Echo In The Hall: Metallica, Atlanta Ga
Photo credit: Brenden Robertson
Photo credit: Brenden Robertson
Attending Metallica from a BTS viewpoint at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium
One word is abundantly clear at a Metallica show: COMMUNITY.
It is simply undeniable that James Hetfield puts the COMMON UNITY in his band’s world-wide community and I had the high privilege to witness just that in person on Tuesday June 2, 2025. Although, the acoustic reflections in the building created a substantially long reverb decay naturally, the engineers managed to deliver a perfectly balanced and enjoyable mix from any accessible location on the floor, 360 degrees around the stage. This pristine audio was achieved by Chris Rushin, Metallica Audio Systems Engineer, and Greg Price, Metallica Front of House Mix Engineer. My friends and I were given an in-depth production tour by Chris that was heavily ornamented by several crew members chiming in at each of their stations. I also got to have a one-on-one with Greg about key topics like Meyer Sound, subwoofer deployment “in the round”, and the S.E. Electronics microphones on the drum kits for Lars Ulrich.
My key memories:
Honored to be a guest of the Metallica crew
Respectfully hesitating to approach James Hetfield, and regretting that I let the moment pass
Talking shop with Metallica’s FOH Sound Engineer, Greg Price
Walking into the snake pit before the show and meeting the lighting director as he was giving a tour to his guests and being spotlighted by his remote spot operators- that we would later meet
Synchronously passing Zakk Wylde’s guitars as they were carried out by his techs
The crew was exceptionally pleasant to interact with as much as they were acutely precise at executing their roles
I Loved when Kirk and Rob played One Way Out by Allman Brothers Band
Watching the band dodge giant beach balls during “Seek and Destroy”
Seeing Rick Beato over my left shoulder
Receiving Greg Price’s setlist and a ton of custom guitar picks
The scale of the production is impossible to overstate. There are more than 500 Meyer Sound loudspeakers and miles of cables. Somehow, every inch of space is totally clean. I was very impressed by the polite etiquette of each crew member that I interfaced with. Consequently, I will show my guests at future gigs my workstation and job description in more detail, and with greater enthusiasm. My night was complete when Hetfield adorned his audience with the statement, “I get to watch everyone’s face change from ‘F*** my life’ to ‘F***, this is LIFE!’’
Photo credit: Brenden Robertson
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“I get to watch everyone’s face change from ‘F*** my life’ to ‘F***, this is LIFE!’”
— James Hetfield
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Real World initial startup scene for the LV1 user that does it all: FOH, MONs, and STREAM.
I was asked to jump into this environment for Mothers’ Day Service. This is what the mixer looks like after one rehearsal session.
Includes advanced bussing structure for REC, LFE/SUB, MONS, FOH, and STREAMING.
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