Metallica Tones at POWERTRIP Festival

[GtarLover]

Just wanted to throw out a couple of my obseravtions from the Metallica show at PowerTrip in CA on Sunday night.
Thought maybe people might be interested because the guys are using Axe III's.

Let me begin by saying the show was KILLER!! Actually all the bands were quite fun...(read elsewhere about some other issues)
Seriously though, that PA was arguably the BEST outdoor or festival sound I have ever experienced, and I wasn't the only one who thought so. Truly clear sound and LOUD, but not uncomfortably so. Kudos to the sound engineers and on the system itself, you could really hear everything...sometimes for better or worse

And, I really think after seeing Judas Priest and AC/DC on Saturday night (yes, James and Kirk were in the crowd rockin'), they made some choices regarding their set. For those who don't know, Metallica's recent stadium tour has been 2 nights at each venue, where one night they do one set and the next night they have a completely different set for fans who want literally MORE Metallica.
Anyway, I want to believe that after seeing the response that Priest and AC/DC got from the fans...both bands played a significant amount of their popular hits, I think they chose a killer set that included more of the things people (not just Metallica fans) want to hear. Remember, it was a 6 headlining bands over 3 days and not everyone was there to see Metallica only.

OK, disclaimers aside:
First, and most importantly the rhythm tones were EPIC!! Both James and Kirk had great rhythm tones and together they really got the "CHUG" that we all know and love from Metallica. There's been many that have poo poo'd their choice to go digital, however, for rhythm's they were MONSTROUS.

Second, the cleans were great. From Fade to Black to The Day That Never Comes, the cleans were really smooth and sweet. No thin sounding cleans here...maybe helped out by our very own Cooper Carter

Third, now the disappointing part, Kirk's lead tone was weak...of course that's just my opinion, however, he could have done MUCH better than that tone. It's surely that there are different lead tones for different songs, yet overall I just thought the leads lacked both "balls" and "girth." Unlike the rhythm's, the leads were thinner and the sustain wasn't awesome either. On a more positive note, the dual leads sounded great, so maybe cleaner for dual leads and add back in some "girth" for the single lead lines. As always, YMMV. I'm no expert. I just call it like I see it.

Anyone else see the shows, have comments about PowerTrip or the recent Stadium shows?



Mod's: if this is a LOUNGE topic, I apologize

 

[Feflicker]

Interesting, Kirks leads at the Phx show where the best Ive ever heard in 32 years of seeing them. Loud and punchy, no shrill, clear as day. I was standimg right under his own array of panthers. I wonder if you were off axis and closer to James array...

 

[RevDrucifer]

Haven’t seen them since the end of ‘01 but I’ve got tix for Aug ‘24 in Foxboro I’m very anxious for.

A couple things really jumped out at me at the Daytona shows I was at (they played Fri/Sun) was Kirk nailing everything. Like, legit nailing every solo and part better than I’d ever heard him play. And his lead tone. I specifically remember standing next to the Ferris wheel when he started the “Fade To Black” solo and saying “Oh shit, that sounds fucking great”, it reminded me of some versions I heard back in the day, that little bit of sizzle around the notes. It comes through just fine here (this was a week after I saw them)



I heard them from on top of the ferris wheel, directly in the middle of the audience, off to the side and 4 rows from the front, we were all over the place that weekend, while the sound didn’t vary as much being an outdoor show, it still have different things I’d attribute to the mix had I stood in one place, but moving around the race grounds definitely highlighted how where I was standing had a bigger effect than the mix itself.

 

[rossipedia]

Sounds like he's got a harmonizer on that acoustic. Not mad at it, it sounds great. Just kinda cool that technology can make a 6 string acoustic sound like a convincing 12 string.