Metallica surprised festivalgoers with a performance of their hit-strewn Black Album at Louisville’s Louder Than Life event Sunday night. The band, which also played the fest Friday night, had promised two unique setlists for the weekend but did not reveal it would be reviving a run-through of its bestselling record, which recently turned 30.
Either because they were feeling iconoclastic or because all the hits are at the beginning of the album, the group played the record in reverse order. That meant kicking things off with the technically demanding “Struggle Within,” which features snaking guitar riffs.
Fan-shot video shows James Hetfield holding his head high as he and Kirk Hammett play the theme from Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story number “America,” which kicks into the swaggering, rarely played “Don’t Tread on Me.” Metallica have not played either of those songs since June 24, 2012, the last time they played the Black Album in full (and in reverse) for their own Orion Festival. Another infrequently song they resuscitated was the moody “My Friend of Misery,” which they haven’t played since the 2013 Soundwave festival in Melbourne. The band has played these three songs a fraction of the times it has whipped out the record’s big hits, “Enter Sandman,” “Nothing Else Matters,” and “Sad But True.”
The performance follows two other acknowledgments on the band’s part of the Black Album’s significance. Earlier this month, Metallica put out a massive box set collecting demos, rehearsals, live performances, and more alongside a remastered copy of the original album, and they put out The Blacklist, a supersized covers compilation. The latter features renditions of every track on the record by Miley Cyrus, Chris Stapleton, Alessia Cara, Depeche Mode’s Dave Gahan, Weezer, J Balvin, and others.
“A great song can be played any way,” Hootie and the Blowfish frontman Darius Rucker, who sings “Nothing Else Matters” on the set, told Rolling Stone. “You play it reggae, heavy, country — it will still be a great song.”
VIDEOS
Just like he did on The Death of Slim Shady, Eminem is once again serving his STANS a wave of nostalgia with “Everybody’s Looking at Me.” The track is one of twelve featured on the official soundtrack that accompanies his documentary, which explores how his music has shaped and influenced his devoted fan base. Beyond that, it also reflects on the Detroit icon’s early breakthrough and rise to fame.
The film’s theatrical run may have wrapped up, but today Eminem officially released the soundtrack that goes along with it. The project is a blend of his classic hits alongside unreleased material. Familiar favorites like “Rap God” and “Just Don’t Give a F*ck” appear, while deeper unreleased cuts add something fresh for longtime listeners.
“Everybody’s Looking at Me” falls into the latter category. Rather than being a forgotten song left on the cutting room floor, Eminem built it from a freestyle with the same title that Funk Flex first premiered back in 2002. The original version featured Proof, though in this updated release, his part is absent, and Slim Shady comes through with two brand new verses.
The first verse remains intact from the freestyle, but what makes it even more interesting is the fact that a brief snippet of the track can be heard for just a moment on “The Kiss (Skit)” from The Eminem Show.
On “Everybody’s Looking at Me,” Eminem sounds like his old self at the top of his game. The song combines his signature dark comedy, sharp commentary on the music industry's flaws, and layers of clever wordplay.
To add to the nostalgia, the beat crafted by Dr. Dre instantly takes listeners back to the chemistry that has defined so much of their past work together. In the end, it is impressive to see Eminem rework this freestyle into a whole track that still feels high-quality and true to his legacy.
You can stream it below.
Quotable Lyrics:
Type who might throw his underwear in the trash and wipe his a*s with the American flag like Marilyn Manson (Ha-ha)
Updated Axl Rose
White vеrsion of Shaft, pimp slappin' h*es
Pull up like a Mac, jet black limos
Strеtch so far back, can't see the back windows
