Metallica rings in 2004 with sold-out Joint show

Spencer Patterson

Friday, Dec. 26, 2003 | 8:47 a.m.

Why sing "Auld Lang Syne" when you can shout out the words to "Enter Sandman?"

That's the New Year's Eve war cry for Metallica zealots, 2,000 of whom were lucky enough to score tickets to the veteran metal band's Wednesday show at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel.

Despite pricey tags of $300 and $500, tickets sold out in about 20 minutes when the event went on sale in September. A pair of floor seats went for $2,550 on online auction site eBay this week.

Metallica last played Las Vegas in 1999, and much has changed with the band in the four year years since.

For starters, the lineup is different. Gone is longtime bassist Jason Newstead, a member of the group since 1986. Newstead exited in 2001 to pursue other musical projects.

In his place: Robert Trujillo, formerly of Ozzy Osbourne's touring band. (Trujillo played his last gig with Osbourne at The Joint in March.)

Metallica also has a new album under its belt, its first in nearly six years. The quartet released "St. Anger," its eighth full-length studio disc, in June to mostly favorable reviews.

The band has also announced plans for a documentary film, "Metallica: Some Kind of Monster," due out in 2004. The movie will present a behind-the-scenes look at the turbulent period during the recording of "St. Anger."

Bay Area-based hard rockers Systematic, originally signed by Lars Ulrich's now-defunct Music Company label, open Wednesday's show. Doors are slated to open at 9 p.m.

Local Metallica fans who missed out on tickets to this week's performance will get another chance to see the band on March 13 when they return to the Thomas & Mack with support act Godsmack. Tickets for that concert are on sale now.

Who: Metallica.

Where: The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel.

When: 9 p.m. Wednesday.

Tickets: Sold out.

Opening act: Systematic.

Personnel: Kirk Hammett (guitar), James Hetfield (vocals, guitar), Robert Trujillo (bass), Lars Ulrich (drums).

Latest release: "St. Anger" (Elektra, 2003).

Album feedback: "There's no radio-size, four-minute rock here, no pop-friendly choruses, no solos, no wayward experimentation ... this is loud, expansive, unrepentant Metallica." (Rolling Stone, 4 stars); "St. Anger looks inward with a hard eye, and while it finds some grinning demons in that pit, it also unearths some of the sickest grooves of Metallica's 20-plus-year lifespan," (All Music Guide, 4 stars).

Essential releases: "Master of Puppets" (1986), "Metallica" (1991).

What to expect: Difficult to predict, since the Vegas show is a one-off event. Look for a handful of cuts from "St. Anger," along with some of the band's greatest hits and a few fan favorites from Metallica's formidable catalog.

Recent set list: Earls Court, London, Dec. 20: "The Ecstasy of Gold," "Battery," "The Four Horsemen," "Ride the Lightning," "Sanitarium," "For Whom the Bell Tolls," "Frantic," "Sad But True," "Dirty Window," "Harvester of Sorrow," "Master of Puppets," "Fight Fire With Fire," "Seek and Destroy," "Nothing Else Matters," "Creeping Death," "One," "Enter Sandman," "Blitzkrieg," "Motorbreath." (from fansite www.metallicalive.com).

Previous Las Vegas appearances: June 11, 1986 (Thomas & Mack); Sept. 9, 1989 (T&M); Jan. 4, 1992 (T&M); July 30, 1994 (Sam Boyd Stadium); Jan. 10, 1997 (T&M); Sept. 12, 1998 (Cashman Field); Dec. 8, 1999 (MGM Grand).

Says Hetfield: "There's a new strength in Metallica that's never been there before. I'm really proud of the new music. I think we did something where the pedal does not let up." (Rolling Stone, June).