Metallica initiated a 24-show residency at Sphere Las Vegas on Thursday, building on the venue’s three-year history. The engagement marks the band’s introduction of its “No Repeat Weekend” format to the Las Vegas market, a structure previously debuted during the M72 World Tour in 2023. Under this format, each Thursday-Saturday performance pairing features entirely different setlists with no songs repeated between nights.
The opening performance drew a sold-out crowd and leaned heavily on material from the band’s early catalog. The concert opened with an AC/DC cover before transitioning into “Battery,” with drummer Lars Ulrich’s entrance timed to the song’s instrumental detonation. The production utilized Sphere’s 360-degree visual capabilities to complement the performance, with cameras capturing audience reactions and projecting them onto the venue’s displays during the opening songs.
Visual elements accompanied each piece throughout the evening, ranging from Gothic cathedral imagery during “Sad But True” to oceanic and horror-themed visuals during “The Call of Ktulu,” which featured an enormous creature rising from the sea as a tribute to the song’s Lovecraftian references. The production also included thematic graphics tied to specific tracks, such as casino imagery for “The Shortest Straw” and an electric chair visualization during “Ride the Lightning.”
The residency balanced technological sophistication with the band’s foundational approach to heavy metal. Notably, “…And Justice for All” marked the first live performance of the track in twelve years. The two-hour opening show concluded with “Master of Puppets,” which featured a large-scale visual landscape of crosses and surreal imagery. The production emphasized the technical clarity of the band’s instrumentation while using Sphere’s capabilities as complementary visual accompaniment rather than as a reinterpretation of the music itself.
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