Metallica Bring Metal Thunder and Heavy Pyro to Bonnaroo

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Throughout Metallica's two-hour headlining set at Bonnaroo on Friday night, singer James Hetfield kept teasing that the band would be playing new songs from their just-finished album, at one point saying: "If you want, we'll just play some old stuff. But what if I said "No!" Alas, the crowd would have to settle for the band's metal classics, and one of the heaviest Bonnaroo sets ever. (There were some hints that would be the case: The band had played only old songs at the warm-up show the night before in nearby Nashville, Tennessee at the very small Basement club.)

Metallica absolutely killed with a set heavy on classics like "Master of Puppets," "Nothing Else Matters" and "The Unforgiven" as well as some deep cuts like the Misfits cover "Last Caress/Green Hell" (from the Garage Days EP). Metallica wrapped things up with massive, ear-shattering pyrotechnics during the one-two punch of the set closer: "One" and "Enter Sandman." As for anything related to the new album - aside from a pocket of fans shouting "Play new songs!" - Lars Ulrich offered only this just before leaving the stage: "We'll be back in October with a brand new record and a tour. Thank you!"

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Song Stories

“Everyday People”

Sly and the Family Stone | 1968

"Everyday People" managed to trailblaze in two different ways -- it was one of the first pop hits to deal with the subject of racial harmony, and it utilized Larry Graham's "slap" technique on the bass guitar, which would soon be copied by countless other bassists. Graham once said about his pulsating style, "I'd never done that before … that's where the freedom of creativity came in for the band, that we'd be allowed to do that." In 1978, the song's line "Different strokes for different folks" would be borrowed for the title of the hit television show Diff'rent Strokes.

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