You did not have to be at the gigs to witness Metallica’s unfolding relationship with Gulf audiences.
The band have been studiously keeping track of regional performances as part of an extensive YouTube archive of more than 2,300 videos, the majority chronicling their live tours since 2011.
That long-running catalogue continues this week with two videos of songs from the band's Abu Dhabi performance as part of the F1 after-race concert series at Etihad Park.
Creeping Death and Master of Puppets is part of a string of official videos of Metallica's time in the Gulf from their regional debut in Abu Dhabi in 2011 to later visits to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain over 14 years.
We trace the journey of how the Gulf became an integral part of Metallica’s global fan base.
October 2011: Etihad Park, Abu Dhabi
It takes a lot for Metallica to be excited about an upcoming gig, but as bassist Robert Trujillo noted in an exclusive backstage interview with The National in 2011, the band were already pumped for their Middle Eastern debut after guitarist Kirk Hammett showed them an aerial map of Etihad Park before taking off to the UAE.
“We were amazed by it,” he said. “And coming here and seeing it, it is surprising because the architecture, the colours, the whole place looks pretty fu
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