What happens when the Metal Gods descend on the Rock Capital of India for their first-ever concert in the country?
What happens when the Metal Gods descend on the Rock Capital of India for their first-ever concert in the country? Emotions run high, euphoria prevails, hysteria rules, headbanging becomes a ritual for the sea of devotees, or fans, who achieve a state of delirium as the gods get down to business: enchanting the followers by their ethereal music and breathtaking riffs.
Metal fans could not ask for more. After the heavy metal legend Metallica's gig was cancelled in Gurgaon, there was a renewed interest in their concert in Bangalore. And if the mood at Palace Grounds was anything to go by, the fans got more than they could ask for.
The organisers, DNA Networks, said 25,000 tickets were sold for the concert but the policemen at the venue said that the crowd soared up to 35,000 as the show progressed, speculating that the number of visitors reached about 40,000 as the show reached its peak. Fans from north India too poured in to Bangalore to watch the legends live. Fans said there was no space to even stand, but nobody seemed to complain.
Eager fans had lined up outside the gates of the venue much before they were opened, dressed in the uniform of the heavy metal army: black t-shirt. No sooner than the gates opened, the fans swarmed the venue. Just 45 minutes after the gates were opened, the venue was filled with 10,000 fans. Expectations started to rise as time passed by. Nothing, not even rain, could dampen the spirits of the eager metalheads. In fact, it only added to their joy. Some fans were heard saying that a slushy field and rain are the necessary ingredient for a top-class metal concert.
Bangalore-based rock band Inner Sanctum opened the show to warm up the crowd. Then New Delhi-based band Guillotine took the stage and enthralled the gathering for more than 90 minutes. Then the Scottish band Biffy Clyro took up the job of unleashing some more metal on the fans. And then came the moment everyone was waiting for. Even shouting and cheering for more than two hours did not leave the fans tired. When the Metal Gods finally took the stage, the crowd went berserk, with a renewed vigour to be able to go “just a little bit ahead” to get that closer look.
And what followed, Metallica’s performance, is the stuff that dreams are made of. When the concert got over and fans were leaving the venue, you could see them grinning ear to ear, wearing the expression that said they would have no complaints if life ended tomorrow, for they have seen Metallica live in action. They just had one wish, that the band live up to their promise of visiting India again.
A source close to DNA Networks, the company that organised the concert, said that Metallica had almost refused to play in Bangalore too, owing to “some security glitches”. The source said the organisers sprung into action and convinced the band managers that everything will be under control and there was no need to jump to a hasty conclusion. In backdrop of cancellation of the concert in Gurgaon, after which fans had gone berserk, about 1,000 policemen had been deployed at the venue to control the crowd.
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