Metallica at the Prudential Center

I got to see Metallica on Sunday, the last night of their US tour with Machine Head and The Sword. It was my first Metallica concert. Here is my review:

The Sword opened in fine form, contrary to what many people said. They didn't take a lot of breaks and kept the energy flowing. It was nice to see a good young band opening for one of the biggest bands ever. They played some good songs from their new album like "How Heavy This Axe" and "Maiden, Mother, and Crone," and closed with "Freya." Great set.

Machine Head came on next, and they played an amazing set. They opened with "Clenching the Fists of Dissent," and followed it with "Imperium." Great one-two punch to start. Frontman Rob Flynn was incredibly engaging, the band was tight, and their setlist was killer. They shot through "Halo" and "Beautiful Mourning," two of the best songs from their latest album, and ended with the essential "Davidian." They got chants of "Machine Fuckin' Head!" from the crowd, and definitely gained some fans that night.

Metallica came in with a laser light show and opened with "That Was Just Your Life" and "The End of the Line." Then they went into some old classics, flying through "Creeping Death," "Harvester of Sorrow," and "One," before going back into new stuff with "All Nightmare Long" and "The Day That Never Comes." Their performance was spot-on except for one member: Lars Ulrich, who not only couldn't keep time to save his life, but also had to get up from his drumkit after every song and stretch his legs. However, the other three guys made up for his shortcomings with tight playing and plenty of stage presence. Closing out with "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)," "Nothing Else Matters," and "Enter Sandman," the crowd went wild for them. They came back for an encore of "Die Die My Darling," "Breadfan," and "Seek & Destroy." The last song began with an epic balloon drop. It was epic for two reasons. One, all the balloons were actually beach balls. Two, the beach balls were jet black. It was AWESOME!

I am quite glad to have finally seen one of the greatest bands in history. It was great to be a part of the last night of their performance.

Second round of cuts, and more adds

In the week and a half since my last round of cuts, I've gotten a little more definitive about some more albums. Here's my second set of cuts and adds:

Cuts:
Float by Flogging Molly - I've been listening to a lot more punk recently, and I've started to let other styles grow on me a little more. Yes, this album is great, but it's not really Top 10 material in my book.
The Dream by In This Moment - This is a disappointing sophomore album, in my opinion. In This Moment had so much ferocity on their debut, but they've reduced themselves to a hard rock act on this album. I understand the reasons for it, and I like this album as a rock album. But in my book, it doesn't hold a candle to Beautiful Tragedy.
Death Magnetic by Metallica - I gave it the due consideration it deserves. I was not impressed. It's decent, but they're trying too hard to restore themselves to the glory days, and it's just not going to happen.
Night Eternal by Moonspell - It's grown somewhat stale after a few more listens. I like it, but it lost some of the punch it had the first time around.
The Redshift by Omnium Gatherum - Another album that lost some of its punch. Yes, it's great, and I'm glad that they've gotten their sound fine-tuned. But it's not Top 10 material.
All Hope is Gone by Slipknot - The first time through this album was mind-blowing. By the time I got to the fourth, I was considerably more jaded. The best albums shouldn't have that happening.
Conquer by Soulfly - The guest artists make this record, but a band should be able to stand on its own and still be great. Soulfly is not demonstrating that here.

Adds:
Godspeed on the Devil's Thunder by Cradle of Filth - This album is terrifying on first listen. I do not know how Dani Filth comes up with such evil lyrical content, but when combined with his demonic screams, it's downright scary to behold.
The Way of All Flesh by Gojira - Anyone who didn't like Gojira before will love them now. Anyone who did love Gojira before will love them even more now. This album is a masterful piece of progressive metal.
Hammer Battalion by Unleashed - This album came out of nowhere and just bashed my head in. I had no idea there was another band as heavy as Amon Amarth out there, but Unleashed are that band, and this album is quite impressive.
The Cancer Empire by Zonaria - I really do like this album a lot, and I am impressed that Zonaria was able to avoid the trap of becoming a generic-sounding melodic death metal band. They added some good black metal elements to their sound, and it gives them some good diversity.

More cuts (and possibly adds) to come soon.