Kirk Hammett is currently in his trusty VW camper, toodling along a Hawaiian road, eyeing the surf and knowing he is fully prepared for whatever might need to go down in the next few hours (he maintains a stash of gear for various activities). To that extent, asking him to cast his mind back over three decades ago could well be asking a lot. But Kirk is always able to slip effortlessly into whatever conversational mode is required, and within minutes we find ourselves reflecting on all things Justice with the Hawaiian scenery temporarily forgotten.

Meet & Greet contests for gigs from January 18 through February 1 have ended. Winners have been emailed.

No matter how many times I see the band play “One” I am always mesmerized at how one band can transform and dominate an arena of this size. The bombs and machine gun fire at the beginning, followed by James’ beautiful clean intro, with Kirk adding the slow solos that can give anyone goosebumps.

We are witness to an awesome setlist, including a very tasty “Through the Never,” the always excellent “Halo on Fire,” an appropriately fiery “Fight Fire with Fire” and much more. Even with as consistently high as Metallica sets the bar live, which I think we fans tend to take for granted, sometimes you can tell one of the guys is having an extra good night; as though he picked up a Super Mario Bros. star and is running invincible. Tonight seems to belong to Kirk – it’s on his face, it’s in his leads, and it’s really cool to see.