battery Encore 1 3. St. Anger 4. Nothing Else Matters 5. Master Of Puppets Encore 2 6. Creeping Death 7. Enter Sandman Encore 3 8. Commando Ramones Cover 9. Breadfan James Hetfield – Guitar, Vocal Lars Ulrich – Drums Kirk Hammett – Guitar Robert Trujillo – Bass