The power or rock'n'roll...the POWER of rock'n'roll...the ELECTRICITY of rock'n'roll and the DANGER of rock'n'roll...taking risks...going to new places...hitting the outer regions of thrust and volume...yes folks, Metallica did all of that and more

They strode onto the Madison Square Garden stage after Jeff Beck had delivered a traditional Beckian-set of guitar ledge-ness, and from the very first note of 'For Whom The Bell Tolls' it was very obvious that the well-heeled were going to get their coiffered heads blown off. Metallica were not there to pander to the big ticket, big dollar audience, uh-uh, in fact in a fashion similar to the induction event, they set about tearing down whatever ego-stuffed edifices an event of this magnitude creates, and replacing them with delicious raw power.

They also threw away the safety net when it came to collaborations, instead embracing the knowledge that some things don't make sense on paper.

Pineapple on pizza, chocolate sauce on chicken, Metallica jamming with first Lou Reed and then Ray Davies (broken up by some seriously 'makes-a-ton-of-sense-because-it's-stone-proven-fucking-cool' riffage with Ozzy)...

And hey HEY, thank FUCKING God people don't live their lives solely on paper, because if they did, we'd have witnessed a very professionally written, excellently punctuated computer-typed essay on the importance of manners in a civilized society, as opposed to a city block sprayed with preposterously rude, adventurous and aggressive commands and dictates. 'Be brave.' 'Be loud.' 'Be free.'

But most of all, do not ever ever EVER write something off because it doesn't fit in with your natural parameters. It's a lesson kids, and it was taught in this unique (it's a much-used word so I'll say it again, UNIQUE) performance.

Because after they did 'One' and 'Turn The Page' proud (Hetfield paying heartfelt tribute to Bob Seger) everything switched up and everything switched onto another plain, Lou Reed walking slowly out to rapturous applause from his disciples (not to mention loud refrains of 'Lou Lou Lou') before plugging up his stuff and kicking into 'Sweet Jane.' When Lou Reed's feeling something, everyone knows it, and how could he not have felt this? You don't know the song? Buy it. And then listen to this version of it. Because I swear, it won't make sense when you listen to the original, but it might so much sense as they brought the house down delivering it. As for 'White Light White Heat', well, it's wall of sound punk runaway fuel, a song I would not be surprised to see the band jam for an encore now and again because it is SO FUCKING RIGHT WHEN THEY PLAY IT!!! And Lou Reed led from the front. And Lou Reed delivered the final feedback- flanged period. And it was really something because it didn't have to work but it really, really did.

Ozzy wasn't about to let the moment disappear, and his entrance threw the Garden into further cacophonous delight, Oz quickly dropping into 'Iron Man' and absolutely delighting in the fact that the band around him were all 18 again and wearing shit-eating grins, which just got wider when they effortlessly broke into a superb version of 'Paranoid'. So right on and off paper. So simple. So goddam cool.

And then to throw a bigger curve to the set, the man who wrote the first riff* which Ozzy got excited about, Ray Davies of The Kinks, strode out as cool as the proverbial English cucumber and immediately led Metallica and the audience through 'You Really Got Me*' before they dropped seemlessly into 'All Day and All of The Night' which should have been a Metallica song because it sounds like it should've been a Metallica riff because it's really aggressive and dirty and uproarious...as James said, the forefather of punk music when you strip it down (and incidentally, listen to 'All Day...' and you will not be able to stop humming it for at least 96 hours - and there's no vaccine to guard against that thank christ!) and one which I was still humming in my head as the band ripped through a rowdy 'Stone Cold Crazy.'

Rounding that off is rather tough, but when you wrote a song called 'Enter Sandman' that helped propel you to the upper stratosphere, then you have the right answer for the occasion. The evening was a combination of TRUE adventure, PROPER daring and the wonderful, crisp scent of a pioneering spirit in the house...yeah, Metallica kicked unique ass tonight, and this was a set that will become legendary for all the best, best reasons. You can see it for yourselves when HBO broadcasts 4 hours of highlights in the US on November 29th.

1.55am, London Hotel, New York, October 31st 2009
Words by: Steffan Chirazi
Photos by: Jeff Yeager

HBO will broadcast four hours of highlights from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary Concerts on November 29 at 8PM EST in the U.S. At this time there are not plans for a worldwide broadcast, but we'll be sure to keep you posted should that change.