Metallica Boxed Set ’25 Nights Down Under’ Largest Ever
The new boxed set from Metallica, 25 Nights Down Under, began shipping this week, and it’s certainly one of the largest and most extensive boxed sets ever released.
Metallica: 25 Nights Down Under includes full-length recordings of 25 different concerts on 50 CDs. The Metallica boxed set started shipping last week to fans who pre-ordered it, and there are still boxed sets available for fans who are willing to part with $395 to get it.
Recorded at a variety of shows in Australia and New Zealand between 2010 and 2013, Metallica: 25 Nights Down Under includes concerts from Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Brisbane, and Adelaide in Australia. The New Zealand shows feature Metallica concerts from Christchurch and Auckland.
In 2010, Metallica was still on their World Magnetic tour, continuing to promote their 2008 album, Death Magnetic. In 2013, Metallica was performing a number of festival gigs worldwide. Appearances from both of these tours are what appear on the Metallica: 25 Nights Down Under boxed set. Unlike the popular Black Album tour in the 90s, or even most of the tour dates that accompanied the Load and Re-Load albums, for the last decade or so, Metallica has taken to playing songs you’ve never heard them play before live. Inspired by then-new bass player Robert Trujillo, Metallica delved back into their extensive catalogue when touring for St. Anger and after Death Magnetic, bringing fans such treats as live renditions of “Disposable Heroes” from Master of Puppets, “Dyers Eve” and “Frayed Ends of Sanity” from …And Justice For All, and other, lesser played pieces.
Metallica has certainly been busy as of late for a band that many, non-diehard fans might consider in their twilight years. Thirty-two years into their career, Metallica is still going strong, selling out stadium after stadium year after year. Their last five studio albums have debuted at number one on the music charts, and they’ve sold over 100 million records to date worldwide. Since the release of their dubious film, Through the Never and its accompanying soundtrack in 2013, Metallica has continued to play festivals worldwide, the occasional San Francisco Giants baseball game and charity events including benefits for the MusiCares MAP Fund. Just last Thursday, Metallica played at the X-Games in Texas, an event for which the live recordings of the concert will be sold through Metallica’s website, and all earnings for which will be given to victims of the recent devastating floods in the Lone Star State.
Metallica’s lead guitarist, Kirk Hammett, recently organized and oversaw the second year of his new annual gathering of horror and metal fanatics as his Fear FestEvil in San Francisco. Metallica’s drummer, Lars Ulrich, recently appeared in a new film called Radio Dreams, a comedy from director Babak Jalali.
All of this is happening as Metallica fans anxiously await the arrival of the band’s new record, which is supposedly being recorded right now. Metallica’s last album, Death Magnetic, was released in 2008, meaning that it’s been eight years since a new studio Metallica release. (To put that into perspective, The Beatles recorded every record they ever released — over 13 studio albums — in seven years!)
[Photos via Metallica.com]
