The most surreal show of Lars Ulrich’s life: “A mindfuck”
As far as rock legends go, Metallica has had some pretty incredible successes and milestones.
However, beyond the obvious measurements – and that they’re broadly considered one of the best groups in rock history – is the fact that this is a group that went from being one person’s dream to jam with like-minded musicians to an entire beast of an entity that united people during some of the most turbulent times in history.
After all, when Lars Ulrich put out an ad to connect with other musicians in 1981, he probably wasn’t thinking about forming one of the most important bands of all time. He probably wasn’t even thinking that far ahead when it was James Hetfield that responded to the ad, or even when they took Dave Mustaine in after seeing how expensive his equipment was.
Even when they became major players in the thrash metal scene, it would be easy to assume that that was the anticipated pinnacle of Metallica’s success, as most who tried to gain traction in the scene at the time found it difficult to sustain momentum, and those who did likely encountered another challenge in maintaining resonance without turning stale.
Metallica, on the other hand, knew how to play the game. They didn’t always get it right, and even their transition into more commercial spaces wasn’t without its consequences. But their game, the entire time, centred around being as authentic as possible, and constantly moving and shifting without hinging too heavily on the tropes that earned them their successes in the beginning.
However, even more impressive than that is that many of Metallica’s biggest and most career-defining moments didn’t stem from charting success or anything else quite as easily measurable. Many of their defining moments came from those less easy to put into words, the performances and shows when they proved themselves as the ultimate nucleus of a type of unity that exists beyond comprehension.
One such show was their concert in Moscow in 1991, when 1.6 million music lovers came together to witness the first-ever open-air concert in the Soviet Union as part of the Monsters of Rock series. With free attendance and a dense, cultural atmosphere following the failed August Putsch just one month before, it was one moment the band would never forget. Recalling the experience, Ulrich said it was an absolute “mindfuck” of an experience, for understandable reasons.
“We were there for many three days and then [we] played that insane show,” he told Conan O’Brien. “We weren’t really prepared for what that was going to be, but had the camera crew, led by Wayne Isham and his cohorts, and they filmed it, [and] it is among the most surreal and extraordinary footage of Metallica ever.”
Praising the electric atmosphere and the importance of the entire achievement at such a crucial time in history, he added, “There are tens of thousands of Russian soldiers in uniform that are supposed to be protecting the audience, and they’re as into the show as all the kids are. There are helicopters flying over the audience, and it is a real mindfuck of a concert to watch 30 years later. It is really unusual.”
