Metallica and 80,000 spectators caused an "earthquake" at OAKA

Primarily, it was the raw energy of James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett, Lars Ulrich and Robert Trujillo that overflowed from the captivating - as everyone noticed - "high priests" of heavy metal.

"Everyone" was an audience that ranged from ten-year-olds with their parents, young girls and boys, couples to "freaks" - that's what metalheads are called - who had already hit their fifties.

Knocked Loose, who opened the concert of the year so far in the afternoon, gave way to Gojira, who gave it their all and were awe-inspiring playing for an hour.

But everyone was looking forward to Metallica's 5th appearance in our country and when at a quarter to nine the intro to "Creeping Death" was heard, the audience in the packed stands and in the also packed arena went into a state of ecstasy.

Full throttle
The 600 speakers and sub woofers that had been hung on eight towers around the stage produced an amazing sound and, combined with the band's tremendous mood, captivated the OAKA audience from the first minute.

It will be interesting to know the results of the seismograph that monitored the concert on behalf of the Geodynamic Institute, in order to examine whether the synchronized movement of tens of thousands of spectators can create measurable earthquakes!

Playing at full throttle, the band chose a set list that included more of their classic hits and fewer new songs, which the audience knew from their introduction.

Hetfield welcomed us warmly, expressed his gratitude that Metallica were back in Athens, while guitarist Kirk Hammett pointed out that music began in our country.

Spyros, Trypes and the Delirium
Without a break, they "bombarded" us with songs like "The Unforgiven" where cell phones caught fire, "Nothing else matters" which made many couples hug and of course the frenetic "Seek and destroy" which had the entire Olympic Stadium singing along.

Hetfield's reference to little Spyros who is battling cancer and wanted to see them up close caused the audience to get emotional, especially when the camera spotted the boy smiling happily, a breath away from the Metallica front man.

The intro causes chaos in the stadium

As for Greece, apart from the references, Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo treated us to an unusual duet, initially with a beautiful rendition of "Zorba" for guitar and bass that was warmly applauded.

But where chaos ensued was when Trujillo performed "Trypes" and "De choras puthena", one of the most well-known and beloved songs by the audience written by Yannis Aggelakas.

The OAKA stood up for the umpteenth time, while the group's anthems from the past such as "Fade to Black" and "Master of Puppets" raised the pitch even more.

A pitch that did not subside even with "Enter Sandman" - the band's trademark song that concluded the Metallica concert in Athens in the best way.

Despite the screams and applause of thousands of spectators, there was no encore in this stormy evening that apparently justified James Hetfield's statement that he does the best job in the world.