Metallica Reveal 'Through the Never' Footage, Play Secret Show at Comic-Con

Metallica appeared at Comic-Con in San Diego this past Friday, July 19, to promote their new 3-D IMAX film, Metallica Through the Never.

The band debuted some new footage from the concert film and then performed a secret show for a small crowd at Spreckels in San Diego.

Metallica Through the Never, which was directed by Nimrod Antal (Predators), mixes concert footage with a fictional narrative about a roadie named Trip — played by Dane DeHaan — who is sent on a mission during the show. While there is a distinct storyline, James Hetfield confirmed recently told CNN that's there is no dialogue involved.

"People have done live concerts," Hetfield told CNN before the band's Comic-Con panel. "We've done live concerts and DVDs. If we're going to invest a lot of time and money and effort into something, let's make it unique. That's what we've always done. We had a ton of ideas for this thing. You get really creative with something way out of your budget and then you shrink it down. Some of the best ideas hang on and end up in the film. We wanted animation, we wanted CGI — you name it! But I think the narrative is extremely potent and multilayered. There's a lot of dynamics going on at once. It's a couple movies in one."

Following the panel, Metallica played a secret show at Spreckels, a 1,500-capacity venue. They performed a host of fan favorites, includung "Seek and Destroy," "Enter Sandman" (See the fan-filmed video below) the Star Wars theme and "Darth Vader's Imperial March."

Through the Never opens September 27 and carries an R rating.

Below, check out the latest trailer from the film (It's longer than the trailer posted in early June), followed by Kirk Hammett discussing Comic-Con, followed by the band performing "Enter Sandman" at Spreckels Friday night.