In what is being described as “vintage Metallica” in reviews, the metal giants returned to San Francisco, Calif. on Saturday night (Aug. 11) to close out night two of the musically and culturally diverse Outside Lands Festival at the picturesque Golden Gate Park.

Even before the festival got underway, the members of Metallica were raving about the gig. Drummer Lars Ulrich told Entertainment Weekly's MusicMix, “The whole vibe there is so f—ing next level that you know, all we’ve got to do is just show up and make sure we’re firing on all 24 cylinders.” And Ulrich just may have been holding back a little because according to the review, “last night Metallica were firing on all 25.”

Kicking off with ‘Hit the Lights’ and ending with ‘Seek and Destroy,’ Metallica played an 18-song set that clocked in at over two hours that included everything a proper rock show should from pyro to lasers.

OCWeekly counted down ‘The Five Best Parts of the Band’s Fiery San Francisco Show’ that included nods to the set list and the crowd, and the band’s enthusiasm to be playing in their great city. Hetfield exclaimed things like, “We are extremely grateful to be playing in the backyard of the greatest city on Earth!" and "Metallica loves you, 'Frisco!" displaying their appreciation for the hometown crowd.

When all was said and done, it seems that the unanimous vote was that Metallica owned San Francisco, at least for the two hours that they occupied the main stage. The San Mateo Daily Journal summed the evening up perfectly, saying, “Metallica's performance was much more than just two hours of epic rock n' roll - the band opened a dark abyss and sucked San Francisco into it. What Metallica did Saturday night has to go down as one of the most memorable acts in Outside Lands history.”

Next up for Metallica is a sold out run of shows in Canada.

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