At University Of Phoenix Stadium

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All Photos By CrpnDeth Photography LLC
@crpndeth / instagram.com/crpndeth

I was fortunate enough to be able to cover THE ROLLING STONES with special guest ALICE COOPER, which was the first ever concert at the Cardinals Stadium (where the Cardinals lose, it’s the University of Phoenix Stadium now) back around ’06. It was a mess to maneuver around and get in to the stadium then just as it was earlier this month when I covered METALLICA and AVENGED SEVENFOLD. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Roughly 50,000 rabid METALLICA fans went ballistic when the band hit the stage with "Hardwired…To Self-Destruct", the title track to their current platinum selling disc. Being a longtime fan, I still remember the days that I couldn’t wait for them to headline stadiums, as early in their career most critics dismissed them as mere noise. Just wait I thought.

As they have been doing for a while now in stadiums, the band tore it up from the second they hit the stage until the second they took their final bows. Every time I have seen the band, they have been the stunning example of perfection, turned up to 10. Just noise? Sure. Break off the knob.

Continuing with "Atlas, Rise!" and "For Whom The Bell Tolls", the fans were ready to explode, easily whipped in to a frenzy for the concert of the year. The large screens that served as the band’s massive back drop visually enhanced the band’s sonic fury. Older songs such as "One" seemed to take on a new life with the new visual enhancements.

The set list contained five tunes off of Hardwired…, the aforementioned and also "Now That We’re Dead", "Moth Into Flame", and "Halo On Fire" (followed by Kirk’s and Rob’s solos, "I Disappear", and "Anesthesia" medleys). "Hit The Lights", "Battery" and "Master Of Puppets" were served up for the thrash hungry. The band ended this long sweaty 18 song night with "Enter Sandman". While you will never find two people that agree on the same set list, I personally found the show lagged just a little with "The Memory Remains", "Nothing Else Matters", and "Unforgiven". And the most noticeably missing tune had to be "Creeping Death". I mean, c’mon! Fifty thousand people were waiting, ready and willing, to chant “DIE! DIE! DIE!”. I was actually chanting that at all the Kendell Jenner Kardashian wanna be’s in the Snake Pit, but that’s a different story.

AVENGED SEVENFOLD was direct support, and had a blistering set themselves. I do not think I have ever caught an A7X gig where the band wasn’t firing on all cylinders. The band kicked off their 10 song set with "The Stage", "Afterlife" and "Hail To The King". With the exception of Brooks Wackerman, the rest of the band was running around the entire stage and all its ramps as they played through "Almost Easy", "Bat Country", "Nightmare" as well as "Buried Alive" and "God Damn". Closing the set was "Unholy Confessions". Tonight’s gig easily shows why you always see A7X on large stadium or festival shows, they own the crowd during their sets before passing them off to the headliners.

Both bands are AC/DC fans, as "It’s A Long Way To The Top" preceded METALLICA’s "Ecstasy Of Gold" intro, and "Back In Black" was the opener for A7X. And Arizona does love it’s AC/DC. Start to finish, like I said earlier, this was easily the concert of the year.

Check out some more photos from the show!
All Photos By CrpnDeth Photography LLC
@crpndeth / instagram.com/crpndeth