See Metallica Play Rarities and Covers at Helping Hands Benefit Concert
Pearl Jam’s Jeff Ament also makes guest appearance during “Hit the Lights” at Los Angeles acoustic-and-electric show
Metallica staged their annual Helping Hands benefit concert Friday night in Los Angeles, with the heavy metal legends delivering a set full of long-unplayed songs, covers, and classics across their acoustic-and-electric sets.
The concert at Inglewood, California’s YouTube Theater opened with an acoustic take on “Low Man’s Lyric,” marking the first time the band has played the Reload track since 1998.
Metallica followed that up with covers of Diamond Head’s “Helpless” (their first time playing that song since 2018, and previously featured on the $5.98 E.P.) and their debut performance of Bachman-Turner Overdrive’s “Away From Home.”
Metallica closed out the first set with their first-ever acoustic take on 72 Seasons’ “If Darkness Had a Son” and “Nothing Else Matters,” both backed by a string section.
Reload resurfaced in the electric set as James Hetfield and company performed “The Unforgiven II” for the first time since 2015 as well as a new take on that album’s “Fuel.” The set also featured “Orion,” “Until It Sleeps,” and “Screaming Suicide,” and Pearl Jam’s Jeff Ament made a guest appearance to join the band on “Hit the Lights”:
The concert — which Metallica will upload in full on YouTube on December 19, the band announced — concluded with “Master of Puppets.” The annual benefit show supports the band’s All With My Hands Foundation, which “aims to assist and enrich the lives of members of the communities who have supported the band for years, as well as encourage participation from fans and friends.”
Helping Hands was Metallica’s final show of 2024; they’ll return to the road in April 2025 for a North American tour that includes arenas, stadiums, and festival stops.
