Is a Metallica concert in 2025 complete without ‘Enter Sandman’?

The fans gathered at Levi’s Stadium for the chilly first night of an epic weekend residency didn’t seem to notice its planned omission from Night 1’s concert on Friday, June 20. With a full clip of metal classics stretching more than four decades, a stadium full of black-clad day-ones and their offspring, and a “no repeats” setlist in place across two nights, Metallica’s signature hit took a rare night off. (The 1991 hit will close Night 2 on Sunday, June 22.)

Still, Metallica’s Friday night, 16-song set in Santa Clara, part of its M72 World Tour, was career-spanning, touching upon multiple eras. They turned back the clock to 1983 with thrash metal templates “Hit the Lights” and “Seek and Destroy.” Well-oiled headbangers “Creeping Death,” “Sad But True” and “Battery” inspired hearty chants. Lead guitarist Kirk Hammett even shouted out the local metal community, specifically the burgeoning RBS Movement led by Sunami, Drain, Scowl and others.

“The Bay Area is so metal,” said the San Francisco-born rocker. 

Singer and guitarist James Hetfield, too, flexed his regional knowledge, confidently bellowing “Santa Clara” as opposed to “San Francisco” like other headliners typically do while performing in surrounding Bay Area cities. At 61, he still cuts an imposing figure, looking clean and lean in tough leathers. His voice possesses a hefty gruff, chewing up and spitting out lyrics like gristle.

“I have the best job in the world,” Hetfield said, as he surveyed the masses.