A pre-M72 World Tour interview with Lars Ulrich was recently released by Q104.3 FM, during which the drummer revealed why Metallica wouldn’t change an AC/DC element during their ‘No Repeat Weekend’ concept.
Lars, at the time of the chat, was getting ready for their then-upcoming world tour and wanted to delve into what was expecting fans at their shows. He first started off his words by telling all about their ‘no repeat’ rule:
“Everything [is different], each night is different from the setlist [before], 100% different. Each night [even] the support acts [are] 100% different. Everything that’s going on all around [is different], like even the house music; you’re not going to hear the same house music.”
However, there was one exception Metallica didn’t want to change, as Ulrich explained why an AC/DC element would remain the same on every show:
“The only thing that’s the same, from night to night, musically, is our intro tape… There was a quick debate about whether we should even change our intro tape, but we come out to an AC/DC song called ‘It’s A Long Way to the Top,’ which has been our sort of walk-on music for a couple of decades and then Ennio Morricone’s ‘Ecstasy of Gold.’”
The drummer then further opened up about why they preferred to keep the tradition of starting off their gigs with these two tracks:
“Those two are the same each night simply for one reason, which is, that we figured if we’ve got a different walk-on song, maybe [the] people [who] are buying shirts or getting drinks or going to the bathroom or hanging out with their friends wouldn’t know we were coming on. So, we figured maybe it would be a disservice to our fans if all of a sudden there was a different walk-on song.”
Well, it appears that Metallica’s preference to keep an AC/DC song as their walk-on track was a bit strategic as they didn’t want any fan to miss out on their performances. And, with that, it could also be nice to let you know that the band is, currently, moving forward with their shows all through Northern America as their next two-day gig is scheduled to be in Quebec, Canada.
