Metallica have launched their huge residency at the Las Vegas Sphere, and kicked off the shows with the first performance of ‘…And Justice For All’ in over 10 years. Find footage and the setlist below.
The ‘Life Burns Faster’ residency opened last night (Thursday October 1) at the iconic venue, and will see the thrash metal pioneers play some epic shows there through the rest of 2026 and into next year.
It comes amid a busy few years of touring for James Hetfield and co., with them being on the road frequently for their mammoth ‘M72’ tour, celebrating the release of their latest album ‘72 Seasons’.
Now, they have kicked off their first gig at the venue with a spectacular visual display and by breaking out ‘Master Of Puppets’ classic ‘Battery’ – opening the show with that track for the first time since 2014. From there, they broke out fellow fan favourite ‘Creeping Death’, before playing ‘Hardwired… to Self-Destruct’ song ‘Now That We’re Dead’ for the first time since 2021.
Other classics that made the cut on night one included ‘Sad but True’, ‘The Shortest Straw’, ‘Wherever I May Roam’ and ‘The Day That Never Comes’, which all came before the thrash giants broke out the title track from their ‘…And Justice For All’ album for the first time in 12 years.
Guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo also did their usual improv for the night, this time playing a reimagined version of their ‘72 Seasons’ song ‘Sleepwalk My Life Away’, before the rest of the line-up returned for ‘’Nothing Else Matters’, ‘The Call of Ktulu’, ‘Master Of Puppets’ and more.
Check out more footage below, as well as the complete setlist and fan reactions.
Metallica’s setlist was:
‘Battery’ (First time as opener since July 11th, 2014)
‘Now That We’re Dead’ (first performance since September 24, 2021)
‘The Day That Never Comes’
‘…And Justice for All’ (first performance since August 9, 2014
Kirk and Rob Doodle (“Sleepwalk My Life Away”)
‘The Call of Ktulu’ (dedicated to Cliff Burton)
Metallica at the Sphere!! The first show. Make sure to book you tickets…or else! #sphere #metallica pic.twitter.com/pjprnjDYnc
WOW this giant cthulhu taking to the the Las Vegas Strip during Metallica at Sphere was unforgettable @Metallica @SphereVegas pic.twitter.com/mhLaf80ke2
— Las Vegas (@Vegas) October 2, 2026
Metallica anoche en el Sphere de Las Vegas.
Qué absoluta pasada 😛 pic.twitter.com/CJRpX1eOVf
Did not expect this kind of stage design for the Sphere. This is Metallica. pic.twitter.com/1R9BdowO63
The residency continues tomorrow (Saturday October 3), and runs throughout the rest of the month. From there, they have a pair of shows on November 5 and 7, as well as January 28 and 30, February 4, 6, 18, 20, 25 and 27 and March 4, 6, 11 and 13. Tickets are available here.
In a statement about the residency, co-founder and drummer Lars Ulrich has said: “About 12 seconds into the opening night of Sphere with U2 back in ‘23, I thought ‘We have to do this, it’s completely uncharted territory!’
“This residency gives us another chance to reinvent how we interact with our fans in a live setting. We are beyond excited to share this with the world in six months time, and way fuckin’ psyched to go next-level!”
As well as the Las Vegas shows, the band have also confirmed a 2027 tour with Limp Bizkit, and teased that they have 767 new riffs for their “next album” – suggesting that the project might see them “go back to the ‘90s again”.