Greece, Athens - Metallica: M72 World Tour 2026

First stop of their tour, 16 years since the last time they played in Greece. More than 80K people in a show that was sold out in just a few hours in a country that does not normally sell out shows, and, when we do, we do not do it so fast and early (the tickets became available one year ago). The band made some mistakes, and Lars was the familiar Lars, but they had good energy and seemed to enjoy it (especially papa-Het). Metallica are in a league of their own when it comes to metal and popularity; no one is even close. For me, the setlist was very weak, with 1/3 of it featuring songs from the Black Album, which I dislike. Four ballads are also way too many for a metal concert. Then, there was a cover of "Zorba's Dance" and of another song by a Greek rock band (Trypes) that Rob and Kirk played, which I thought was a waste of time, but almost everyone else seemed to enjoy, so I am in the minority. Overall, I only really liked the two opening songs and the Seek & Destroy/Master of Puppets combo. The donut stage is not helping most of the people in the arena to see the band, which is why someone goes to a concert. The mobile phones are a curse. Anyway, I am glad that I saw them live, but I am even more glad that I did not have to pay for the ridiculously expensive ticket to the worst organizer ever. There were people that had to wait for more than one hour (!) to get water. I went to get beer and water during the songs that I didn't care for, so I had many opportunities to do so.


Setlist:

1. "Creeping Death"
2. "For Whom the Bell Tolls"
3. "Moth Into Flame"
4. "King Nothing"
5. "Lux Aeterna"
6. "The Unforgiven"
7. "Fuel"
8. "Zobra's Dance" and "De Horas Pouthena" (Kirk and Rob)
9. "Fade to Black"
10. "Wherever I May Roam"
11. "Nothing Else Matters"
12. "Sad But True"
13. "One"
14. "Seek & Destroy"
15. "Master of Puppets"
16. "Enter Sandman"

p.s. Gojira were great, but I preferred them last year when I saw them as headliners. I did not see Knocked Loose.