Metallica fans finally get their spiritual experience at Eden Park

Cathartic head-banging and fist-raising made for a spiritual experience at Auckland’s Eden Park on Wednesday night when heavy metal titans Metallica made their long-awaited return to Aotearoa.

More than 55,000 fans filled the stadium to worship the thrash pioneers on their M72 world tour, featuring goth rockers Evanescence and skate-core punks Suicidal Tendencies.

Endless crowds of thirsty, tattoo-clad misfits wearing black rock t-shirts sang faithfully with gleeful grins for hours through clouds of smoke and vape.

Metallica’s four-piece performers, now all in their 60s, commanded the die-hard fans in Tāmaki Makaurau to honour 17 tracks (including two New Zealand covers) from a back catalogue spanning 40-plus years.

Metallica’s music resonates with people - songs cover topics of the horrors of war, depression, substance abuse, freedom and oppression.

“Auckland, do you want heavy?” screamed singer/guitarist/co-founder James Hetfield. Well, heavy they gave.

The storytelling rockers opened with Ride the Lightning's biblical-inspired epic 'Creeping Death' and monster-hit 'For Whom the Bell Tolls' to fans’ delight.

By the third song, 'Fuel', the pyrotechnics and thrashing beats just about blew our eyeballs out of our skulls.

The tour, promoting Metallica’s latest album 72 Seasons, drew fans from out of town to Tāmaki Makaurau, filling the city’s accommodation and flights.

The one-stop New Zealand tour was the first in 15 years, after “the day that never came” when the band abruptly cancelled its last scheduled NZ tour in 2019 - when singer Hetfield went to rehab.

The band played four shows in Auckland and Christchurch in 2010.

Charismatic and fit-as-ever Hetfield who said he had “the best job in the whole f***ing world” introduced his three “brothers”, co-founder and drummer Lars Ulrich, the maestro lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and spirited bassist Robert Trujillo.

Hetfield’s haunting laugh fans will know well “ha-haaa!” echoed as the multi-talented showman played with the crowd in the palm of his hands.

Lead guitarist Hammett slayed with astonishingly precise play.

Drummer Ulrich didn’t miss a beat, standing up off his drum stool to raise his arms and smash the toms as hard as he could.

Trujillo threw his bass guitar around his body like a sack of potatoes (while playing), and even took to the mic to perform songs by New Zealand artists, 'Don’t Forget Your Roots' by Six60 and 'I Got You' by Split Enz with Hammett for a change of pace.

Ahead of Metallica’s set, singer and pianist Amy Lee of Evanescence sent shivers with her operatic, goth-rock yet soulful hour-long set.

A different-look band to its original 1990s line-up sans co-founder Ben Moody, Lee displayed true compositional and musical talent that is rare across most commercial genres.

It was a throwback to the heady days of the early 2000s when Lee, a classically-trained and ex-choir girl brought artistic goth rock to the mainstream.

Alt-punks Suicidal Tendencies opened the show with its punchy seven-song set, after playing a set at Auckland’s Powerstation the night prior.

The 1980’s band’s last remaining original member, vocalist Mike Muir was joined by talented new faces, and urged Auckland to “get your [middle] finger in the air!” in true punk fashion.

The show ended with a climactic finish.

Smash-hit epic 'One' slayed before 'Enter Sandman' united all to end the set. Hammett was sprayed with pink silly string by the crew in honour of his 63rd birthday on Tuesday.

If rocking out to heavy metal isn’t good for the spirit, I don’t know what is.

New Zealand marked the 42nd show on Metallica’s worldwide M72 tour, which will continue on to the Middle East, with a debut performance in Qatar later this month, then Bahrain.

The band promised to see New Zealand again soon… one can only hope.