When Metallica said they were bringing a "colossal" new stage show with them during their multi-night stay in Mexico City, they weren't kidding.
Aside from the mammoth stage setup, which included props from all of the band's studio albums, the band also brought a lot of fire — maybe a bit too much for some fans.
Several fans in attendance this past Saturday night were reportedly "visibly upset" after pyro at the end of "Enter Sandman" sent a technician running across the stage on fire, with frontman James Hetfield yelling "Stop! Stop!" before the man was extinguished by firefighters.
While many fans mistook the incident for a real accident, it was all part of the band's recreation of their infamous burn-down-the-stage performance from 1998's Cunning Stunts, with promoters Ocesa telling El Universal that, "It’s all part of the show."
Fans will remember that Cunning Stunts' performance of "Enter Sandman" also featured a mock stage collapse that featured one technician — who was credited later as "Burning Dude" — running across the stage on fire. Video of the original can be found below as well.
The perilous aspects of the show were hinted at by the band in the press days leading up to the band's multi-night stay in Mexico's capital city, with Hetfield telling one reporter, "We're very focused on how dangerous this show is."
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Josh Hart is a former web producer and staff writer for Guitar World and Guitar Aficionado magazines (2010–2012). He has since pursued writing fiction under various pseudonyms while exploring the technical underpinnings of journalism, now serving as a senior software engineer for The Seattle Times.
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