Thanks to Metallica, hard rock fans across the country now have at least one fond concert memory to look back on from the summer of 2020.

With all major tours canceled as the result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the band recorded a special audience-free show at a gorgeous vineyard in Northern California two weeks ago, then broadcast the footage at drive-in theaters across North America last night.

Other than a lack of merchandise booths, it was a close to a real summer concert-going experience as you could ask for. There was a line to get in, about 50 different Metallica songs being blasted from various radios all over the parking lot and even an opening act, Three Days Grace.

The increasingly darkening sunset, mountains and vineyard provided a lovely backdrop for Metallica's show, a 16-song set composed largely of their most popular hits. The band seemed to be having a great time, with singer James Hetfield repeatedly commenting about how nice it was to be performing with his bandmates again.

Hetfield's voice sounded particularly strong and clear all night, perhaps aided by the fact that he wasn't trying to project to, or shout over, tens of thousand of fans for once. "Music helps us through all things... including this [pandemic]," he declared at one point, before humorously noting, "Alright, this next one has nothing to do with what I just said, but let's play!"

Metallica's August 29, 2020 Drive-In Concert Set List
1. "Hardwired" - from Hardwired... to Self-Destruct (2016)
2. "For Whom the Bell Tolls" - from Ride the Lightning (1984)
3. "Fuel" - from Reload (1997)
4. "Seek & Destroy" - from Kill 'Em All (1983)
5. "Creeping Death" - from Ride the Lightning (1984)
6. "One" - from ...And Justice for All (1988)
7. "Now That We're Dead" - from Hardwired... to Self-Destruct (2016)
8. "Sad But True" - from Metallica (1991)
9. "Moth into Flame" - from Hardwired... to Self-Destruct (2016)
10. "The Unforgiven" - from Metallica (1991)
11. "Wherever I May Roam" - from Metallica (1991)
12. "Fade to Black" - from Ride the Lightning (1984)
13. "Master of Puppets" - from Master of Puppets (1986)
14. "Battery" - from Master of Puppets (1986)
15. "Nothing Else Matters" - from Metallica (1991)
16. "Enter Sandman" - from Metallica (1991)

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