Since the pandemic started, we all have learned how to do things differently, including adapting how we enjoy listening to music. Typically, we would gather with our friends and family, gather in the crowd, and jam out to our favorite artists, but this year many musicians have had to take their concerts to a virtual setting, starting with Metallica. 

Metallica is a British heavy metal band that is known for their classic songs that have made them a legendary band since their debut in the early 1980s. Their band is composed of James Hetfield (Lead singer and Guitar), Lars Ulrich (Drums), Kirk Hammett (Lead Guitar), and Robert Truillo (Bass Guitar).

Continuing to celebrate their music, the band held a virtual concert on November 14th. The concert was entitled after their song “All Within My Hands,” as it celebrated the band’s charitable efforts towards causes like Feeding America, American Association of Community Colleges, and COVID-19 Disaster relief. Prior to the concert, the band had held an auction to help create additional contributions accompanying their profits from their ticket sales that started as low as $15.

“We are an international band. Our music transcends all borders, all barriers, all boundaries. Why can’t it help to do the same,” Hammett said while commenting on the band’s charitable purpose. 

The music itself remained the same quality as you would hear live or in various recordings of each of the songs. It was deep, fast-paced and low in tone. Metallica celebrated the start of the concert with classic songs such as “Disposable Heroes” and ended with classics like “The House of the Rising Sun.”

While the performance stayed true to the band’s solid reputation, the experience itself was quite different. Since the concert wasn’t limited by a single location for its audience, people from all over the world joined together to experience the influential music, and Metallica enriched fans’ experience by enabling them to join the concert through zoom, and allowing the band to talk to them one on one. 

The fans they spoke with were from places ranging from U.S. cities such as Chicago to countries around the world including Germany and Japan. It was interesting to see the band’s impact on a global stage instead of just being restricted to its effect on a single town or city. The fact that everyone from different time zones had all joined in one place to celebrate their music and cause was moving. The people who attended were dedicated fans, and you could see their enthusiasm and passion even through a screen.

“The four of us in the band are super grateful to play music and be a part of giving and employing some people to put this together,” Hetfield said during the concert.

Attending a virtual concert will never be comparable to the experience and memories that come with driving to a venue and dancing around, but a virtual concert certainly has its advantages. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to what the members had to say about the songs they played, and I was happy to see all the precautions they had put into place to keep everyone safe.

For me, the best part by far of the Metallica concert was not only hearing great music and seeing iconic performers back in their shining moments, but witnessing the kindness they showed to the participants as well as their incorporation of community outreach. Metallica has raised money for several causes that I wouldn’t have even known about, and the fact that they did a selfless act in giving while providing the world with quality sound was truly astonishing.