Metallica Debut Another Classic Song at Latest Sphere Show

Metallica’s Las Vegas Sphere residency has been going quite strong since beginning earlier this month, with almost every performance including at least one live debut. That pattern remained true last night (Oct. 17), as the iconic thrash quartet debuted “Harvester of Sorrow” (from 1988’s ...And Justice for All) about halfway into their sixth performance at the venue.

What Did Metallica Play at the Sphere Last Night?

Per setlist.fm and Metallica’s official website, “Harvester of Sorrow” was the sixth track they played during the evening (appearing between “72 Seasons” and “The Day That Never Comes”). While it doesn’t look like anyone formally introduced the song, frontman James Hetfield ended it by saying, “From …And Justice for All. ‘Harvester of Sorrow’ for you, Las Vegas. Thank you.”

Interestingly, fans on Reddit have been criticizing the visuals Metallica used during the song.

Namely, one person shared: “I believe whoever is involved on the visuals could have done better for Harvester, c'mon. Look, even if the visual was topic-accurate, to display a guy & a goose on that enormous screen the whole song is a waste.” Likewise, another user added, “I heard from someone at the show James looked completely confused by the goose lol,” just like someone else concluded: “The setup was nuts thinking the guy was gonna slaughter the goose.”

Unsurprisingly, “Harvester of Sorrow” wasn’t the only cut from Metallica’s fourth studio LP to get the spotlight, as the quartet once again began with “Blackened” and did “One” as the penultimate piece of the night. In fact, last night’s set was nearly identical to the ones from Oct. 3 and Oct. 10 (the former of which saw them completely changing things up compared to their initial night and the latter of which saw them bringing “Until It Sleeps” to the Sphere for the first time).

On that note – and outside of those three …And Justice for All tracks – Metallica’s sixth Sphere show featured older staples such as “The Unforgiven,” “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” “Enter Sandman” and “Leper Messiah” alongside newer songs such as “Hardwired” and the aforementioned “72 Seasons” and “The Day That Never Comes.” Naturally, there was another “Kirk and Rob Doodle” as well (this time combining “Siouxsie Sue” and “Just a Bullet Away”).

You can see the entire setlist for Metallica’s Oct. 17 Las Vegas Sphere show (plus fan-filmed videos shared by YouTubers such as @spasticliff and @Smash Machine!) below!

Metallica’s Sixth Las Vegas Sphere Setlist (Oct. 17, 2026)

“Blackened”
“Fuel”
“Leper Messiah”
“Devil’s Dance”
“72 Seasons”
“Harvester of Sorrow” (residency debut)
“The Day That Never Comes”
“The Outlaw Torn”
“Kirk and Rob Doodle” (“Siouxsie Sue” and “Just a Bullet Away”)
“The Unforgiven”
“Orion” (dedicated to Cliff Burton)
“Hardwired”
“Whiskey in a Jar” (traditional cover)
“For Whom the Bell Tolls”
“One”
“Enter Sandman”

per setlist.fm

Watch Metallica Perform “Harvester of Sorrow” at the Sphere (Oct. 17, 2026)

Watch Metallica Perform “For Whom the Bell Tolls” at the Sphere (Oct. 17, 2026)

Watch Metallica Perform “The Outlaw Torn” at the Sphere (Oct. 17, 2026)

Watch Metallica Perform “Devil’s Dance” at the Sphere (Oct. 17, 2026)

Watch Metallica Perform “Enter Sandman” at the Sphere (Oct. 17, 2026)

Watch Metallica Perform “The Day That Never Comes” at the Sphere (Oct. 17, 2026)

Watch Metallica Perform “Orion” at the Sphere (Oct. 17, 2026)

Other Metallica News

Speaking of …And Justice for All, and as Loudwire previously reported, the engineer who mixed it (Steve Thompson) recently commented on one of the LP’s biggest controversies by saying that he “thought it was stupid” to bury Jason Newsted’s bass throughout the record.

Thompson was recently a guest on the Appetite for Distortion podcast, and he also reflected [transcribed by Loudwire]:

When I worked with Metallica, I thought they were the best at what they did. [I] loved them, absolutely loved them... Our philosophies were different though, I believed in bass and [Lars Ulrich] didn't. And when we did ...And Justice for All, I got nailed for why there's no bass in the mix. . . . This is what they wanted. I mean I fought hard but at the end of the day, it's their record. If that's what they want, that's what you have to give them. I didn't agree with them. I thought it was stupid because Jason [Newsted's] bass parts were a great marriage with [James] Hetfield's rhythm guitars — perfect. But you know, it is what it is.

You can watch the entire interview here.

Metallica’s Oct. 10 at the Las Vegas Sphere would also prove to be controversial due to something Hetfield said between songs.

As Loudwire reported on Oct. 12, Hetfield chastised “other entertainers” who use concerts to wax poetic about certain agendas. “Unless you live in Vegas, you’ve come a long way to spend some time with Metallica,” Hetfield said [transcribed by Loudwire].

He continued:

We’re grateful for that – your travels, the money you spend, the time it took, thanks for coming to celebrate with us. . . . I just gotta say, Metallica is not here, like some other entertainers, to influence you with their bullshit, okay? We are here... no bullshit... we're here to forget about all the outside shit, okay? Metallica's agenda is love, energy and heavy music, baby!

Subsequently, many fans have discussed the reasoning and legitimacy of Hetfield’s remarks, and even former Pink Floyd bassist/vocalist Roger Waters chimed in on the situation. Specifically, and as reported by Ultimate Classic Rock, Waters was a guest on the Katie Halper Show podcast and the topic came up.

“Can we stop talking about this prick?” Waters began, adding:

I’m so bored with him. He’s just showing that he’s a complete prick. He's got an IQ of about three and why we're talking about him, I honestly don't know because he's a nobody and he'll always be. He may have a few hundred million dollars or whatever, but he's a prick and he's no musician. I heard them. I told you I heard them playing acoustic instruments and they couldn't. It was appalling.
Obviously I wish he had grown up with a mama or a dad or a friend or even a cousin or somebody in the family who taken him to one side when he was little. It's a shame this prick didn't have somebody around him to explain that being kind is way more important than all that loud music and bouncing around and whatever. Being kind, have some empathy for your fellow human beings because we need that to spread through across the whole world.

You can see footage of Hetfield’s speech (shared by YouTuber @RealityRedemption1) here.

How are you liking Metallica’s Las Vegas Sphere residency so far? Are there any songs they’ve yet to play that you’re dying to see and hear? Let us know!

Also, keep scrolling to see our photo feature on how James Hetfield’s hair has changed over the years!