Metallica Delivers Intimate, High-Octane Show at the Talkhouse

In its 38-year history, the Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett is no stranger to big-name artists. But no group rocked louder and harder than Metallica did in a performance for the ages on Thursday, August 28.

The Grammy Award-winning heavy metal quartet — featuring lead singer and rhythm guitarist James Hetfield, lead guitarist Kirk Hammett, bassist Robert Trujillo and drummer Lars Ulrich — brought their talents to the famed East End venue for an exclusive show hosted by SiriusXM to commemorate the launch of the new “Maximum Metallica,” channel 42, which premiered on August 29 with a rebroadcast the Talkhouse show.

The four horsemen stormed on stage with a charging version of “Creeping Death” from the 1984 album “Ride the Lightning” before immediately segueing into another song from the album, “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” complete with a distorted bass intro from Trujillo. From the jump, it was evident that the band was enjoying themselves as they crisscrossed the stage, allowing fans to catch close-up glimpses of each member.

After the mid-tempo rocker “Wherever I May Roam,” Hetfield addressed the crowd for the first time, noting that playing in the intimate space “reminds us of the club days when we’d get all hot and sweaty.” He wrapped up his comments by launching right into the opening vocal charge of “Fuel” from 1997’s “Reload.”

“Fade to Black” proved to be another high point of the show with its slower acoustic guitar-led first half that gave way to one of Hammett’s most acclaimed solos. Hammett shined at the Talkhouse, delivering a series of face-melting solos throughout the night.

The setlist was mainly a greatest hits package, as it was being recorded to be broadcast on “Maximum Metallica,” but the band also played a cover of traditional Irish folk song “Whiskey in the Jar,” a relative rarity in the band’s sets. The song was a welcome surprise to the crowd, sung with plenty of grit by Hetfield and featuring guitar harmonies by Hetfield and Hammett that echoed those of Thin Lizzy’s famous 1972 version — albeit a bit heavier.

One of the moments that the crowd enjoyed the most came during an interlude jam by Hammett and Trujillo — a fixture at Metallica shows over the last decade — to Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train” as a tribute to the departed metal legend. Yells of “RIP Ozzy!” and “We love you Ozzy!” could be heard as the two smiled during the brief jam.

The crowd could feel the pain in Hetfield’s voice as he sang the harrowing war-inspired lyrics of “One” before the band launched into the fast ending jam led by Ulrich’s double bass drum work and another blazingly fast solo by Hammett.

The show wrapped up with two of the band’s most iconic songs: “Master of Puppets” and “Enter Sandman.” The menacing and grooving “Puppets” gave fans an opportunity to witness Hetfield’s guitar downpicking prowess up close. During the song, Hetfield turned his microphone around to the crowd, one of many times he did so during the night, as they sang the words back at him. During “Sandman,” it was hard to find anyone who wasn’t singing along to the chorus of the classic song from their self-titled 1991 album.

During the end of “Sandman,” Ulrich stood up on a riser behind his drum set, looking out into the crowd and taking it all in before returning to his throne to finish out the song to thunderous applause.

Like other shows SiriusXM has hosted at the Talkhouse, there was no shortage of celebrities in the VIP section, including Paul McCartney, Andy Cohen, Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Colin Jost of “Saturday Night Live,” Sylvester Stallone and longtime SiriusXM host Howard Stern.

Alongside these big names were hundreds of diehard Metallica fans and SiriusXM subscribers who had to enter a raffle just to have the opportunity to buy tickets to the show. Amagansett’s Main Street was a sea of leather and black as fans waited outside in anticipation.

Among the lucky fans were Wayne and Taylor Stephenson, a father and son who flew in from North Carolina and California, respectively, to attend the show. The Talkhouse marked the fourth Metallica show the two have seen together this year after seeing three shows of the group’s ongoing M72 World Tour.

A highlight for them came when they saw the band in Charlotte on May 31, where they watched the show from “The Snakepit,” located in the center of the band’s circular stage. Landing on Wayne’s 67th birthday, he got to stand right in front of Hetfield during his solo on “Puppets.”

Another member of the Metallica faithful in attendance for the show was Christine Wyatt from Sydney, Australia. Wyatt has seen the band over 200 times, including numerous dates during the most recent leg of the M72 World Tour.

The most notable show Wyatt attended was the band’s infamous August 9, 1992, show at Montreal’s Olympic Stadium during the band’s co-headlining tour with Guns N’ Roses. During the show, Hetfield suffered severe burns from a pyrotechnics accident, forcing the band to cut their setlist short. When Guns N’ Roses came out later than expected, frontman Axl Rose stormed offstage and cut the band’s set short, leading to a major riot outside the stadium. On that night, Wyatt was on the floor near dead-center stage, where she witnessed Hetfield’s accident and Rose’s belligerence up close.