Metallica have begun the 2024 European leg of their ongoing M72 tour (pick up tickets here), continuing their “No Repeat Weekend” format of playing two-night stands in each city with a different setlist each night.
On Sunday (May 26th), Metallica played their second date in Munich, Germany, and the set featured a surprise: the live debut of 72 Seasons closer “Inamorata” — officially the longest Metallica track to date with a runtime of 11 minutes, 10 seconds.
Frontman James Hetfield took a moment to address the crowd prior to the rendition.
“This next song, we have never, ever played live before,” Hetfield said via fan footage of the show. “And, you know, in our band we don’t recognize the word ‘mistake,’ because there are no mistakes’ there’s just unique moments that happen, all right? That’s what we need to tell ourselves. This one is from 72 Seasons. It’s one of my favorites, so I’m gonna like it.”
Despite Hetfield being humble about the debut performance, the band sound locked in and practiced on the lengthy, multifaceted song.
It opens with a slow head-nodding riff that leads into solo sections, drop outs, and tempo changes. Metallica have a handful of long songs in their repertoire (“Orion,” “The Outlaw Torn,” “One,” etc.), but “Inamorata” boasts many moving parts. It’s not surprising that it took a while for them to work it into the set.
The band will remain in Europe through July before kicking off the North American leg of the 2024 tour on August 2nd and 4th in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
Below you can watch fan footage of the live debut of “Inamorata.”