We are in Imola, Italy and the band is on stage, playing BLACKENED. Today, at Heineken Jammin' Festival, the weather is MEGA WARM. I have heard it is somewhere around 40 degrees Celcius, around 110 degrees Fahrenheit. The band had a short press conference and a couple of interviews before the show. It was pretty funny to see the as all the reporters and attendees were drinking (I am not telling you which beer...) :)The band (and I) are doing a runner, so I will have an update & pictures for you in a couple of hours. Also working on bringing you some vids shortly. Gotta run...Catch up within the next few hours...MOTPS: At the press conference the second question was "Tell us about MetOnTour on your website"... :)

The band had a day off yesterday and they decided to stay in Paris. Rob went on a sightseeing trip together with some local friends. Among other things he visited was the Palace Of Versailles and he was mighty impressed. The band should leave in a few hours to fly to the next show. We have the Heineken Jammin' Festival in Imola, Italy coming up...Stay tuned...MOT

Look, it's 1.40am right now, and we've just come back from the THIRD loud, sweaty gig in a day. So details? Ah hell, gimme a break can ya, will ya? I'll get some to you in the morning, but in the meanwhile some thoughts.1) These guys must be fitter than THEY think. It was like three saunas today.2) Lars must have the heart of sixteen horses...the last song of the night at Le Trabendo was 'Motorbreath'...err, how-did-he-do-it?3) And James, Kirk and Rob must have the hearts of sixteen horses also come to think of it!4) They were STILL SMILING AT THE END despite being veeeeery tired.5) If James speaks to anyone tommorrow I'll be shocked, as his voice must be FRIED!6) Metallica's roadcrew are incredible. No, really, think about it. Three gigs, three set-ups and breakdowns, nearly a 24 hour day of solid, HARD VERK!7) The audiences were awesome, super loud, super sweaty and ready to sing up and help out when asked by James.8) I've suddenly realized that 'Enter Sandman' is this band's 'Hells Bells' or Guns'n'Roses' 'Paradise City'. No, I'm NOT STUPID, what I'm saying is that it is a truely immortal classic which never, ever ages. Rare these days.9) Rob is prepared to let his hair fly in the face of, err, his eyes? Seriously, this dude must have the most gnarly knottage post-show, so multiply that by three and give him some extra props!10) When he's tired, a little stubbly, a whole lot sweaty and dialed in live and direct to that deft combination of sarcasm, concentration and delivery, Lars is still wholly endearing. 11) James is enjoying the audiences A LOT!12) In the past week, this band has delivered to all audiences great (Rock Am Ring, 78,000) and small (today's first show, La Boule Noire, 450)...agreed, when it comes to the best of the day, you'd have to say Le Bataclan was the full-on twister-rager, but even when tired and pushing their limits, Metallica still do the job.When you revisit Lars' sponsor section for issue 10.1, you realize just what a huge feat that is.Wow, that's a lot of detail really...maybe I won't NEED to update tommorrow now...there is, after all, a magazine to do, right?Steffan ChiraziSo What! Editor

Tonight was a busy night in Paris for Rock fans. There were three "big" shows tonight, Audioslave, Queens Of The Stone Age and METALLICA. Actually, the Audioslave & Metallica shows were almost next door to eachother. On my way to the 3rd Paris show I was in a cab looking for the gig. My driver spoke no English and I no French. After being lost for a while I saw a sea of black t-shirts and I knew I was in the right place. The venue was Le Trabendo and we had 700 people in the crowd. It was completely packed, but still not as sweaty as gig #2. It was great to hear/see the setlist being changed once again. So will we ever see Metallica do three shows in one day again? Don't count on it...It was a great experience and the guys were extremly stoked afterwards, that they were still alive, and felt mighty fucking good.Tomorrow is a day off, next show is on Friday, June 13th in Imola, Italy. Setlist & pics are up...MOT

OH MY GOD THAT WAS FUCKING WARM! You could not hide from the sweat & the heat anywhere in the building. The band all had to be shirtless (except Robert that tonight sported a basketball/metallica shirt after a few songs. "This is fucking warm, it feels great" said James after a while. The setlist? Metallica is definitely in a groove to mess around with the setlist. They want to make sure that if any crazy 'Tallica fans will go to all three shows, they will get three completely different shows. Plus, making a lot of changes in the setlist, makes the band excited too. We have one more to go before the day is over. Next one we can expect somewhere around 700 people. Pics & setlist coming...MOT

THREE IN ONE...a play about three gigs in small venues in one crazy day starring MetallicaACT ONE: 1pm, Boule Noir, capacity 450.The joint was SMOKING...literally steaming with sweaty anticipation. Faces crushed against shoulders and backs in front of them. Loud. Very loud. Enter Metallica, via the front door with security wedging a path down the side right onto the stage. 15 minutes earlier, Lars had been wandering the hotel lobby still holding his orange juice as well as drumsticks...'I'm not good inj the mornings' he'd said to nobody in particular. A funny site, 4 guys wandering around the hotel lobby getting ready for the gig.But when they hit the stage, did they!!! Very loud, very tight, very packed and very heavy, like the old London days of the Marquee, and thoughts of earliness were quickly banished by the energy OF THE MOMENT and bvelieve me, that's what it was, the energy exchange right there, right then, making a mockery of the time (coulda been midnight) and infused with general raging. James Hetfield could not-stop-grinning, I think even he was a bit taken back by the power of the moment. Indeed, this was the best I ever heard 'Frantic' in terms of sheer, raw energy, and 'Battery'? Out-of-control, with James, Lars, Kirk and Rob bending their faces into metal muppetry, plus it sounded pretty DAMN good too! There was so much going on, between trying to capture pictures, hearing the KRUNCH and feeling the fizzle that it was over before it started, a shortish, punchy and raucous set, with four very happy guys afterwards (again I suspect 4 guys who were even happier about the show than they thought they might be) and the knowledge that with one down, and one of THIS kinda monsterous nature, the other two were gonna be JUST as interesting...I think...we shall see, because I have to sign off and get down to the lobby to haul over to the next show at Bataclan, err, now...

One down, two to go...AND what an opening song - FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS! Le Boule Noir is the name of the club that they played at. This venue is the smallest out of the three today. We had approx 300 people in the crowd, it was warm & sweaty, and the crowd & band was into it big time. The front was filled with crazy Clubberz. I recognised faces from all over Europe, and a few die-hard fans even from the USA. Well, it is Metalli-History being made....Setlist is up, and pics to come...MOT

A day off in Paris? Not really...Lars, Kirk and Rob spent the evening signing autographs at the Virgin Megastore. First they took care of some contest winners, and then of course they walked out to say hi to everyone else in the store. After that they went to a party set up by the guys in Audioslave. Tomorrow history will be made, Metallica will play 3 shows in one day!!! Keep it locked to your favorite channel...METONTOUR!

The show is done. There were a few cameras around so I am sure you will find a very good bootlegs out there :) The band did a "runner", basically jumping in their cars right after walking off stage. Setlist being posted in a few minutes, plus a few more pics.

The boys are back in town! Blackened opened the show, right now we are about half through the set.