Evanescence and Metallica Concert in Brisbane: Great Metal Never Dies

Metallica has a long history of touring Australia dating back to 1993; however, they have not been here since 2013…but that was at a festival. You have to go back to 2010 to find the last tour of Metallica down under. You add in that Evanescence was opening and tickets were sold out roughly 10 months in advance. Even thrash vets Suicidal Tendencies opened for the open….so they were the super open. For a review I will go through each act and talk about some highlights before final thoughts.

Suicidal Tendencies were first up and the crowd was a little light because they came on roughly 45 minutes after the doors opened. Having said that, it was still a few thousand and they were hardcore ST fans. Crowd favourites You Can’t Bring me Down and Subliminal got the crowd going. They only had 45 minutes, so there was not a ton of banter because they had to move through some tracks. There was a nice sized mosh pit going and for the last track lead singer Mike Muir (the last remaining original member) going from the stage and singing in the pit. He never missed a beat and I have a ton of respect for going into the pit. The crowd loved it and it was now time to get ready for Evanescence.

Evanescence was recently in Australia in 2022 touring the Fallen record. Much like ST, Amy Lee is the only remaining original member. However, most of the band has been together since 2006, so they missed out on Fallen, but have been together for a good chunk of time. The time together showed as the band was super tight. Standouts were bassist Emma Anzai and drummer Will Hunt who both had a ton of energy and were really going for it. Hunt especially gave the band a thumping drive that really propelled the set. They played for a fair amount and managed to fit in some nice banter, some shout outs to Metallica and 14 tracks. Highlights in the first half of the set were Going Under and Lithium, which had Amy on the keyboard. Amy’s vocals were powerful and mesmerising. They ended with crowd favourite Bring me to Life, but the show stopper was the penultimate track…My Immortal. By that point the crowd was at max capacity and Amy took centre stage at an electric grand piano. Her vocal was a spiritual experience as tens of thousands of people waved their phone lights in the air…the 2025 equivalent of waving your lighter. After one of the best bridges in music history, the entire band came in for a metal final verse, which is different from the studio version. This was my favourite part of the entire show and illustrates what an incredible artist Amy Lee is and why everyone needs to see her live. By the end of the set the crowd was in a frenzy and ready for the main act.

Metallica’s set was huge. Massive video screens were bookended with a massive M on one side with the corresponding A on the other. Pyrotechnics were littered throughout the stage and we all knew we were going to be in for something special. Original members James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett and bassist since 2001 Robert Trujillo took the stage with power. They came in with Creeping Death, which has been a Metallica staple. The energy was crazy, but my ear wasn’t in yet…so it was hard to make out the song. When seeing metal live everything is at 11 and I need to get my ear in for the first couple of songs…but when that happens the vocals, guitars and drums all fall in place. In fact, Ride the Lightening got quite a run with For Whom the Bell Tolls and my fav song off that record, and only played live in Brisbane, the title track Ride the Lightening.

There were too many hits to name…except for one, but we will get to that later. Robert and Kirk came on to do a cover. They said that they like to cover a song from a band from the area where they’re playing, which is very cool and a fun way to make a single concert special. They chose the track Smoko by QLD punk favourites The Chats. I love that they picked this obscure modern punk track and I love The Chats, so singing along was a treat. We heard Fuel, Enter Sandman, Master of Puppets and Seek and Destroy. However, I think the band excelled when they played power ballads, which could be an outcome of the stadium’s acoustics. Tracks off the black album, which recently had an anniversary, like Sad but True, The Unforgiven, Wherever I May Roam and Nothing Else Matters were all fire. When everything wasn’t at 11 at the same time you could really feel the visceral power of each instrument and James’ vocals. Lars’ percussion was a wrecking-ball all night and he was up to the challenge…plus I love his bit when he drums standing up. His drumming and use of silence on Sad but True is just art and amazing to witness live. Having said all of that, I think the stand out track of the entire set was One. This was the only track from …And Justice for All. The entire band was tight on this track and performed it flawlessly. Laser lights and smoke added to the vibe, but it was the care and emotion James and the crew brought to the track that wowed the audience. Amazing to experience this track live.

Now for some slight drawbacks. We got Ride the Lightening instead of one of my favourite tracks and best power ballads ever…Fade to Black. Having said that, it was cool to be the only city that got Ride the Lightening. I think the time to see Metallica is now. I think the power ballads were the best because James could not keep up with the thrash on tracks like Master of Puppets. The last drawback is…well…the new music. A new track would come on and it would be like someone sprayed a firehose on the crowd. That’s to be expected with a band that’s touring a new record, but has a back catalogue of monster hits everyone wants to hear…so I can’t hold that against them too much.

All and all it was great to have all three bands give so much to the audience. My Immortal was the highlight of the evening for me, but you can tell that Metallica has a new found love and care for their fans. They gave a lot to the audience and everyone came away with a night of metal they would never forget.