Published by Cel Manero from Global One Media, Inc.
METALLICA’s James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett, and Robert Trujillo have shared their thoughts on their performance at the Power Trip festival over the past weekend.
The Power Trip festival, a three-day extravaganza of rock and heavy metal, had its debut on Friday, October 6, featuring sets from IRON MAIDEN and GUNS N’ ROSES. The weekend continued with performances by JUDAS PRIEST and AC/DC on Saturday, October 7, and will conclude with TOOL and METALLICA on October 8.
Hetfield and his fellow band members arrived at the Power Trip festival ahead of their performance to enjoy the music of other bands. METALLICA’s veteran photographer, Ross Halfin, captured them having a fantastic time while watching JUDAS PRIEST’s performance.
In the latest episode of METALLICA’s official podcast, “The Metallica Report,” James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett, and Robert Trujillo shared their experiences from the Power Trip festival. Hetfield mentioned an interesting fact about Lars Ulrich, METALLICA’s drummer, revealing that Lars had never been much of a rehearser until about four or five years ago when he started taking rehearsals more seriously, even rehearsing for four days for a two-hour set.
For the Power Trip festival, Hetfield and Trujillo suggested finding a rehearsal space closer to the festival site to allow them to watch other bands. They found a location at the polo grounds of the Empire Polo Club. Hetfield expressed his gratitude that Lars was on board with the idea, allowing them to have rehearsals closer to the festival. The band could rehearse and then enjoy watching other bands perform, such as IRON MAIDEN, making for an inspiring and enjoyable experience.
Hetfield also emphasized the inspiration they draw from the other bands that played at the festival, noting the age of some of the musicians and their continued energy and enthusiasm despite the challenges of performing in extreme heat. He recalled the early days when they used to hang out at festivals, playing their set and then watching other bands. This event allowed them to relive those moments, with fans even watching them as they enjoyed the performances of other bands. Hetfield concluded that they are fans at heart and had a fantastic weekend being part of the festival.
METALLICA brought the Power Trip festival to a grand conclusion with a 16-song set that spanned their entire career.
The band initiated their performance with “Whiplash” from the 1983 album “Kill ‘Em All” and subsequently delivered two tracks from their second album, “Ride The Lightning”: “Creeping Death” and “For Whom The Bell Tolls.”
An unexpected twist came when METALLICA performed one of their most significant hits, “Enter Sandman,” as the fourth song of the set. This was followed by two tracks from their latest album, “72 Seasons”: “Lux Æterna” and “Too Far Gone?” The setlist further featured “Fuel” from the 1997 release “Reload” and “Orion” from the 1986 album “Master Of Puppets.”
During the performance, Kirk Hammett experienced a mishap with the intro to “Nothing Else Matters,” admitting his mistake to the audience by saying, “Sorry, guys. I did it again. I screwed it up again. I’m gonna play it again for you.” After taking a few steps back, he returned to the microphone and remarked, “You know, it’s really hot in this desert,” followed by a forced laugh. This wasn’t the first time Hammett had a similar slip-up; he had previously made mistakes with the intro to “Nothing Else Matters” at METALLICA’s sold-out show at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium in early August and at the Boston Calling festival in May 2022.
Additionally, Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo treated the audience to a jam that Trujillo mentioned they wrote specifically for the Power Trip festival, titled “Funk In The Desert.”
METALLICA had previously performed at the Empire Polo Grounds in 2011 as part of the West Coast installment of the “Big Four” event, which also featured ANTHRAX, MEGADETH, and SLAYER.